We hope you're looking forward to the Spring term as much as we are, with over 90 classes to choose from in the classroom, outdoors, and online. You can learn what it means to serve on a nonprofit board, discuss gardening amidst climate change on the West Coast, and hear from Chico State faculty – and much, much more.

Registration is open now and classes start on February 6.

Missed our class previews? Catch up with the recording of our Live-Online Spring Class Preview and hear about just some of our exciting Spring classes.

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army reached and shut down the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex. Sixty years later, the UN adopted Resolution 60/7 (pdf) designating January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The resolution reaffirms "that the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice."

This International Holocaust Remembrance Day Irv Lubliner, professor emeritus at Southern Oregon University (SOU), will share excerpts from Only Hope: A Survivor's Stories of the Holocaust in our Spring Community Speaker Series.

Before she passed away in 1974, Felicia Bornstein Lubliner wrote about her internment in Polish ghettos and two Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen. Her son, Irv, sheds light on his mother’s experiences and indomitable spirit, as well as his experience as a child of Holocaust survivors and his process in bringing the book to fruition. This is followed by a Q&A session.

Meeting ID: 867 6227 3603

Passcode: OLLI2023

Join us this Sunday for a first viewing of OLLI member Ed Hoiland's private collection of Chinese folk art paintings at the OLLI Gallery opening reception. Hear Ed's tale of adventure from purchase of his first "Color of Life" painting (in Richmond, California) to building a collection of folk-art style art from every province in China while on tour there – with a tour bus waiting!

Sometimes referred to as farmer or peasant work, Chinese folk art expresses the rich flavor of life with a great variety of subjects. "They need no translation," Ed said, referring to their universal themes. "The vibrant colors and scenes portray a simple, yet beautiful life."

Ed has generously offered these prints for sale as an OLLI fundraiser. Be among the first to see the collection at the January 29 event, where you can claim your favorite print, available to take home at the end of the spring term, when the exhibit closes. Special thanks to the Gallery Committee (Debbie Vermette, Jerry and Carla Dunham, Myron Flindt, and Margaret Rader) for their commitment to keeping the late Jim Kirks' vision of showcasing OLLI artists at this designated classroom and gallery space alive.

OLLI Art Gallery, Bradley 2 at The Social Chico

Proof of vaccination is required for all in-person events. Boosters are not required. Click here for instructions.

OLLI is expanding its programming to include more day trips, as well as our first overseas adventure!

Earlier this week, Collette Representative Jay Fehan visited us at The Social Chico and on Zoom to talk about the upcoming fully-guided tour to Ireland in Fall 2023. He provided more details about this OLLI-exclusive adventure, with captivating slides of the areas we'll be visiting. Watch the recording, view the Shades of Ireland full itinerary (pdf), and book now for discounted rates.

Being an OLLI member means you also get to attend lectures from OLLI programs across the country. You can find some of those lectures on our Events page on our website. Others are exclusively advertised through Bits & Bytes, like the ones below.

OLLI at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) invites OLLI members from across the country to attend their weekly Pfaudler Lecture Series.

Jennifer Newman

With a longstanding passion for craft beers and the craft brewing industry, Ms. Newman tried her hand at homebrewing but quickly realized her taste for the craft didn’t translate into tasty beers. So, at Young Lions Brewery Company, she leaves the brewing to the masters but takes the lead from the trenches as head business maven.

Roslyn Bakst Goldman

What can consumers do to protect their works of art? Ms. Goldman will cover the method necessary for executing an art appraisal, the qualifications of an appraiser, the reason for doing the work, the information needed for accuracy, the necessary research, and how it is done.

The lecture series continues weekly through March 23. View the full schedule (pdf) and register for one or more lectures.

Jack Ayer has been leading a Slow-Reading Shakespeare class for OLLI since Fall 2019. Each term of the class focuses on just one play and is open to Shakespeare fans and newcomers to his work. Jack and his fellow readers dive into the play in detail to better understand how Shakespeare’s plays work. With some of Shakespeare’s other most famous plays already covered, this spring Jack is turning to Twelfth Night.

The play begins with “if music be the food of love, play on,” and continues on with disguises, hijinks, and even a few songs. It’s also one of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s selections for their 2023 season, showing June 1-October 13 in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. When you join Jack and his class this spring, you’ll be more than ready to see the play in Ashland, and to see how the OSF production – inspired by early blues and jazz greats like Bessie Smith – works with the original text.

Pictured: Scene from 'Twelfth Night' ('Malvolio and the Countess'), Daniel Maclise (1840).

Help support your OLLI program with a bit of your time. And meet some new friends! Paul Coots is recruiting members for the Annex Office. The Annex is located next to the Bradley 2 classroom at The Social Chico, where the majority of our in-person classes are held.

Volunteers help answer members' questions, typically related to class dates, times, and locations, as well as where to park. If you are already attending classes at The Social Chico, please consider extending your day there by another hour or two. We could really use your support. We have many returning volunteers, but we are looking for more.

Three time slots are open:

Please contact Paul at [email protected] with "OLLI Office" in the subject line if you're interested. Include days/times of your availability. Thank you!

In partnership with Chico Area Recreation & Park District (CARD) and Capay Rancho Women’s Club, OLLI is offering a series of day trips! Visit the Trips and Tours page on our website to see all of the upcoming trips.

You Can’t Stop the Beat! Hairspray, Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon is back on tour! Join 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960’s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world? Trip includes ticket to the matinee performance and transportation. No host lunch in Old Sac before the performance.

Filoli is located on the ancestral lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone, in Woodside. The property is considered one of the finest remaining country estates of the 20th century, featuring a 54,000+ square-foot Georgian revival-style mansion, 16 acres of exquisite English Renaissance gardens, 6.8 acre Gentleman’s Orchard and hundreds of acres of Natural Lands with 5 distinct ecosystems and a 1-mile Estate trail. No host lunch available at the Quail Café on site. Trip includes transportation and admission to Filoli.

OLLI members Anne Osborn and Laura Lukes, who are also Master Gardeners, suggested having Robin Dizard speak to the Gardeners at their recent monthly meeting. "This did not come about because I am an expert on gardening!" Robin explained. The request came because of Dizard's knowledge about slavery, capitalism, and the Black Atlantic.

 

As an OLLI instructor, Robin offers courses on Caribbean and African-American literature, as well as Names: the History of Human Speech, offered this spring. The Master Gardeners' talk, titled "Studying Insects Can Change Your Life," presented the art and accomplishments of Maria Sybilla Merian, a 17th century artist and authority on insects and plants. Merian's crowning achievement was the book based on her voyage of 1705 to Paramaribo, Surinnam, a Dutch colony on the coast of South America. Her book celebrates natural wonders in the "New World." She includes information native and enslaved people told her, a total departure from ordinary practice of her times.

Do you have a passion, interest, or expertise you'd like to share with the OLLI community? OLLI is looking for volunteers to lead a class for the Summer '23 term. You could offer a single presentation in an area of interest or expertise, or facilitate up to 4 weeks of discussion, activities, and lectures.

With a shorter term, this summer is a great time to dip your toe into teaching a class for OLLI. Our learning environment is fun, interactive, and varied, with in-person and online classes ranging from birds to Shakespeare, movies to farm tours – without exams or grades. We are accepting class proposals now through February 20, and we hope you'll join us!

Want to teach online but don’t have a Zoom account or a teaching space? No problem! We can start your Zoom meetings for you, get you a Zoom account at no cost, or provide you with space and a computer in the OLLI office to teach your class.

Submit a Summer '23 Class Proposal now or contact us for more information at [email protected] or 530-898-6679.

Pictured: Carol Burr and Roger Lederer leading a class. Photo by Jason Halley.

In 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson and what is now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) designated the second week of February as “Negro History Week.” Over the next fifty years, the celebration spread to cities and schools across the country and expanded to a full month. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976.

Each year, ASALH chooses a theme for Black History Month. “The intention has never been to dictate or limit the exploration of the Black experience, but to bring to the public’s attention important developments that merit emphasis.” The theme for 2023 is Black Resistance: “African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms, and police killings since our arrival upon these shores.”

Locally you can join the Victory in Unity celebration at Chico State on Sunday, February 5. There is a rally followed by a program with live performances from community members and a talk by guest speaker Hardy Brown, former chair of the Black Voice Foundation and a former president of the San Bernardino County Board of Education.

Rally: 1-2pm, Wildcat Plaza

Program: 2-3:30pm, BMU Auditorium

Four new plays, written by OLLI members, have been selected for the 2023 Online Play Festival. The plays will show in March.

January 30-31

No acting experience is required. For electronic copies of the plays, email Rachel Jablon at [email protected].

Come join the fun!

Pictured: A screening of Space Travel 2030, Spring '22.

Kathryn Alma Hogue passed away peacefully at her home, with her family by her side, on October 17, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. Kathryn grew up in Walla Walla, Washington and attended the prestigious Whitman College there, earning a bachelor's degree in biology in 1965. She later married Whitman alum and fellow OLLI member Peter Hogue, and they relocated to Chico in 1971, after Peter accepted a professorship. Kathryn volunteered for OLLI extensively, helping to enrich programming and bring people together. She also volunteered in the community, reading to children and bringing food and companionship to people in need. In 2019, Kathryn and Peter relocated to Portland to live near their two daughters and five grandchildren.

First Day of Spring Classes

Spring Break (No Classes)

Cesar Chavez Day (OLLI Closed, No Classes)

Community Speaker Series

Last Day of Spring Classes

Memorial Day (OLLI Closed)

If you have something to say, a photo to share, or a question to pose to the editor, you can submit information using our OLLI Newsletter Submission form.