February 2026 Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to open as a Webpage.

Celebrate connection, kindness, and the joy of lifelong learning – all month long. Throughout February, when you give a gift of $26 or more, OLLI will mail a heartfelt card made by an OLLI artist to a friend, classmate, or instructor of your choice.

Honor someone who makes your learning journey meaningful while supporting the community that brings us together. Your gift helps fund scholarships, enrich classrooms, and sustain the programs that make OLLI feel like home.

Each card will contain a standard message:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on the stage? Now is the time to find out! Audition for the annual OLLI Play Festival and discover the fun and magic of acting this spring.

Auditions

Thursday February 26, 1-4pm

Friday February 27, 1-4pm

Gordon 1 at The Social Chico

All plays are written, directed, and acted by members. Join the fun!

For more information, contact Pam Loyd at pamloyd@icloud.com.

OLLI is piloting a new outdoor intersession in March and April! This is a new opportunity to take outdoor classes between the winter and spring terms. Registration for outdoor intersession classes opens at 9am on Thursday, February 26.

The pilot outdoor intersession is a small program. We have some special registration rules for the outdoor intersession to give all 900+ members a fair shot at getting into the 13 outdoor intersession classes.

• During the first week of registration, you may register or be added to the waitlist for only one outdoor intersession class.
• After the first week of registration, we will turn off the class limit and you may register or be added to the waitlist for additional classes.
• The last day anyone will be added to an outdoor intersession class off the waitlist is March 16.

We recommend being very thoughtful about your choice of class for the outdoor intersession. Pick the one you most want to go to, and be sure you're available. Know that after March 16, your outdoor intersession schedule will be set.

You can register online beginning at 9am on Thursday, February 26, or call or mail your registration form ahead of registration day for the OLLI office to enter your registration for you.

OLLI partners with the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County to co-sponsor gardening workshops that take place in Bradley 2 at The Social Chico. All workshops are free; registration is required. As an OLLI member, you are warmly invited to register for a workshop taking place in a familiar classroom.

Native Plants

Saturday, February 21, 11am–12:30pm

By using native plants, you can transform your garden into a more natural habitat that is not only beautiful, but also supports local ecosystems, conserves water, and reduces maintenance.

Register Now!

Hands-On Bonsai Workshop

Saturday, March 7, 9:30am-12pm

Bonsai Master Ruben Rodarte will share his expertise in a hands-on workshop on the art of creating miniature plants to mimic a mature appearance in nature. Learn techniques for plant selection, pruning both branches and roots, potting and repotting, and wiring branches to create specific shapes and styles such upright, informal, and cascading. Bring a suitable plant you either want to bonsai or have already been shaping and want help with. A few Master Gardener-donated plants will be available for hands-on practice.

Registration

To register for this workshop exclusively available to Master Gardeners and OLLI members, you can email Debra Barger at dbarger@csuchico.edu starting at 9am on February 18. There are limited spaces available on a first come, first served basis. Registration closes at 5pm on March 2.

The Tuesday Tunes Treble Makers, pictured, made up of longtime OLLI instructor Bitz Haley and several members of her Tuesday Tunes class, will again compete in this year's Community Lip Sync Challenge. The event, which has added a matinee performance this year, is a lip sync battle at its best! Teams compete to earn your votes. Each vote = $1 donation. The team with the most votes wins the competition, and a percentage of the total each team raises is donated back to their organization. That means when you donate to vote for the Tuesday Tunes Treble Makers, OLLI gets a portion of the proceeds.

Tickets, including dinner and streaming options, are available now. When you purchase a ticket, you can choose which group gets your votes and help support OLLI.

Saturday, February 21

Matinee show doors at 1:15pm; competition at 2pm

Evening show doors at 5:30pm; competition at 7:30pm

The Big Room at Sierra Nevada, 1075 E. 20th Street, Chico (map)

Some of OLLI's most popular classes provide members with opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty and recreational riches of our local region. The Outdoor Experiences Team's primary goal is to expand access to safe, well-organized, and enriching outdoor learning opportunities that reflect a range of interests and physical abilities. With a variety of classes such as walks, hikes, paddling, and other field-based classes in birding, botany and geology, many OLLI members are finding ways to match their interests and abilities with OLLI outdoor experiences.

The Outdoor Experiences Team supports and sustains OLLI's outdoor programming by providing guidance, training, and resources for current and prospective outdoor class leaders. Team members assist with leader preparation, risk awareness, program planning, and idea development.

To meet growing interest in outdoor learning, the team plays a key role in developing special initiatives, including the new outdoor intersession beginning in March that broadens outdoor learning opportunities beyond the regular term schedule.

Do you have questions about outdoor experiences, ideas for classes, or interest in learning how to lead an outdoor class? Are you currently an outdoor experiences volunteer instructor who is looking for support or inspiration? The Outdoor Experiences Team is represented on the OLLI Advisory Council by team leads Lorraine Smith and Vickie Stoll. Vickie Bernhardt, Lois Olson, Candi Roethler, and Kris Zappettini round out the team. Contact Vickie Stoll at v.stoll@att.net and Lorraine Smith at lsmith@csuchico.edu to reach the Outdoor Experiences Team. They would love to talk outdoors with you!

Pictured: The Outdoor Experiences Team on a hike together.

OLLI member Willa Walker has been playing ping pong at Chico Pickle & Pong every week. "I'm having so much fun," she said. "They provide the paddles and balls and have set aside this time for seniors, called Silver Paddles. Several OLLI members are already regulars!"

Willa is always looking for more OLLI friends to join her. "Ping pong is excellent for older adults," she said, "with a low risk of injury, and known as 'the world's best brain sport.'" Beginners don't need to worry. "All levels of play are welcome," Willa said, "and instruction is available." If you'd like to join her, you can drop in any Thursday, 2-4pm, at Chico Pickle & Pong for just $6.

Pictured: Shelby Gord and Willa Walker playing ping pong at Chico Pickle & Pong.

TRAVEL AND LEARN WITH OLLI

Spotlight on New York City, Fall '26

Start spreading the news! This extended Spotlight on New York City tour makes the most of a single hotel stay to explore Manhattan and Brooklyn. Experience the best of the "Big Apple" from Rockefeller Center to Greenwich Village and across the Brooklyn Bridge. Your 7 days and 8 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the Spotlight on New York City full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

Discover South Pacific Wonders, Fall '26

Experience Queenstown, cruise Sydney Harbour, and discover the wonders of Aboriginal culture on this incredible journey through New Zealand and Australia. From the ethereal beauty of New Zealand's glacial fjords to the tropical splendor of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, enjoy the best of the South Pacific. Your 18 days and 28 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the Discover South Pacific Wonders full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

Wonders of Thailand, Winter '27

Delve into a land where bustling modern cities, ornate ancient temples, and stunning jungle beaches coexist. Uncover the beautifully balanced mosaic of old and new, metropolitan, rural, and coastal in Thailand. Your 16 days and 24 meals of this small group tour will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the Wonders of Thailand full itinerary (pdf) and book now to reserve your space.

Newly Announced! France Magnifique Discovery, Spring '27

From the royal Palace of Versailles to the enchanting streets of Paris, grab a baguette and rendezvous with the best of France. Bask in the rich history, culture, and romance of these celebrated cities and charming towns. Your 12 days and 16 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the France Magnifique Discovery full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

Save the date for our Winter Community Speaker Series on Thursday, March 5.

Asa Mittman will join us for a talk that argues that maps are not natural, neutral documents that display information in straightforward, objective, scientific ways, but are instead rhetorical and ideological documents that shape our understandings of the world around us and our place within it. We will look at maps from the Middle Ages through the present to see how all their elements work together to shape our experience and understanding of geography. In doing so, we will talk about what maps are for, which it turns out is much more complicated than getting from point A to point B!

Asa Simon Mittman is a professor of art and art history at Chico State who has been studying maps and images of monsters for 25 years. He has authored three books, most recently Cartographies of Exclusion: Anti-Semitic Mapping in Medieval England (2024), and three dozen articles and book chapters; edited five volumes; and delivered dozens of invited lectures and conference talks on these subjects.

Thursday, March 5, 3-4pm

Free and open to the public! A hybrid event – join us in Bradley 2 at The Social Chico or on Zoom. Check the OLLI website the day of the event for the Zoom link.

Imagine you're in a university classroom in Dalat, Vietnam where students learn English by singing. They ask you to sing "Clementine." Could you do it? Azure Kurth, pictured, surprised herself. "I hadn’t heard the song for so long, but the words and the tune just came out of me. "

Adventures punctuate Azure's life – a trip down the Nile, visits to France, heading for Sierra Leone next month – and lately many have been close to home. Hiking classes introduced her to the area after she moved here from Arcata. From a class on Beethoven offered by OLLI at Rochester Institute of Technology to Cracker Barrel, astronomy, disaster preparedness, and hikes, she's enjoyed a wide spectrum of OLLI's offerings.

Azure has three granddaughters aged 8-12 who live next door. Helping with them and cheerleading their different sports activities "nurtures the soul." She's shared her birding passion with them, using her backyard as a classroom. Planted to attract birds, the garden has been visited by 80 species.

During the Covid shutdown, with her granddaughters' help, she started writing a series of children's books about "Nomadic Nana." A bit autobiographical? Definitely!

Erin Edwards and Kitty Sos have been physical therapists at Enloe Health for over thirty years. They are experts in balance and the vestibular system, which makes them the perfect instructors for What Is the Vestibular System and How Does It Affect Balance?

We all know that as we age our mobility declines. Changes in strength and flexibility certainly affect our balance. But what is the purpose of the vestibular system with regard to balance? What are common disorders involving the vestibular system and how can we improve vestibular function as we age?

In their class, Erin and Kitty will review the anatomy and function of the amazing vestibular system, as well as discuss the functions of the other primary systems – vision and somatosensation – for optimal postural control.

Register now for What Is the Vestibular System and How Does It Affect Balance? and learn more from Erin and Kitty next week.

Join the City of Oroville and the Oroville Docents Association for a Chinese New Year celebration at the Oroville Chinese Temple.

Chinese New Year celebrates the beginning of a new year on the Chinese calendar. Each year corresponds to a specific animal. The year beginning February 17 on the Gregorian calendar is the Year of the Horse.

The free event at the Oroville Chinese Temple will include gifts and goods, hands-on cultural activities, and a student art show inspired by the Year of the Horse. A Lion Dance performance will take place at noon.

Saturday, February 21, 11am-2pm

Oroville Chinese Temple 1500 Broderick Street, Oroville (map)

Dick Kennedy

OLLI member and instructor Dick Kennedy passed away on January 31. Dick received his art degree at Michigan State University in 1974. He worked as a draftsman, production artist, and art director before running his own freelance graphics business. His work can be seen on many business logos around town, including the Butte Humane Society.

"I had the privilege of meeting Dick years ago as he was considering leading classes for OLLI," former Program Director Ann Nikolai said. "I remember his early concerns about how members would receive a class on cartooning. It was with such delight that I observed the growing interest in his class – not just because of the subject matter, but because of the sense of community Dick created. His following continued to grow, including members from other OLLIs."

"As his classroom host," fellow member Sandy Carlston said, "I often suspected students came for his comedy and positive energy as much as the drawing lessons. He was generous with his talent and willing to teach anyone about art, especially the young people who came into his orbit. He will be greatly missed." Ann added, "Dick’s love of teaching grew, too, keeping his classes going between terms because he 'didn't want to let anyone down.' Dick was a model lifelong learner, and all of us who got to know him are richer for it."

Photo by Jason Halley/Chico State.

February 18

February 25

February 26-27

March 4

March 11

March 13

March 15

Brown Bag Luncheon for New Members

Brown Bag Luncheon for New Members

OLLI Play Festival Auditions

Brown Bag Luncheon for New Members

Brown Bag Luncheon for New Members

Last Day of Winter Classes

Spring Social Meetups Begin