SPECIAL PROGRAMS: SPRING 2012
Note: Read the monthly 5CLIR Reporter for specific dates, times and locations for the following and additional Special Programs throughout the year. Contact the facilitators of individual Special Programs with your questions or for information regarding handicap accessibility, parking, guest attendance, etc.
Arts Interest Group – Ann and John Martin, facilitators
This group meets on the third Thursday of each month from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in various locations around the Valley. It presents programs about all of the arts – painting, sculpture, architecture, dance, theater, etc. 5CLIR members who might wish to share their contacts, knowledge and/or skills in one or more of the arts are invited to notify Ann or John Martin. Contact them to be put on the list to receive program announcements by email, or to make suggestions about program possibilities. For the spring of 2012 the program is as follows:
February 16: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. Ruth Kosiorek, a member of 5CLIR, will give us a guided tour of the highlights of the Museum's permanent collection,
March 15: Louise T. Currin, a Hadley artist in watercolor, will give us a tour of her studio and will demonstrate painting in watercolor.
April 19: Martin Antonetti, Curator of Rare Books at Smith College, will talk to us on Book Illustration from the Middle Ages to the present. He will use books in the College's collection to illustrate his talk.
Viewpoints - Hy Edelstein, facilitator
Viewpoints meets the first Thursday of each month, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. in the small conference room at Highland Valley Elder Services in Florence. This is an open, informal, spontaneous discussion group, a fresh departure from the formal presentations and discussions in our seminars. However, it does adhere to our peer learning mission. While preparation is not required, at each session several topics proposed by participants are discussed–topics which may be drawn from a whole spectrum of events and trends in society/culture, concerns over developments in public/private life, issues in the humanities/technologies. Discussions over such matters, drawing on the spontaneity, spirit, thoughtfulness, and good humor of its seasoned participants, are indeed enriching learning experiences. For further information, contact Hy.
Travel Interest Group - Marybeth Bridegam and Joan Wofford, facilitators
This group meets the fourth Thursday of each month, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Community Room at Lathrop Northampton. Many of us are well traveled, and all of us know of places we would love to go but will never have the time (and/or money) necessary. The Travel Interest Group will provide an opportunity for travelers to share their knowledge, experience, and pleasure with other 5CLIR members who would like to vicariously enjoy their visits. Joan will provide technical assistance, if necessary, to put your pictures in the format appropriate for projection. The atmosphere is quite informal, and there is no other obligation (well, unless you are one of the speakers!) than to come and enjoy the beautiful photos and interesting presentations. Check the newsletter each month for descriptions of these monthly programs. Contact Marybeth or Joan for more information.
Ethnic Eating Interest Group – Joice Gare, facilitator
We meet about once a month at a local restaurant featuring food from another country or special region of this country. (Occasionally, it's just a new and intriguing restaurant.) Each dinner is coordinated by a different member of the group who chooses the restaurant, selects the menu and sometimes arranges with staff for someone to talk to us about the food, culture and country their establishment represents. If you want e-mail notification of the dinners, contact Joice Gare.
French Conversation – Judith Pool, facilitator
This is a group of 5CLIR members who enjoy speaking and learning French. They meet on Fridays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Contact Judith to register your interest in this program.
Conversational Italian – Dean Poli and Zina Tillona, facilitators
Do you enjoy speaking Italian? Would you like to improve it? Then join Zina and Dean on Fridays when the group discusses, in Italian, a variety of topics chosen by the members of the group. In addition, to become acclimated to hearing native Italians speaking Italian, the group also spends some time watching and discussing various Italian movies and TV shows.
You do not have to be fluent in Italian; all you need is an interest in speaking and improving your Italian. We meet Fridays at 1:30 p.m. In the Quigley Room at the Newman Center at Umass. Contact Dean or Zina for more information.
Friday Lectures and Encore Presentations – Larry Ambs, facilitator
Come enjoy our Friday programs based on some outstanding seminar presentations which members believe would be of general interest. Occasionally we host outside speakers who discuss topics of interest to our membership. We meet at various locations in our area, usually beginning at 10 a.m. Watch for information on specific programs in the monthly newsletter. Contact Larry with questions.
Book Interest Group – Naomi Yanis and Lola Reid, facilitators
This group meets mostly the last Friday afternoon of each month from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., from September through May. Responsibility for leading the discussion of each book is rotated amongst the membership of the book group, with meetings held in members’ homes. The group is now open to new members. We read a variety of contemporary fiction and non-fiction, as well as literary classics. Contact Naomi or Lola if you are interested.
Opera Preparation – Peg Bedell, facilitator
We meet on Fridays, at the Northampton Lathrop Community Room, 1:30–2:30 p.m. A series of HD video productions of operas performed at the Metropolitan Opera will be shown at the Hadley Cinemark theater on Saturday afternoons beginning in January. Tickets should be purchased by 5CLIR members in advance. In preparation for seeing (and hearing) them, Peg Bedell will offer an introduction to each opera on the preceding Friday. Anyone interested may attend any session. For more information, contact Peg.
Below are dates of Saturday performances. The opera prep session will be held the day before in each case. LIR members are welcome whether or not they plan to attend the opera.
The Enchanted Island January 21
Gotterdammerung (Wagner) February 12
Ernani (Verdi) February 25
Manon (Massenet) April 7
La Traviata (Verdi) April 14
Finding Family – Bobbie Reitt, facilitator
The Finding Family interest group is an offshoot of the seminar of the same name from the Fall 2010 semester. Current members attended the seminar, but we would be delighted to include anyone who is interested in researching his or her family history. Your family and friends might not understand your obsession with your family's past, but we will!
We have discovered that by working together, we learn faster and much more than when we work alone. We share information about Valley and online resources that we discover, and we warn each other about pitfalls we encounter. We have both newcomers and veteran researchers among us, and we find that the mix of varying levels of experience is helpful. We sometimes have reports from members, sometimes work online together, and at other
times simply discuss research problems and successes we're having.
Join us on one Thursday afternoon a month, either the third or the fourth week. We will meet at 1:45-3:45 in the Commons Room at Dewey Hall on the Smith College campus on January 19, February 23, March 22, and April 19. On May 17 we will meet in Amherst at Katy van Geel’s. Check newsletters for current information about programs for each meeting or contact Bobbie Reitt. Newcomers are always welcome.
Science Roundtable – John Armstrong and Dottie Rosenthal, facilitators
Science Roundtable is a monthly discussion group for anyone interested in current issues in science. At each session we discuss one or two main topics introduced by one of the members. The topics we have discussed this year so far are: artificial intelligence, the immune system and disease; recent discoveries about the solar system; human races; climate variability; and, nuclear power plant safety, radiation and its effects.
You do not have to have a background in science to participate nor do you have to attend all sessions. If you are interested in participating and are not already on our mailing list, contact one of the facilitators so you will receive information about each upcoming session.
Starting in Febuary 2012, we will be meeting on the third Thursday of each
month, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Meeting House, Northampton Lathrop, Bridge Road in Northampton. For more information speak to John or Dottie.
Live Performances – If you want to be notified of events, musical, theatrical or other, unrelated to 5CLIR, that are happening in the area please let Kathy Hazen know that you wish to be on her list.