OLLI Observer
August 4, 2019    
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In This Issue



OLLI Fall Schedule
Sneak Peek and 
Course Descriptions 
Now Available





Important Dates for College for Seniors
Fall 2019
  • Fall catalog availableonline and in print: August 6, 2019
  • Fall registration: August 15 -22, 2019
  • Fall term dates: September 16 - November 8, 2019
Winter 2020
  • Winter catalog available: November 1, 2019
  • Winter registration: November 6 -13, 2019
  • Winter term dates: January 13 - February 24, 2020
Parking Update
Details Still Pending


The system is not yet set up for registration, payment, and pickup.  We will send an email with complete details when the system is ready. Please don't attempt to sign up for a decal until the system is set up.  Campus police will not be ticketing in the areas adjacent to the Reuter Center until we are distributing decals.
LAS Government Day with
Mayor Esther Manheimer in City Council Chambers

Leadership Asheville Seniors (LAS)
Registration Now Open

Every fall, OLLI o ffers this learning and civic engagement program, planned and led by its graduates and community members. LAS provides participants with a multi-faceted view of Asheville and Buncombe Count y. Through discussions with community leaders in distinctive venues, newcomers and longtime residents alike can gain new perspectives and consider ways to contribute their diverse experiences and talents for the good of the communit y. Each day of the nine-week program o ffers an inside r 's view of topics concerning our communit y, including histor y,environment, government, food insecurit y,the arts,the econom y,education, health and povert y.
 
When: W eekly sessions, Tuesdays, September 10 - November 12, 2019 (Orientation Monday, September 9)
Cost: $400 (scholarships available up to 75%)

 
Questions? Call 828.250.3871.

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Stitch in Time
Special Interest Group (SIG)
Monday, August 5, 2 - 4 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206
*please note the room change - due to ceiling repairs. Please park on upper level for ease of access.

The  Stitch in  Time Special Interest Group is a fellowship group for stitchers of all types (knitting, crochet, quilting, needlepoint, embroidery, cross stitch, sewing, etc) to help encourage, inspire, and support each other.  All skill levels are welcome!

The group meets the first Monday of the month, 2-4 p.m.

SIG Contact: Gay Lambirth
281.433.1060
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  The Forum
Special Interest Group (SIG)
Friday, August 9, 1 - 3 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 205

TOPICS:
  • August 9: Freedom of the press and the recent court ruling - Assange & Snowden
  • August 16:    Is Western liberal democracy absolute?
  • August 23: Current Events, Meeting at Earth-fare (Reuter Center closed)
  • August 30: Top ten reasons for impeachment - Is any President above the law?
The weekly Forum encourages a free-flowing dialogue designed to enrich and expand participants' thinking on a wide variety of topics; the group frequently focuses on current events. All OLLI members are welcome to attend.

SIG Contact: Beth Johnson [email protected]
Men's Wisdom Works 
Special Interest Group (SIG)

Men's Wisdom Works Special Interest Group consists of small groups, typically around 8-12 men, that meet twice a month to discuss common issues and challenges faced by men living in retirement. Groups socialize over breakfast, lunch, happy hour, and other social activities.

Our bottom-line is to enhance the health, well-being, and lifestyle of retired men through friendships and learning from each other to discuss issues of personal importance.  Confidentiality is standard practice.

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


OLLI's Art Market (to be held Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9, 2019) is a way to showcase the talent of OLLI members. If you would like to be a part of the Art Market but need more information, contact  Sheila Murphy at: [email protected] 

Already know you want to participate? Great! Please print and fill out the registration form and return it with payment to the OLLI front desk. 

Familiarize yourself with a few important reminders about the market. 

PLEASE NOTE: Display spaces are now limited; we only have a small number remaining. Application does not guarantee a space
It's Showtime!
Testing Interest in a 
New Special Interest Group

Calling all writers, poets, singers, musicians, dancers, actors for a possible new Special Interest Group (SIG) in town: It's Showtime!  

This is an opportunity to create, perform, and have fun with other OLLI members.  Love to write but too shy to perform?  No problem.  Plenty of show-offs will love to hog the limelight. The proposed topic of this year's show is aging.  We'll make 'em laugh.  We'll make 'em cry.  We hope to start this SIG during OLLI's fall semester, with a final performance will be scheduled for spring.  

Dates and times to be arranged.  At this point we're drumming up participants.

For more information or to express your interest, please contact 

OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Habitat ReStore
Changing Lives One House at a Time

Restoring the lives of homeless vets

VOLUNTEER NOW...
Make A Difference!


Volunteer Opportunity With 
Read 2 Succeed
The Fall 2019 Training Schedule is available on the Read2Succeed website. Click here.
             
Read2Succeed   Asheville/ Buncombe  is a local  non-profit  whose mission is " to inspire and teach children to read."  The group needs caring, supportive individuals who are interested in tutoring an elementary school student one hour, one to two days a week during the school year. Training and ongoing support are provided. 

  Email:  [email protected]
Phone: 910-619-4313

Dear OLLI Members,
We will have catalogs available online and the print version in the OLLI office beginning Tuesday, August 6, 8 a.m. We have included in this newsletter our message (sent out earlier this week) about changes in parking registration and payment for 2019-20. Until we send further details, the online systems are not ready to use, so please wait until we send word.  Our campus police will not be ticketing in the areas adjacent to the Reuter Center until the system is up and running.

We are excited about our theme term on Appalachia and in next week's newsletter will include details about our lecture series to accompany the term. Please remember that our course database is ready for use so that you can find reading and materials lists and course outlines for all of our wonderful fall courses.

Thanks to OLLI Steering Council chair Erik Vedeler and incoming chair Julie Snyder for attending the Southern Regional Conference for Learning in Retirement held this week and organized by OLLI at UNC Wilmington. The conference was very well-organized and full of good ideas.  It is a treat to meet with our colleagues from across the OLLI network.  We look forward to sharing insights with many of our volunteer committees. 

Remember that this is your community. If you have questions or suggestions or would like to serve on a committee or volunteer, please let us know by responding to this email,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director


 Check the links here to see OLLI and UNC Asheville current events:
 
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Next Steps for OLLITalk
OLLI executive director Catherine Frank met on Friday, July 12, with interested OLLITalk members. During a short presentation she discussed the reasons that staff will no longer maintain OLLITalk, including the time required and the potential liability from people who breach security and make comments that diminish our sense of community. The archives are available but the group is no longer accepting messages.

A group of OLLI members met after the initial information session to discuss how to create and run an alternate service. Many of them have significant experience maintaining similar services, and we are confident that they have the expertise and commitment necessary to create a successful online community. We will keep you posted in the newsletter to let you know more about how to join any new group. 

Thanks to the many people who have successfully used the service over the years.  If you were a member of OLLITalk during the 2018-19 membership year, you will automatically be added to the new service operated by OLLI volunteers, unless you choose to opt out.
Carolinas' Nature Photographers Association
Member Software/Plug-In Presentation
Sunday, August 11, 5:30 p.m. Meet and Greet
6 p.m. Program
Reuter Center Room 206

The Carolinas' Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) was founded in 1992 to promote nature photography in the Carolinas, to help conserve and preserve the diverse natural ecosystems in the Carolinas and to educate others interested in nature and wildlife photography. The association is divided into regions for more close-at-hand activities. The CNPA-Asheville Region's goal is to develop a group that will more fully experience the beauty of Western  North Carolina through photography. Activities in the Asheville Region include monthly meetings, photo outings, seminars, workshops, exhibits, photo contests, and image critiques. The monthly meetings are held at the Reuter Center on the second Sunday of each month from 5:30-8 p.m., August 11, September 8, October 13, and November 10, 2019.   

These meetings are free and open to everyone.
Storytelling with Murphy Funkhouser Capps
Thursday, August 15, 7 p.m. 
Archetype Brewing, 174 Broadway, Asheville, NC
Cost: $12 when purchased online, $15 at the door
History Book Lovers
Special Interest Group (SIG)
Friday, August 16, 1 p.m. /  Reuter Center Room 102

The Proud Tower   Chapters 2, 3 and 8
by Barbara Tuchman
 
During the fateful quarter century leading up to World War I, the climax of a century of rapid, unprecedented change, a privileged few enjoyed Olympian luxury as the underclass was "heaving in its pain, its power, and its hate." In The Proud Tower, Barbara W. Tuchman brings the era to vivid life: the decline of the Edwardian aristocracy; the Anarchists of Europe and America; Germany and its self-depicted hero, Richard Strauss; Diaghilev's Russian ballet and Stravinsky's music; the Dreyfus Affair; the Peace Conferences in The Hague; and the enthusiasm and tragedy of Socialism, epitomized by the assassination of Jean Jaurès on the night the Great War began and an epoch came to a close.

History Book Lovers meet on the 3rd Friday of each month at 1 p.m. SIG contact: Mike Wang, 267-243-3011, [email protected]

Come join the fun to share beloved books, engage in discussion, and connect with like-minded members around our favorite subject : history!


Death  Café
Friday, August 16, 5 p.m. Reuter Center Lower Lobby

"Death Café" is an engaging gathering with 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 Said Osio from Third Messenger. Find out more at deathcafe.com. This fall, Death Café will meet on:
Fridays,  August 17, September 27*, October 18, November 15, and December 20, 2019, 5-6:30 p.m. For more information visit 
deathcafe.com/ thirdmessenger.com  and  facebook.com/deathcafeasheville

Wilma Dykeman Riverway
2019 Summer Series

The Woodfin Greenway / Blueway and a Creekside Train Ride
Saturday, August 17, 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Craggy Mountain  Line, 11 Woodfin Avenue
or meet at French Broad River Academy for Boys, 1990 Riverside Drive

The afternoon will include a train ride (which starts at 1:30 p.m., with participation limited to 35 people) and illustrated presentations,  followed by a short tour of the French Broad  River Academy's sustainable facility. To register contact  Jason Young, Woodfin  Town Administrator 828-253-4887


Volunteer Opportunity
 2019 East End/Valley Street Community Heritage Festival
Friday through Sunday, August 23-25
             
The East End/Valley Street Community Heritage Festival needs volunteers August 23-25 in MLK Park. 

Unity in Community! The 2019 East End/Valley Street Community Heritage Festival will include live music, vendors, food trucks, and a children's area. This is an alcohol free, family friendly festival! Come celebrate with us! Everyone is welcome! 

To volunteer and learn more, email  [email protected]
Asheville Community Theatre Presents: Rabbit Hole
By David Lindsay-Abaire; Directed by Stephanie Hickling Beckman
August 9-25, 2019
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm
             
"A drama that's not just a departure but a revelation" - Variety

A journey from grief to grace. Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until the accidental death of their son turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart. As they navigate through the unimaginable, they find themselves and each other. In the end, there is always hope. Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize."
High Cost of Rx: A Forum Discussion
Sponsored by AARP
Thursday, August 29, 10 a.m. to noon

If you are worried about affording the medications your doctors prescribe, you are not alone. The price of brand-named drugs continues to skyrocket, outpacing inflation by around 400 percent in recent years.  That is why AARP in the Mountain Region and community partners are hosting a forum to help you reign in soaring prescription drug prices. Learn about strategies to lower your prices and ways we, as voters, can fight for more affordable medications. AARP will be joined by representatives of the NC General Assembly, the Council on Aging of Buncombe County,  and pharmacist at the Mountain Area Health Education Center.

This event is free and open to everyone.

The Autumn Players Readers Theatre
Arms and the Man  by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Jim Reid
Sunday, September 1, 2:30 p.m. /  Reuter Center Manheimer Room

Often viewed as Shaw's wittiest play, this is a borderline farce that will stimulate serious thinking about the nature of both romance and war. What is Raina to do when she finds that an enemy soldier has taken refuge in her room? What will her fiancee say? The plot, of course, thickens! 

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. T ickets are $8 at the door.
The Astronomy Club of Asheville
Thursday, September 5, 7 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room

"The Habitability of Ocean Worlds and NASA's Europa Clipper Mission"
presented by 
North Carolina State University

In 1610, Galileo Galilei turned his crude telescope toward Jupiter and observed four small "stars" revolving around the planet. This quartet of dancing objects, now known as Jupiter's "Galilean moons" in deference to their Italian discoverer, were in fact the largest natural satellites of this giant of all planets. What Galileo could not have known was that one of these tiny diamonds of light, Jupiter's moon Europa, is now a leading candidate for finding microbial extraterrestrial life in our solar system.

Europa is truly a strange world; slightly larger than the earth's moon, it has the smoothest surface of any solid object in our solar system. Covered with cracks and streaks and almost completely devoid of impact craters, previous missions to Jupiter discovered evidence of water geysers erupting from within its surface. Scientists now believe that Europa is covered by an icy crust with a liquid water ocean underneath. Given that water is a prerequisite for all life found on earth, exploration of the icy moon could yield fascinating results.

This is the genesis of NASA's  Europa Clipper mission. With a proposed launch date of 2023, the spacecraft would undergo a series of flybys to study the moon and to prepare for a possible future Europa lander. As a planetary geologist, Dr. Byrne will give insight into why scientists are interested in ocean worlds and how the Europa Clipper mission aims to  provide answers to that eternal question: are we alone?

The Astronomy Club of Asheville meets the first Thursday of each month, from 7- 9 p.m., (except for January and July), with an interesting lineup of speakers and topics. OLLI members may attend club meetings and stargazes, with club members on hand to advise and assist them in the basics of astronomy and the techniques of observing celestial phenomena. Meetings are scheduled for September 5, October 3, and December 3, 2019. For more information on the Astronomy Club of Asheville, visit their website at www.astroasheville.org

Start Your Summer Reading to Prepare for a Talk by 
StoryCorps Founder Dave Isay
Thursday, September 19, 7:30 - 9 pm
UNC Asheville Campus, Lipinsky Auditorium

Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps and author of five books, will give a free public talk on Thursday, September 19, in Lipinsky Auditorium. 
Isay's most recent book based on StoryCorps interviews, Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work, is summer reading for first-year UNC Asheville students. 

Isay, a radio producer, began what grew into StoryCorps in 2003 with a story recording booth in New York City. StoryCorps, with a mission "to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world," now has story booths in different cities, and mobile story booths that travel the country.

North Carolina State Dinner of the
 Mathematical Association of America 
Friday, September 27, 5:15 pm  -  9 p.m.
UNC Asheville Campus, Sherrill Center,  227 Campus Drive
Ingles Mountain View Room, Room 417
 
The 2019 North Carolina State Dinner of the Mathematical Association of America will feature poster presentations from selected undergraduate students from North Carolina universities and a talk by Jane Hawkins, professor emerita at UNC-Chapel Hill and treasurer of the American Mathematical Society.

Tickets, available for $25.50, must be  purchased online here  in advance.

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