OLLI Observer
April 21, 2019    
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In This Issue
Summer 2019 Sneak Peak! 

The Summer 2019 Sneak Peeks are out! 
You can CLICK HERE to take a look at the College for Seniors Summer offerings.

Click here for access to our course web page and be sure to select "2019 Summer." Full courses descriptions and instructor biographies are available.
Upcoming: Annual OLLI Photoshoot
Thursday, April 25th 
and
Friday, May 10th

We're excited to announce the annual OLLI photoshoot. This is a no-stress event where we hope to capture some of the many wonderful activities that take place here at OLLI. We hope to see all of your smiling faces. 
CFS Fall 2019 Proposal Forms
and
Open Forum on CFS Instructor Development

teacher The course proposal deadline for the FALL term (September 16-November 8) is May 1.
The course proposal form can be found  HERE

 
Join an Open Forum on CFS Instructor Development
Thursday, April 25, 2-3:30 p.m.
Room 206
See more information  HERE .



OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Asheville City Schools
Give your time and make a difference

MANNA Food Bank Team
Providing Thousands of Meals a Day to Feed Hungry People

Habitat for Humanity
Changing lives one house at a time

VOLUNTEER NOW...
Make A Difference!

bts
Behind the Scenes with NC Stage
Friday, April 26, 1:30 p.m.
Reuter Center, Manheimer Room
   Stones in His Pockets  
With just two actors playing over a dozen parts, 
Stones In His Pockets is a comedic yet tragic take on the effects of the Hollywood dream in a small Irish town.

Go behind the scenes of professional theatre with NC Stage Artistic Director and co-founder Charlie Flynn-McIver.  Explore the themes of this season's plays, talk with the actors, directors and designers about design concepts and the rehearsal process, and experience a scene or two performed live.  Join us for an insider's view of h ow theatre happens! 
 Free and open to everyone.   For more information on NC Stage,  click here to visit their website  .

  The Autumn Players
Sunday, April 28, 2:30 p.m. 
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
"The Constant Wife"
By W. Somerset Maugham,
 Directed by Anita Chapman

In this sophisticated comedy of manners about marital maneuvers in 1920s London, an independent-minded woman discovers her husband is having an affair. Instead of playing the role of the wronged wife, she lays bare the hypocrisy of the double standard, presents an unsentimental analysis of marriage, and offers a sensible solution. 

The Autumn Players (affiliated with Asheville Community Theatre) is a troupe of seasoned actors dedicated to taking the theatre experience into the community. Their words jump from the page with conviction and emotion, and these actors make their stories come to life. Tickets are $7 at the door.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Green Opportunities' mission is to train, support and connect people from marginalized communities to sustainable employment pathways.


Green Opportunities also seeks an interim executive director.   Click here for the job announcement for this interim opportunity.


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Buncombe County School Summer 
Lunch Program
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Buncombe County School System prepares and delivers hot lunches to designated high poverty neighborhood sites, for volunteers to distribute free to children ages 2-18 and to the disabled.

For more information  please click here .
Or
Contact:  Judy Mattox, [email protected], 615-584- 4570
 Ann McLellan, [email protected]
828-350-9005 


Living Solo

The Solo Aging Group is now called "Living Solo."  The group is comprised of OLLI members living independently and seeking connections. This is not a dating group but individuals who want to do activities and make connections here in Asheville with OLLI members. Please come join us and meet new people!  
We have started a group in Meetup called OLLI UNC Asheville Living Solo. It is a private group with only OLLI members included. 

How to join! 
  • Join Meetup using your preferred email address; enter a password (your favorite or one unique to Meetup)! 
  • Search Groups using key word: OLLI or look around; we are there!
  • Click the yellow OLLI UNC Asheville Living Solo image! 
  • Click the red Request to Join button
Any questions? Contact Barbara Rapchak at  [email protected] OR Jan Griffen [email protected]


  Faith and Conscience Convocation: 
A Call for Accountability for Torture 
Sunday, April 28, 2-5 p.m. 
The Blue Ridge Room South (Room 203) 
UNC Asheville's Highsmith Student Union

OLLI member and CFS instructor Jeff Jones
Ride the Bus 
With Jeff 
Tuesday, April 30, 
11:15 a.m.
Wednesday, May 1, 11:15 a.m.

Do you want to ride an Asheville city bus (called ART or Asheville Redefines Transit) to see what it is like? You are invited to join Jeff Jones (member of the Asheville Transit Committee)to ride the bus to downtown Asheville and return to OLLI.
 
On either day, we will meet at 2nd floor entrance to the Reuter Center at 11:15 a.m.   We will return to OLLI by 12:45 p.m.


Astronomy Club of Asheville
Thursday, May 2, 7 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

"The James Webb Space Telescope: 
The Future of Space Sight"
Presented by  Naveen Vetcha
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador


Astronomers have been using the  Hubble Space Telescope for almost 29 years to observe and study the universe. Hubble has in many ways completely revolutionized our understanding of the universe.  But as amazing as Hubble has been, due to the vastness of the universe, it can't in fact see everything. To carry us forward we need a better telescope, one which is more sensitive and allows us a deeper view into the universe, and thus farther back in time - this is exactly what NASA's  James Webb Space Telescope  (JWST) is designed to do.

A true engineering marvel, the JWST will probe the universe to discover the first galaxies and stars formed after the Big Bang. Now scheduled for launch in 2021, the telescope will also be used to study the formation of stars and planets, as well as aid in the study of exoplanets.  Come learn about this extraordinary telescope that will take humanity a few more steps closer to understanding the universe!

The Astronomy Club of Asheville meets at the Reuter Center the first Thursday of the month (except January and July) at 7 p.m. with an interesting lineup of speakers and topics. OLLI members may attend club meetings and star gazes, with club members on hand to advise and assist them in the basics of astronomy and the techniques of observing celestial phenomena. For more information about the Astronomy Club of Asheville, visit their website at www.astroasheville.org.


Sierra Club
Thursday, May 2, 
7 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville
1 Edwin Place (Corner of Charlotte & Edwin)


"Restoring the American Chestnut Tree"

Ben Jarret of the American Chestnut Foundation will discuss the foundation's work, and  Eron Earley-Thiele, coordinator of the Mayland Earth to Sky Park will also discuss local work in western North Carolina involving genetic modifications of the chestnut.
Contact: Judy Mattox: 828.683.2176

Free and open to everyone
Blue Ridge Orchestra presents 
"May Masters" 
 
Saturday, May 4, and 
Sunday, May 5, 3 pm
 UNC Asheville's Lipinsky Auditorium 

The Blue Ridge Orchestra season finale concert features Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," led by Mary Thomas (bassoon) as guest conductor; Copland's rarely-performed and technically challenging "Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra," with BRO's own Gary Spaulding performing the clarinet solo; and Brahms' beloved Symphony No. 2, presented by the full, 65-person symphony orchestra. 

  There will be open parking on campus for these performances. 

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for friends of the orchestra, and $5 for students. For tickets and information, see  CLICK HERE or call (828) 782-3354.

An MWW Gathering
Men's Wisdom Works
Special Interest Group 

Each of MWW's 16 groups is comprised of 8-12 men.  Groups meet at various times and places twice a month for 2 hours to discuss issues of personal importance. Groups socialize over breakfast, lunch, happy hour, & other social activities.

Men on the waiting list will either be added to existing groups, or we will form a new group if numbers suffice.

To learn more or to sign up on our wait list contact: Patrick Irwin at  [email protected]

Symphony Talk
Friday, May 10, 3 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room 

The Asheville Symphony Orchestra's seventh Masterworks performance will include Márquez' Danzón No. 2, Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 3 and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, in a performance conducted by Darko Butorac, with a solo performance by violinist Simone Porter. 

Symphony Talks are an entertaining and educational way to hear about the music to be performed at upcoming Asheville Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Masterworks Concerts. The program begins with a presentation by Chip Kaufmann, who talks about the life and times of the featured composers. ASO music director Darko Butorac and guest conductors will appear with the soloist for upcoming concerts to talk about how the orchestra prepares and to offer ways to listen to the performance. For more information about ASO, or to find out how to purchase tickets for performances at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, visit
ashevillesymphony.org
History Book Lovers
Friday, May 17, 1 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 120
David McCullough's
The Wright Brothers

This 2015 best seller  from David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize-the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly-Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Come join the fun to share beloved books, engage in discussion, and connect with OLLI members around their favorite subject - history! History Book Lovers meet the third Friday of each month. SIG contact: Mike Wang, 267-243-3011,  [email protected]

Mountain Folk Tales
Storytelling
Sunday, May 19, 3 p.m.
Folk Art Center
Blue Ridge Parkway, 
Milepost 382

This event, sponsored by the Asheville Storytelling Circle and the Southern Highland Craft Guild, will feature tellers Wallace Shealy, Becky Stone, Sandra Gudger, Sherry Lovett and winners of the Owen Middle School Jack Tales Contest. 

Tickets are $10 at the door. 

Dear OLLI Members,
This is an important week for UNC Asheville, as we install our eighth chancellor, Nancy Cable. The university expects a full house for Bryan Stevenson's lecture on Thursday, April 25, and we know that there will be a large contingent of OLLI members present for this extraordinary event, supported in part by our own founders, Lin and David Brown.  We encourage you to read through the full list of other events connected to the installation; there are lectures and round table discussions that examine the role of the liberal arts, inclusive excellence and equity, interfaith leadership and climate change, all with nationally recognized speakers.  These events truly celebrate UNC Asheville as a place that cultivates the life of the mind, as we install a new chancellor who will lead us through transformational change that will expand the opportunities for students and the broader community.

This is also an important week for OLLI as we celebrate our volunteers, who support our organization and every day cultivate the life of the mind and the transformational vision of life's second half that has been celebrated since we began in 1988. Please take some time to read the inspirational letter from David Langdon, our communications committee chair, and Bobbie Rockwell, our steering council chair, themselves model leaders and volunteers.  This week we hope  you will all express thanks to your instructors and class reps and the many volunteers who make our organizaiton possible. We hope for a good turnout for our Member Social on Thursday, with ice cream from The Hop.  You can enjoy ice cream and fellowship and stay for Bryan Stevenson's lecture in Kimmel Arena. We would like more people to think through not only what OLLI provides to enrich community and individual lives but how they can contribute to our success.

This is also a week to look forward to our summer term. Full course descriptions on posted on our course web page, so that you can begin to look forward to the ways you will keep learning as we welcome a new season to our mountains

Thanks to all of you for contributing to the success of our vibrant community of teachers and learners,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director


 Check the links here to see OLLI and UNC Asheville current events:
 
calendar
Dear Fellow OLLI Members:
 
Each year in April we pause to celebrate the work of our many volunteers at OLLI.  This year our celebration will be the week of April 22, concluding with our Spring Ice Cream Social and the official installation of UNC Asheville's eighth chancellor, Nancy Cable.  As you attend classes and special activities this week, take a moment to thank a volunteer.  These folks teach our classes, serve as class reps, staff eleven committees, coordinate and contribute to 28 Special Interest Groups, and work with the staff in a variety of other ways.  OLLI could not offer nearly so many special opportunities without the efforts of these generous members.
 
Please note the signage and Volunteer Spotlight flyers around the Reuter Center this week. On Tuesday morning in front of Room 102, members are invited to note on easel boards where the y volunteer at OLLI and in the Asheville community. The volunteer celebration concludes at the Spring Ice Cream Social Thursday, April 25th from 4:30 until 6.  
 
Bobbie Rockwell, Steering Council Chair
David Langdon, Communications Committee Chair
Spring Member Social
Thursday, April 25, 4:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Lower Atrium

Join your OLLI friends for a chance to socialize, enjoy ice cream from The Hop (including vegan options) and other light snacks and cheering beverages.  This is an opportunity to celebrate spring and our OLLI community.  Come for this event and stay for Bryan Stevenson's lecture!

Free and open to OLLI members. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Need tech help? 
Check out  The Geek Bar
Wednesdays, 8 - 9 a.m
Reuter Center, The Atrium

Are you having technical problems or questions regarding your smart phone, tablet or laptop? 
OLLI is happy to announce The Geek Bar, offered on Wednesday mornings from 8-9 a.m. in the Reuter Center Atrium. This is a great excuse to get good parking, a cup of coffee or tea and advice -- all before your first class!
Bring your device and question, and one of the Geek Bar Experts will try to address your issue. 

All platforms welcome (Android, Apple, Windows, etc.).  The Geek Bar is on a first-come, first-served basis.  We offer no guarantees, but our Geeks will do our best to be of help.  Note : This is not software instruction and is generally meant for specific, quick-answer issues.

If you have questions, or if you are a Geek who would like to work at the Geek Bar, feel free to contact Julia Loughran at:  [email protected]

Becca Demers
Meditation 
Special Interest Group
Somatic Breathwork Therapy 
with Becca Demers
Monday, April 22, 4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Reuter Center, Room 102B

Becca Demers (www.thejoyfulbreath.com) offers a method of breathing called Somatic Breathwork Therapy.  We all breathe every day, but learning to pay attention and breathe on purpose unlocks access to all levels of your health and gets your mind on the same team as your body.  In this hour and a half intro, you'll not only learn the importance and benefits of better breathing, you'll also get to practice several techniques and see for yourself how amazing proper oxygenation feels!  

The Meditation SIG meets from 4:15 - 5:45 on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month.  All OLLI members are welcome at our meditation programs.
SIG Contact:  Sally Ekaireb
Celebrate UNC Asheville
and 
Installation of Chancellor Nancy J. Cable 
Tuesday, April 23 - 
Friday, April 26
UNC Asheville Campus

Chancellor Cable will be formally installed as UNC Asheville's Eighth Chancellor in a special ceremony on the Quad on Friday, April 26, 3 p.m., joined by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, local legislators, UNC System leaders, higher education colleagues, friends, family and the campus community. Author, educator and interfaith leader Eboo Patel will give the invocation, with John DeGioia, 48th President of Georgetown University, giving the installation address. The ceremony is free and open to the public. A reception on the Phillips Lawn will follow the ceremony at 4:30 p.m.


UNC Asheville's Eighth Chancellor, Dr. Nancy J. Cable, is a nationally recognized leader in higher education, educational access, financial aid and affordability and liberal arts and sciences curricula. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marietta College, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Vermont, and a doctorate from the University of Virginia. She joined UNC Asheville in August 2018, after serving as president of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. She brings to the university a depth and breadth of experiences in leadership roles at liberal arts institutions, in generating external resources for the enhancement of the university and in facilitating the implementation of an ambitious strategic plan.

UNC Asheville Undergraduate Research Presentations
Tuesday, April 23, beginning at 8 a.m.

UNC Asheville Undergraduate Research (UR) is self-directed or -designed academic work by an individual student or team of students that addresses a research question with the expectation of a scholarly or creative product intended for publication or presentation on or off campus. Students undertake this work with a faculty mentor for at least one academic term or intensive summer, through which students learn and assume their roles as researchers and creators.






Special thanks to OLLI members who will serve as moderators for this term's presentations: David Castel (psychology), Barbara Jaslow (English),  Howard Jaslow (atmospheric science), Judy Leavitt (political science), Chuck Rosenblum (management), Ron Scheinman (political science),  Bill Utz (sociology) and  Paula Withrow (history).
Bryan Stevenson Lecture
Thursday, April 25, 7 p.m.
Doors open at 6 p.m.
Kimmel Arena, 
UNC Asheville Campus

Bryan Stevenson, the attorney, activist and best-selling author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption who led the team that created the first national memorial to victims of lynching, will speak at UNC Asheville's Kimmel Arena at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. Doors will open at 6 p.m. The talk is free and open to everyone, with support from The David and Lin Brown Visionary Lecture Series and The Van Winkle Law Firm Public Policy Lectures.

(ASL interpreters will be present in addition to an auditory loop system in the auditorium.)

Fab Friday
"Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body:
Tips from the Latest Research
With Speaker Denise Young
Friday, April 26, 11:30 a.m
Reuter Center, Manheimer Room

Denise Young
For centuries, we've known that the health of the brain and the body are connected. But now, science is able to provide insights into how to make lifestyle choices that may help you keep your brain and body healthy as you age. Join us to learn about research in the areas of diet and nutrition, exercise, cognitive activity and social engagement, and use hands-on tools to help you incorporate these recommendations into a plan for healthy aging. Denise Young is the program manager for the Western Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and manages programs and services throughout the 16 counties in the Western NC mountains, including recruiting and managing a workforce of volunteers to bring education and awareness throughout the region.

Fab Fridays happen every Friday during our Fall, Winter and Spring terms in the Reuter Center's Manheimer Room.  Members and guests are invited to socialize and then enjoy presentations on a wide range of topics.  Purchase lunch in our Reuter Café or bring your own brown bag.  These programs are free and open to everyone.
The Forum
TOPIC: White Supremacy / 
White Nationalism
Friday, April 26, 1 - 3 p.m.
Reuter Center, Room 205

The Forum encourages a free-flowing dialogue designed to enrich and expand participants' thinking on topics ranging from changing demographics of retirees to  nuclear disarmament.  

SIG contact: Beth Johnson,  [email protected] 
Thriving in Community Special Interest Group



For more information, go to: www.nchearingloss.org
For more information, please call David Nelson 828-505-1874
Or 

Verdi Comes to Terezín
Thursday, May 2, 2 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
 
Composer Murry Sidlin
Murry Sidlin, President and Creative Director of The Defiant Requiem Foundation, and creator and conductor of the multimedia concert drama 
Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, will speak about this work to be performed June 1, 2019, at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

When he first learned the story of Rafael Schächter and the 150-person Jewish choir that performed Verdi's Requiem 16 times while imprisoned in the ghetto/concentration camp Terezín, why he was compelled to uncover how and why these Jewish prisoners, who faced death every day, chose to learn and perform a Latin, Catholic mass during their darkest hours. Ultimately it became his personal and professional mission to show the world how Schächter and his fellow Jewish prisoners demonstrated that it is possible to respond to the worst of mankind with the best of mankind.

 


A question and answer session with Maestro Sidlin will follow the talk. The event at the Reuter Center on May 2 is free and open to everyone.

Smart Driver Class
Friday, May 3, 1-5 p.m.
Reuter Center 120

The four-hour AARP Smart Driver Class offers numerous tips  for coping with inevitable changes in perception and reaction  time, as well as increased hazards on the roads with faster cars  and busier traffic. Participants can expect to review the rules of  the road, learn tips to respond to aggressive drivers and gather  general safety tips such as how to make left turns into heavy  traffic. The course, offered nationwide, is designed to help  participants avoid crashes and remain safely behind the wheel.

The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for all others. Contact
instructor Celeste Selwyn at [email protected] to register.

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Financial Strategies in Retirement
Special Interest Group
"Investment Strategies in a Global Economy."
Monday, May 3, 1:30 p.m.
Reuter Center, Room 205

Joe Kiely, who holds a doctorate in finance, is a former finance professor at East Carolina University, Texas A&M, Cal State, USF and UNC-Asheville. Over the last 25 years, he has conducted workshops for businesses, non-profit organizations, professional associations and educational programs.  Dr. Kiely has been featured in Investment Advisor magazine; has been nominated by Worth magazine as one of the top 100 advisors; and he has published in numerous academic journals. In addition, he has received the "Outstanding Conference Speaker" award, by the North Carolina Association of CPA's. 

Come and hear his common sense approach towards investing in this new global economy.

The meeting is open to all OLLI members.  Email/call Kate Beatty for further information at  [email protected] or 828-231-7710.

The Reuter Center Singers Present:
Dear Appalachia: Our Mountain Music Heritage
Saturday, May 4, 7 p.m. 
 Sunday, May 5, 3 p.m.
Reuter Center, Manheimer Room

Dear Appalachia: Our Mountain Music Heritage  explores in song the rich traditions of Appalachia with deep roots in Western North Carolina.  Multiple ethnic groups brought forth the folk songs and ballads, with African-American spirituals and country gospel the most prevalent.  The singing of this music was used to keep family cultural heritages alive and to rise above dreary, monotonous circumstances through fantasies of escape and revenge.
 
Selections to be performed include "Sourwood Mountain," "Poor Wayfaring Stranger," "Shenandoah," "Soldier's Joy," "The Unclouded Day/Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "Travelin' Thru," "Old Dan Tucker," "Go 'Way from My Window," "Sun is Gonna Shine," and more.  These sounds of Appalachia in story and legend will be heard in the many musical genres derived from various European and African influences.  These include English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music, hymns, and African-American blues.
 
Chuck Taft, who has directed the choir for its full 20-year history, will conduct and Nora Vetro will accompany on the piano.

This event is free and open to everyone.  Donations are happily accepted at the door.

With 20 years as a singing organization, the Reuter Center Singers have fostered connections among members and the community at large  from the beginning, and is the community chorus based at OLLI.  They rehearse on Monday evenings from 6:15-8:15 p.m. at the Reuter Center and welcome new members.
World Affairs Council (WAC)
Tuesday, May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Roo m

Andrew S. Terrell
Andrew S. Terrell: 
"Wing and a Prayer - 
Brexit as of May (The Date, Not the Prime Minister): 
An Update." 

Americans have watched with curiosity and fascination the UK's referendum and the subsequent Parliamentary moves that have characterized Brexit. Come to the World Affairs Council May meeting to hear the latest and official word on Brexit. 

Andrew S. Terrell is the British Consul for Business and Government Affairs and Head of the UK Government Office (UKGO) in Raleigh. This office maintains and develops business, cultural, political and scientific relationships with the State of North Carolina and other communities throughout the southeast. Andrew is originally from Western North Carolina and has lived and studied throughout Asia and Europe.  He is a graduate of Warwick University and Richmond International University in the United Kingdom.

These lectures are free to WAC members and undergraduate students, and $10 at the door for all other participants.  OLLI members receive a discount on WAC membership. 



Special Thanks!
OLLI would like to thank its Creative Retirement Exploration Weekend (CREW) Major Sponsor,  Beverly-Hanks and Associates for their longtime support of our programming.
www.beverly-hanks.com

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | 828-251-6140 | [email protected] | http://www.olliasheville.com
Reuter Center, CPO #5000
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804