OLLI Observer
November 26, 2017  
 
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In This Issue
OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Manna Food Bank Team
Providing tens of thousands of meals a day to hungry people
Homeward Bound 
Welcome Home Center
The key to ending homelessness

Habitat for Humanity's ReStore
Changing lives one house at a time
 
 
VOLUNTEER NOW ... It's the time of year to  make a difference!
Special Interest Group Meeting
Whole Foods Plant-Based Living  
Friday, December 1, 3:15 p.m.

OLLI members are invited to learn about following a more plant based diet along the lines of Drs. Dean Ornish, Caldwell Esselstyn, Joel Fuhrman, Neal Barnard, John McDougall, Michael Greger, etc. and T. Colin Campbell, PhD. 
For more intformation contact 
Bonnie Wheeler, 330.321.1360,  bonniewhee@gmail.com
A Great American Tapestry: The Many Strands of Mountain Music
Saturday, December 2, 2-3:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

The Center for Cultural Preservation and the Western North Carolina Historical Association are pleased to announce the screening of David Weintraub's new film on the history of Appalachian Music titled,
  A Great American Tapestry, The Many Strands of Mountain Music.  The documentary tells the story of the southern mountains' musical birth and evolution through the strands of the Scots-Irish legacy, oft-overlooked African-American tradition and through the longest lived music in the Americas, the indigenous tradition.  The film just won Best Documentary at the Tryon International Film Festival.

The film features the leading luminaries of the ballad tradition including Sheila Kay Adams, Joe Penland and Bobby McMillion as well as Grammy Award winning founders of the world renowned black string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, David Holt and musicologists and historians who tell the story of Appalachian music.

All tickets are $10.  While tickets may be purchased at the event,  it is recommended that tickets be ordered on the Center for Cultural Preservation's website at saveculture.org .  For more information about the program call the Center at 828.692.8062 

Astronomy Club of Asheville
6th Annual Club Holiday Social
Thursday, December 7, 7-9 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room 

This event will include refreshments, door prizes and a silent auction featuring a large selection of both astronomy- and non-astronomy items.
Items will be on display beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the auction closing at 8:00. The evening is open to all, so bring family and friends, bid on an item or two and show your support for the club!

Reuter Center Singers
Holiday Concert
Monday, December 11, 7 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room 

The Reuter Center Singers, OLLI's in-house choral group directed by Chuck Taft, study and perform classical, popular and show tunes.  In their Holiday Concert they will present traditional choral music and offer the opportunity to sing along with carols of the season.  Light refreshments will be served.  The concert is free and open to everyone.  Donations are appreciated.
Basketball and Barbecue!!      
Wednesday, January 24, 6 p.m.
Sherrill Center, Kimmel Arena

  For the first time ever, fans of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's b UNCA Bulldogasketball team and friends of the Asheville Symphony will have an opportunity to support both organizations at a
Musical Feast on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 in Kimmel Arena.  A barbecue dinner with all the trimmings, including beer, will be served at   6 p.m.   Janet R. Cone, Director of
Janet Cone
Athletics at UNC Asheville will speak on her unique career as one of only four women to serve as athletics director at the university level in the country. Then, the UNC Asheville Bulldogs will play Gardner- Webb in the Kimmel Arena at  7 p.m.  Participants will have a special section to enjoy the game.  Tickets for the game are included in the price of the event.  The UNC Asheville Bulldogs have been named the most likely to win the Big South Conference this year, and the game should be very exciting to watch.

Proceeds from the feast will go to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.  Feast tickets are limited.  You will find more information at the Symphony Guild website,   ashevillesyphonyguild.org.  When you enter the site, click on Musical Feasts on the top bar, then scroll down the list of feasts to January 2018, Musical Feast: Basketball and Barbecue for more information and tickets.
This feast will be hosted by Sam and Robin Harben, members of OLLI and the Symphony Guild.  They are hoping for a good turnout of interested OLLI members to support both of these organizations and UNC Asheville. 

Special Thanks 
OLLI would like to thank Creative Retirement Exploration Weekend 
Sponsor, Deerfield for their longstanding support!  

1617 Hendersonville Rd
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 274-1531
 

CREW helps those considering relocation in retirement examine all their options carefully and make an informed decision about this major life transition.
Dear OLLI Members,
We hope you had time to enjoy family and friends over this Thanksgiving weekend.  Here at OLLI we are grateful for the many ways that our community of teachers and learners enriches our lives and connects us to one another and to important issues and activities. 

We will be sending out schedules for Winter 2018 classes on Friday, December 1, late afternoon and our Add/Drop open registration will begin Monday, December 4, 10 a.m. We will send out complete instructions for online add/drop registration on Friday.

We have wonderful programming to take you into the holiday season and to tide you over until Winter 2018 College for Seniors courses begin.  You can enjoy the Meditation SIG, Financial Strategies in Retirement, Whole Foods/Plant Based Living SIG and a presentation from NC Stage. Be sure to support UNC Asheville students by taking some time to peruse the Pottery and Art Show and Sale or by enjoying a Bulldogs Athletics game. Look forward to performances by the Reuter Center Singers and the Blue Ridge Orchestra to put you in the holiday mood.  And you might want to begin reading so that you will be ready for the Thomas Wolfe Book Club that begins in January. And don't forget that there are opportunities to volunteer in the community presented by the Civic Engagement Committee that urges you to remember that it's particularly gratifying to volunteer at this time of year.

Don't forget that OLLI is continuing its Annual Fund end-of-year campaign and will also participate in UNC Asheville's "Giving Tuesday" campaign (which may be designated for the benefit of OLLI). Click here to make a gift online.Every gift makes a difference! OLLI can do a great deal because so many people give their time and talent.  If you would like to honor an instructor or a great volunteer, this is a great way to make it possible for us to continue to improve experiences for our members and to make it possible for more people to attend through scholarships.

With respect for all that you do to model creative retirement,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director


 Check the links here to see OLLI and UNC Asheville current events:
 
 
Meditation Special Interest Group
Monday, November 27, 4:15 p.m., Reuter Center Room 120

Peggy Moore will lead the Meditation SIG for its final November meeting.  Ms. Moore has been a student of meditation for over 30 years and is associated with the  Institute for the Study of Universal Life Energy in Ottawa, Ontario.She teaches meditation classes at OLLI with techniques which incorporate chakra awareness, breathing techniques, and energy work.  The group will discuss how to balance our energy to calm our emotions, and we'll meditate using the flow of Universal Life Energy. 

The Monday, Dec. 11th program will be 
Live Music Nada Yoga Meditation with Linda Go, RYT  

 
Behind the Scenes with NC Stage
12 Dates of Christmas and All is Calm
Friday, December 1, 1 p.m., Reuter Center Manheimer Room


In Ginna Hoben's one-woman show 
12 Dates of Christmas Mary's romantic life falls apart right before the holidays and she spends the next year getting back into the dating world and finding ways to overcome her cynicism about life and love. The play offers a hilarious and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season.

Peter Rothstein's All is Calm relives a poignant moment in history when Allied and German soldiers laid down their arms to celebrate the holiday together during WWI.
This dramatic presentation presents traditional patriotic and holiday songs from both sides of the Western Front and is interspersed with readings from letters, journals and interviews of the soldiers who lived it.

Go behind the scenes of professional theatre with NC Stage Artistic Director and co-founder Charlie Flynn-McIver. Explore the themes of these plays, talk with the actors, directors and designers about design concepts and the rehearsal process, and experience a scene or two performed live. "Behind the Scenes" presentations are free and open to everyone. 
Click here for more information about purchasing tickets for performances at NC Stage's downtown theatre.

 
Financial Strategies in Retirement Special Interest Group 
Friday, December 1, 1:30 p.m.
"Talking Taxes"
  Guest speaker:  Dwayne Dills

Dwayne has been licensed as a CPA in Asheville since January 1996.  He also holds securities and insurance licensure.  A member in good standing of the American Institute of CPAs and the North Carolina Association of CPAs, Dwayne's focus in practice is small business taxation and consulting, personal taxation, personal financial planning and wealth management services.  Dwayne also serves on the Health Care Industry Committee of the North Carolina Association of CPAs.
 
All OLLI members are invited to bring questions about state and federal tax issues.
 
UNC Asheville Student Pottery and Art Show and Sale
Friday, December 1, 4-7 p.m.
Saturday, December 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Tucker S. Cooke Gallery, Owen Hall

A wide variety of functional and decorative pottery, drawings, prints, paintings, photography, glass, and sculpture crafted by UNC Asheville students will be on sale with pieces beginning at $5. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Department of Art and Art History.
  
UNCA Bulldog


UNC Asheville Athletics Events 


Sunday, November 26, 2 p.m., Kimmel Arena
Double Header
Women's Basketball
UNC Asheville vs. Middle Tennessee State University
Men's Basketball (approximately 4;30 p.m. start time)
UNC Asheville vs. Wofford

Wednesday, November 29, 7 p.m., Kimmel Arena
Men's Basketball:  UNC Asheville vs. USC Upstate

Sunday, December 10, 1 p.m., Kimmel Arena
Double Header
Women's Basketball: UNC Asheville vs. Mercer                   Men's Basketball (approximately 3:30 p.m. start time) 
 UNC Asheville vs. Milligan
World Affairs Council
Tuesday, December 5, 7:30 p.m.

Ali Demirdas on "The State of the Middle East in the Post-ISIS Era"

 

Demirdas teaches international studies as an adjunct member of the faculty at the College of Charleston. He earned a Ph.D. in political science at the University of South Carolina, and a master's degree at Süleyman Demirel University in his native Turkey. 
The World Affairs Council lectures at UNC Asheville will return in 2018 with the Great Decisions Series, with six talks slated for Tuesday nights in February and March.
Admission to World Affairs Council presentations at U NC Asheville is $10 for the public; free to members of the World Affairs Council and UNC Asheville students. OLLI members receive a discount on World Affairs Council Annual Membership; Click here to visit the World Affairs Council website.
Sierra Club Event
Wednesday, December 6, 6:30 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville,  
1 Edwin Place, corner  of Charlotte  and Edwin
 
Holiday Party & 
Community Environmental Awards
 
  Sierra Club presents "Community Environmental Awards" with our holiday potluck dinner.  Please bring a dish to share and your own place settings.
Contact: Judy Mattox,   judymattox@sbcglobal.net  828.683.2716  
   Free and open to everyone.
Blue Ridge Orchestra Revels 2017 
Saturday, December 9, 3 p.m.
Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville Campus
Sunday, December 10, 3 p.m.
Folk Art Center, Blue Ridge Parkway 
Milepost 382

The Blue Ridge Orchestra is excited to present a holiday mix of classical and contemporary treats. Featuring the dances from Tchaikovsky's 
Nutcracker
Carol of the Bells
 with local Carolina Day student Zaria Joyner on electric guitar, a sing-along of beloved carols, pops favorites, and more.

Tickets $15 General Admission, $10 Friend, $5 Student, FREE for kids 6 & under. 
or call  828.782.3354

Thomas Wolfe Book Club
Beginning January, 2018

Beginning in January of 2018 and continuing through April, a monthly Thomas Wolfe Book Club will meet in downtown Asheville at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site.  Each month a different local educator will lead the club in discussion of a pre-selected short story written by Thomas Wolfe. 

 
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | 828-251-6140 | olli@unca.edu | http://www.olliasheville.com
Reuter Center, CPO #5000
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804