ELEVENTH ANNUAL OLLI PLAY FESTIVAL | | |
The OLLI Play Festival will be back in April with more laugh-out-loud plays, written, directed, and acted entirely by OLLI members. Come join the fun!
Mark your calendars for the following dates:
Plays due: January 23
Auditions: February 26-27
Rehearsals: March 9-April 15
Performances: April 16-19
For more information, contact Pam Loyd at pamloyd@icloud.com.
| | THE WONDERS OF NATURE GALLERY RECEPTION | | |
OLLI members, family, and friends are invited to attend the opening reception for The Wonders of Nature, an exhibit of art by OLLI members.
Support our talented members and celebrate the start of a new year and the winter term. Light refreshments will be served.
Sunday, January 25, 2-4pm
Bradley 2 at The Social Chico
Pictured: OLLI members Debbie Vermette, Melissa Ottem, Donna Sandberg, Joan Goodreau, and Jean Ray at the 2023 gallery reception.
| | MEMBER BENEFIT: LUNCH AT THE SOCIAL CHICO
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OLLI members get a special discounted lunch price at The Social Chico's main cafeteria when you buy a 10-meal card from the cashier for $81.19. Single meals for everyone, including OLLI members, are $13.52.
The cafeteria is located in the central building at The Social Chico, near the main lobby. To get there from OLLI classrooms, you'll enter the back of the building near the pool. You can refer to the pdf map of The Social to help you find it..
The OLLI lunch hour, 11:30am-12:30pm, Monday-Friday is a great opportunity to spend time with other members and get something to eat between classes without having to go anywhere. And these prices still beat most downtown eateries!
Debit/credit cards only. The Social Chico cannot accept cash.
| | MEET A MEMBER: CANDACE CARROLL | | |
A few years after she retired, Candace Carroll, pictured in front of Lake Erie, decided she wanted to get out more, so she attended an OLLI preview. Result: she signed up for classes she hadn't expected because of intriguing comments from the instructors. Her first approach of enrolling in classes of "one for my brain, one for my body, and one for fun" landed her in Robin Dizard's class on fairy tales, Paul Coots's fitness class, and the history of beer. Using her same rule of three, she's currently enrolled in Fitness for Lifetime Mobility, Historical Geography of California, and Good Nutrition and Great Taste.
Family is also an important part of Candace's life. She helps her daughter and son-in-law, both with professional careers, care for her grandson. Every summer she visits her small hometown on the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County, New York. Relatives from her mother's side have held 105 reunions. The group even has a Facebook page that keeps family members up-to-date.
Candace loves to read mystery and suspense novels, and she occasionally branches out into nonfiction, for example to learn about the mRNA research that contributed to the COVID vaccines. And for future classes? She'll continue to apply her "brain, body, fun" rule to take full advantage of OLLI's offerings for lifelong learning.
| | HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY | | |
January 27 was designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the UN in 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex.
The week of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, you can learn about Auschwitz and other concentration camps in Only Hope: My Mother and the Holocaust Brought to Light. Felicia Lubliner was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about her internment in ghettos and the Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Poland. Her stories were published by her son Irv Lubliner.
In his class, Irv will share excerpts, shedding light on his mother's experiences and indomitable spirit, as well as his experience as a child of Holocaust survivors. He will pause during and after his presentation to invite questions and discussion.
Register now for Only Hope: My Mother and the Holocaust Brought to Light to join the class on January 29.
| | SUPPORT OLLI MEMBERS IN THE LIP SYNC CHALLENGE | | |
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 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)
| | LEARN THE BASICS OF THEATRE ACTING THIS WINTER | | |
OLLI member April Gausemel has been involved with the annual OLLI Play Festival for several years. She’s written a play, directed plays, and acted in plays. This winter, she's offering Theatre Acting: It's No Mystery to other OLLI members who want to try acting.
The class is designed to alleviate some of the often heard reasons people are reluctant to try theatre acting at the amateur OLLI level. In the class, you can actively participate in learning some theatre basics through exercises in stage movements, vocalization, script reading, and memorization. By the end of the class, you'll feel prepared and confident to try theatre acting by eliminating some of the mystery of acting. No previous experience required!
Register now for Theatre Acting: It's No Mystery and demystify acting just in time for the OLLI Play Festival auditions.
Pictured: Bill Houck, Toni Morucci, and April Gausemel performing in the 2025 OLLI Play Festival.
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OLLI is a caring community for me. When I moved here seven years ago, I knew just a handful of people. Now I have friends to count on every day.
People have gone out of their way to help me prepare classes, learn new skills, or just face difficult facts. I am especially indebted to the Ulvang sisters, Gale and Leanne, for help coping with computer technology.
— Robin Dizard
Photo by Matt Bates/Chico State.
| | TRAVEL AND LEARN WITH OLLI | | Discover the Best of Eastern Canadian Cities, Fall '26 | | 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.
| | Newly Announced! 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.
| | FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH | | |
Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) designates a theme for Black History Month. The theme for 2026 is A Century of Black History Commemorations. "To understand the modern world, especially nations where Black peoples form a significant population, one must grapple with the impact that the public observances have had on the past and the present," ASALH says. "This year, when we are also commemorating the 250th anniversary of United States independence, it is important to tell not only an inclusive history, but an accurate one."
You can join a commemoration this year and support local Black artists, makers, and chefs at the Annual Black History Month Pop-Up presented by BLACC (Building Leaders, Advocates, & Community Connections) and Stonewall Alliance of Chico. The event features music, food, vendors, and service providers.
Saturday, February 28, 10am-2pm
Stonewall Alliance Parking Lot, Orient and Sixth Streets, Chico (map)
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January 25
January 28
February 4
February 11
February 18
February 25
February 26-27
March 4
March 11
March 13
March 15
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