OLLI Observer
November 25,  
 2018    
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In This Issue
Spoken Word Open Mic Poetry Night
Monday, November 26, 7 p.m.
Habitat Tavern and Commons
174 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC 28801


Welcome All OLLI Poets and Writers 
to Spoken Word Open Mic Poetry Night 
 
Sign up begins at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show.  Parking is free in the Moog Music parking lots behind the building.  This event is free. We will pass the hat to help cover the rent.  
This month our hosts will be Laura Hope Gill, director of the writing program at Lenoir-Rhyne University and producer of Asheville Wordfest along with poet Rachel Campbell.  
For more information visit 

Hunger Doesn't Take Time Off for the Holidays
When you are at OLLI, please remember to drop some change in the contribution jar for the Asheville Terrace Apartments food pantry. Money collected in the jar (located near the exit of the Reuter Café, by the recycling bins), helps provide nutritious food to the over 200 low-income senior citizens living at Asheville Terrace Apartments. A poster next to the jar explains the partnership between volunteers from OLLI, Asheville Terrace Apartments and the MANNA Foodbank that supports this effort. 
Thanks for your help!

OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Energy Savers Network
Help Homeowners Reduce Energy Losses
                                       
MANNA Foodbank Team
Providing Tens of Thousands of Meals a Day to the Hungry

Veteran Restoration Quarters (VRQ) Cooking Team
Restoring the Lives of Homeless Vets  

 
VOLUNTEER NOW ...
Make A Difference!

Bulldog Athletics
Today
UNCA Bulldog

Sunday, November 25, 2 p.m., Kimmel Arena
Women's Basketball vs. Wofford
          
  Sunday, November 25, 4 p.m., Kimmel Arena

   Men's Basketball vs. Furman

   
  Leadership Asheville Forum
"Big Changes are Coming to the WNC Nature Center"
with WNC Nature Center Director Chris Gentile
Wednesday, November 28, 11:45-1:15 p.m.
The Country Club of Asheville, 170 Windsor Road, Asheville, NC  

WNC Nature Center Director Chris Gentile
Leadership Asheville Forum's November 28th luncheon, held at The Country Club of Asheville, will feature the WNC Nature Center's director, Chris Gentile. He will bring two of his animal ambassadors with him to share all the great things happening at the center and how they are working to expand their work protecting WNC wildlife. 

COST is $25 for LAF members, $30 for all others, payable at the door.  
Check or cash only.

Please RSVP to Nancy Williams at 
828.250.2353 or events@leadershipashevilleforum.com (email preferred), and specify which event you will be attending.
For more information, visit  www.leadershipashevilleforum.com

Men's Wisdom Works, 
An OLLI SIG for Men

Men's Wisdom Works Gathering
Each of MWW's 15 groups is comprised of 8-12 men.  Groups meet at various times & places twice a month for two hours to discuss issues of personal importance.
Groups socialize over breakfast, lunch, happy hour and 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  jobshoppat@aol.com
World Affairs Council
Report from 90 Miles South:
Continuity and Change in a Post-Castro Cuba
Stan Dotson and Kim Christman
Tuesday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
Stan Dotson and Kim Christman

 Pastors, musicians, faith-based social justice advocates and WNC natives Dotson and Christman have a two-decade history with Cuba. They are now in the middle of a two-year stay on the island.  Presently based in Matanzas serving as leaders and chaplains of two churches, they are additionally engaged with secular local community groups focused on housing, leadership training, and the arts.
 
The World Affairs Council (WAC) presents lectures and discussions to advance international awareness and foster Western North Carolina's global ties.  Meetings offer a lively line up of topics and compelling presenters.  OLLI members receive a discount on WAC annual membership fee.  These lectures are free to WAC members and students and $10 at the door for all other participants.  For more details about programs  click here to consult the WAC website. 
Astronomy Club of Asheville
Club Holiday Social and Auction
Thursday, December 6, 6:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

The Astronomy Club of Asheville will celebrate its 7th Annual Club  Holiday  Social and  Auction  event. There will be refreshments, door prizes, and a large selection of exciting items to bid on during silent and live  auctions . The club will welcome the return of their hilarious auctioneer whose previous stellar performances have often been a comedy highlight for many club members!
Auction items will be on display beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the live auction starting by 7:30. The evening is open to all, so bring family and friends, bid on an item or two, just try to suppress your laughter, and show your support for the Astronomy Club of Asheville!

The Astronomy Club of Asheville meets at the Reuter Center the first Thursday of each 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 on the Astronomy Club of Asheville and for complete information about upcoming programs, visit astroasheville.org .

Death Café
Friday, December 7, 5-6:30 p.m.
 Reuter Center Lower Atrium

"Death Café" is an engaging gathering that includes storytelling and conversation about a topic that too often alienates people in our death phobic culture. At Death Café, participants break into small groups of five or six people and discuss personal stories related to the death of loved ones, loss of jobs, relationships or marriages or loss or death of parts of ourselves. These programs are facilitated by Karen Sanders, Greg Lathrop and Sa'id Osio from Third Messenger.  Find out more at   deathcafe.com  .

Dear OLLI Members,

We hope that you have had a restful holiday with family and friends and have been able to find some quiet time to reflect on the many things we have to be thankful for.  

This is a relatively quiet time for public events here at the Reuter Center, although the staff, under the leadership of OLLI business manager Ann Cadle, will be busy getting Winter 2019 CFS schedules in shape to send out on Friday, November 30 late in the afternoon. 

On November 30, in addition to all of our wonderful SIGs, you can also enjoy going "Behind the Scenes" with NC Stage, to learn more about their production of "Live from WVL Radio Theatre: It's a Wonderful Life." Many thanks to Charlie Flynn-McIver for bringing these wonderful programs to OLLI and to all of our community partners (like the World Affairs Council and The Astronomy Club of Asheville that have upcoming programs) for providing programs that expand our awareness and entertain us.


Thank you 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:
 
calendar

OLLI Winter 2019 Registration 
CLOSED

Registration for Winter 2019 has closed, but you can still purchase your OLLI Membership! 

  Friday, November 30, 4:30 p.m.
 Class lists will be sent out
Monday, December 3, 10 a.m.
 Add/Drop for class begins

Print catalogs are available on the upper level of the Reuter Center

  Click here to go to the OLLI website Courses page to find more detailed course information and biographies of instructors 
for Winter 2019 courses. 
Be sure to select "2019 Winter" in the "Term" box on the left hand side of the page


Do you want to be a Class Rep in 2019?
Fill out the Class Rep Volunteer Survey
and we will contact you when 
winter term schedules are sent.  
College for Seniors Skills Training Workshops
Monday, December 3 and Thursday, December 6
Reuter Center


College for Seniors holds skills training workshops between the CFS terms. On December 3 and 6, instructors can take a workshop on using PowerPoint in your courses and then create or enhance your Powerpoint presentation and have it critiqued by experience CFS instructors three days later.

See a description of the workshops Click here

Meditation SIG
Monday, November 26, 5-6 p.m.
Skinny Beats Drum Studio, 4 Eagle Street, Downtown Asheville

Billy Zanski will be offering the Meditation SIG: A Sound Meditation, at Skinny Beats Drum Studio, 4 Eagle Street, downtown Asheville. While there is no fee for this program, donations are welcome.  Note that this will be an "off site" Meditation SIG event and people should arrive early as the entry door will close promptly at 5 p.m.
All OLLI Members are welcome at this event.

Billy Zanski
Billy Zanski, an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher, healer, and musician has dedicated his life to sharing the joy and passion for journey through sound. Billy has owned and operated Skinny Beats in downtown Asheville since 2004. Sound healing and taking percussion into the realm of healing has become the cornerstone of his shop. Spending extensive time in West Africa, Brazil, and Chile, Billy has developed a fusion of rhythm and deep frequencies, which he has been facilitating for the past 10 years. One of Billy's main gifts is to allow space for others to connect and feel the peace and presence of sound and music. Crystal bowls, gongs, didgeridoo, kora (west african harp) and many forms of percussion, comprise some of Billy's main instrumentation.
The Forum Special Interest Group
Friday, November 30, 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, johnson1ea@earthlink.net
NC Stage Behind the Scenes 
Friday, November 30, 1:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

This fresh adaptation of the film is set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, which is struggling to stay on the air one snowy winter's night. The professional voice actors are unable to get to the studio, but the show must go on-and so a small but intrepid band of employees manages to create the story's dozens of characters and scenes using just their voices and some everyday household items for sound effects. 

Join artistic director and co-founder Charlie Flynn-McIver as he takes you behind the scenes of the professional productions of NC Stage.  We'll look into the themes of the plays, the rehearsal process and the design process, talk to actors, directors and designers and experience a scene or two from the upcoming show performed live.  Join us for an insider's view of how theatre happens.

NC Stage Behind the Scenes is free and open to everyone.

Sierra Club Awards and 
Potluck Holiday Party 
Thursday, December 6, 6:30 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville
1 Edwin Place (Corner of Charlotte Street and Edwin Place)

The Sierra Club will celebrate the holidays by 
proudly presenting our yearly awards to environmental heroes.
Please bring a potluck dish with a card listing the ingredients,
 and your own place settings.

Contact:  judymattox@sbcglobal.net   828-683-2176
Free & open to the public.

Reuter Center Singers Holiday Concert
Monday, December 10, 7 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

The Reuter Center Singers will bring warmth to our hearts this Holiday season with a performance of classical and popular holiday songs. During this popular annual holiday concert you will enjoy, and perhaps even sing along with, traditional seasonal carols.  Light refreshments and Holiday cheer will follow.

 The Reuter Center Singers are directed by Chuck Taft and accompanied by Nora Vetro. 
Seating is limited, and admission is free.
Donations are welcome.
 
 
Special Thanks!   
OLLI would like to thank Creative Retirement Exploration Weekend (CREW) Major Sponsor, Biltmore Farms Hotels for their generous support!

CREW helps those considering relocation in retirement examine all their options carefully and make an informed decision about this major life transition. For more about 2019 CREW Program, click here.
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