Bonnie O’Leary, Outreach Manager, Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons, in F803 Holistic Guide to Hearing Loss, Tallwood, June 23
Raffle tickets for a free one-year membership to OLLI will be sold through July 15 when the winner will be selected at the Christmas in July party. Money raised by the raffle supports OLLI's 25th anniversary gift to the Mason Office of Military Services.
Fun Facts to Celebrate OLLI's 25th Anniversary By Ray Beery, PresidentIn 1991 when LRI was formed, the leadership asked the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for help. A resolution introduced by Kate Hanley and passed by the supervisors enabled LRI to occupy temporarily available County space at no cost.OLLI is celebrating its 25th year of classes for seniors in 2016. We'll be publishing fun facts and interesting milestones about the Institute each week that OLLI E-News is published from now until the end of the fall term, 2016.
VIP Open House Welcomes LRI/OLLI Founders and Early Members
By Martha Powers, OLLI Vice President
On June 27, many of OLLI’s founders and earliest members convened at Tallwood for a special chance to see each other again and revel in the success of OLLI over 25 years. The group listened to a few words from President Ray Beery, Executive Director Jennifer Disano, Virginia state delegate and OLLI member Ken Plum, and Carol Henderson, who chaired the special OLLI history committee that made our 25th anniversary book, The Story of OLLI at George Mason University, a reality. After a 17-minute slide show with music, the VIPs got to pass the microphone and share their memories. Some 25 VIPs were present, as well as numerous helpers from the Dirty Knee Club and Member Services. Staffer Alice Slayton Clark conducted video interviews of each of the VIPs.
New Contemporary Fiction Book Club Forming in Reston
By Nancy Scheeler, Member, Board of Directors
Would you be interested in a book club that meets during the day? One that meets at United Christian Parish (UCP) in Reston? One that includes fellow OLLI members who enjoy contemporary literary fiction?
The Reston Book Club will hold an organizational meeting on Thursday, July 7, at UCP at 11:05. We’ll meet during the break between the first class and the second one that begins at 11:50. We’ll talk about processes and procedures that will guide our book selection and discussions.
Our purpose is to focus on serious contemporary fiction, primarily—but not limited to—works by American or British authors. The club will concentrate on novels from the long and short lists plus winners of the US National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize and the UK Man Booker Prize.
We will schedule our once-a-month meetings in September, October, November, January, March, April, and May during regular OLLI terms.
Dates and books for fall term 2016 are:
Thursday, September 22, 2:15 to 3:40: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (American). This novel tells the story of a marriage from the perspective of the husband first and then the wife. It was a finalist for the National Book Award. Groff will speak at the Fall for the Book festival on September 27.
Thursday, October 13, 2:15 to 3:40: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Italian), translated by Ann Goldstein. This is the first in a series of four highly acclaimed novels about two girls growing up in post-WWII Naples, Italy. This book was on the short list for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.
Thursday, November 10, 2:15 to 3:40: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (American). This finalist for the Man Booker Prize for 2015 is a family saga of the first order described as an “understated masterpiece” by the Associated Press.
You will have an opportunity to sign up for the Reston Book Club during OLLI’s fall term registration.
Please join club organizers Nancy Scheeler and Luci Martel as we launch this exciting new opportunity for readers in Reston.
“Kids ‘n’ Critters” – More Fun Than People Oughta Have!
By Martha Powers, OLLI Vice President
Bring your grandkids to Tallwood on Monday, July 11, for “Kids ‘n’ Critters” (special event 1101) so they can learn about a variety of animals including Mason’s four-legged police officer, Lucy.
We’ll also meet and learn about two gentle therapy dogs, two retired racing greyhounds, and possibly some smaller animals from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter – plus you can help make a few Happy Sock catnip toys for homeless cats at our shelter. The event takes place from 1:00 to 3:00, and both you and your grandchildren should register. Even if you have no grandchild to bring, please join us for an afternoon of educational animal fun!
By Jim Dunphy, AKA Santa and Liaison Committee Chair
Are the heat and humidity of summer getting you down? What better way to cool off than by celebrating Christmas just a few months early! Come to the OLLI Christmas in July party and bake sale on Friday, July 15 from 1:00 to 3:00 at Tallwood and join the celebration.
We will have yummy baked treats for sale to get you in the mood, entertainment from the world-renowned OLLI Players, and some videos that might take you back to Christmases a long time ago. You could win a door prize. You could also win a free year’s tuition to OLLI if you have purchased a raffle ticket. Don’t forget, all of the money from the raffle goes to the Mason Office of Military Services. And of course, yours truly, Santa, will be the master of ceremonies, ably assisted by Mrs. Claus.
So, put July 15 on your social calendar. If you don’t want to get a lump of coal in your stocking, make sure you register for event 1102 and you will end up on the nice list instead of the naughty list!
Come to the silent auction and bake sale at OLLI’s Christmas in July on Friday, July 15 at Tallwood, place a bid of $75 or more, and you could be the proud owner of this magnificent, unique work of art.
Loops was donated by Dan Feighery. It is a gorgeous matted, framed original design. Would you have guessed it is a photograph of a toy Slinky? The Slinky is separated and lit by three different colored lights.
The bake sale and silent auction will be in the Tallwood annex and social room. The bake sale opens at 11:00. You may preview all donated works of art, beginning at 10:30. Come and enjoy home-baked goodies and beverages, meet with your friends, purchase your OLLI annual registration fee raffle tickets, browse the art donated for the silent auction by our talented OLLI artists, and place a bid. A preview of artworks will be featured in upcoming news alerts.
The bake sale and silent auction will end at 12:45. Christmas in July will begin at 1:00 in TA-1. Winning art bidders' names will be announced and Santa will draw the name of the lucky registration raffle winner during the event.
The silent auction and bake sale are designated fundraisers for "Help Mason's Veterans Bridge Gaps." All monies raised will go towards the 25th anniversary gift to the Office of Military Services.
The “Pedestrian Crossing” SignI agree.
It’s common.
Little to distinguish it
from other signs heavy with hope
that no one on their watch will come to harm.
“Cross here,” this one iterates, in sign language, referring
to heavy white lines on the street.
And to drivers it whispers: “Read between the lines for signs of life.”Ed Sadtler
Performances, next ten daysBy Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff WriterFor tickets for either Center for the Arts (CFA) or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information, see the CFA ticket pageor the Hyltonticket purchase page.
At the Fairfax Campus Venues
The National Jazz Workshop Student Big Bands
Fri, Jul 1, 2:00
Performing Arts Building Room 3001
Admission: Free.
Third Annual Juried Exhibition
Through July 10
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
Admission: Free.
Prince William Little Theatre: Cabaret
Fri, July 8, 15 and 22, 8:00
Sat, July 9, 16 and 23, 8:00
Sun, July 10, 17, and 24, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Adults, $25; seniors, $20.
Courtney Shelton Solo Exhibition, Best in Show, 2015 Hylton Center 2nd Annual Juried Exhibit
July 11 - Aug 28
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
The Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances. Gallery Reception: Thu, July 14 from 6:00 to 8:00. RSVP to jconnor8@gmu.edu.
Admission: Free.
The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kickoff coffees, etc. (bolded below).
Recorder Consort–TA-3
Photography Club–TA-1
Craft and Conversation–Annex
Classic Literature Club–TA-2
Homer, etc–Annex
Religious Studies Club–TA-2
Dr Who Club–TA-3
Mon Jul 11
10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
Bridge Club–TA-3
Book Club–TA-2
What’s in the Daily News, cont’d–TA-1
Tue Jul 12
9:00am
Annex Art–Annex
Wed Jul 13
1:45pm
Special Events Committee–Annex
Fri Jul 15
9:00am
9:30am
10:00am
11:00am
Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Annex Board of Directors Meeting–TA-1
Homer, etc–TA-2
OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.
Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Technical Editor: Irene Osterman
Associate Editor: Sheri Siesseger
Weekly Editorial Team: Jean Boltz, John Nash, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere,
Paul Van Hemel Proofreaders: Nancy Michel, Lorna Moran, Marilyn O'Brien, Susan Van Hemel
Backup Chief Editor: Alice Slayton Clark
Submissions. Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles and photos. Submit material to: ollienewseditor@gmail.com. Deadline – 6:00 Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 Monday for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words. Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:ollidev2.earthcare.com/" without the quotes.
magnificent, unique work of art.