Donate eyeglasses: To recognize World Sight Day, which was October 13, OLLI is collecting eyeglasses for the Lions Club. Please place your unwanted glasses in the designated box in the Social Room now through Friday, October 21. Thank you!
Reminder: Noon today is the deadline for registering for OLLI's big 25th anniversary party, Event #1104. For more details on the party (Friday, November 4, 1:30, at Church of the Good Sheperd), see last Friday's E‑News.
OLLI Registration Portal Gets a Facelift! By Alice Slayton Clark, Communications Associate/RegistrarTake a new look at the OLLI member portal. It has undergone a facelift to make the site more streamlined, eye-catching, and operational on all devices.
Of primary appeal, the website’s graphics are more mobile-device friendly, adjusting appropriately to different screen sizes. Fonts are bigger and easier to read, especially on the toolbars or when you are searching for classes. The “add to cart” and “request cart” options are no longer buttons, but are larger for easier selection (clicking). Finally, the colorful OLLI “swoosh” constitutes the new banner atop the member portal page, promoting consistency in OLLI’s branding.
Some important icons and buttons have moved. The “view cart” icon is now found only in the green toolbar below the banner. When you add classes/events to your cart, you will be able to view them only by clicking the “view cart” option. (Previously, “view cart” was an open box in the middle of the screen that would visibly fill as you added classes.) In addition, the “search for a class” box is higher, in the banner at the top right.
To help you adjust to the changes, we have posted new web-tutorials on YouTube via the following link: https://youtu.be/EwDGFaIV2Z8.
The changes to the OLLI member portal are part of a product-wide upgrade initiated by our service provider, Lumens. OLLI volunteers and staff worked diligently this summer to make the upgrade user friendly, attractive, and as familiar as possible to our membership. We hope you will find it an improvement to the site.
Now that we’re at the half-way point in the term, we’re looking forward to the beginning of many new 4-week courses. I know you are enjoying the fall term because I hear lots of kudos, and I pass the compliments along to our fabulous program planners. These OLLI volunteers work year-round to recruit teachers for the courses that we all appreciate.
I can think of at least two ways to show appreciation so that our instructors will want to return to teach again. First, we can say “thank you” to our OLLI teachers, whose only reward is recognition of their efforts, as they are all volunteers. Then we can make every effort to attend the classes in which we’re enrolled. Teachers have spent weeks and even months preparing their lessons, and their sole compensation is seeing a classroom of students with whom to share their passion for the subject.
Enjoy the rest of the fall term. And notice that there are still open spaces in some exciting classes beginning next week.
Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Committee By Johnnie Hicks and Camille Hodges,
Humanities and Social Sciences Co-ChairsThe OLLI Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 19, at 1:15 in the Social Room Annex. We will be reviewing courses for the 2017 spring term and planning for 2017 summer and fall.If you have ideas you would like to share, or just wish to see how a planning committee works, please join us! We especially appreciate hearing feedback from OLLI courses you have enjoyed and think should be offered again. Feel free to contact either of us if you have any questions or comments (Johnnie Hicks at johnniehicks@earthlink.net and Camille Hodges at mimihodges2@aol.com).
Performances, Oct 14 through Oct 24By 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 Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: Analogy/Dora: Tramontane
Fri, Oct 14, 8:00
Pre-performance discussion: Member of the company
Concert Hall
Admission: $48, $41, $29.The Havana Cuba All-Stars: Cuban Nights
Sat, Oct 15, 8:00
Pre-performance discussion: Michel Pardron, music director
Concert Hall
Admission: $50, $43, $30.Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra: To Swing Through the Sky
Sun, Oct 16, 7:00
Pre-performance discussion: Jim Carroll
—professor of jazz studies
Concert Hall
Admission: $46, $39, $28.
Mason Student & Faculty Performances
(see music.gmu.edu for additional student recitals)
Faculty Artist Showcase
Sun, Oct 16, 3:00
Harris Theatre
Admission: Free.Fall Choral Invitational Concert
Sun, Oct 23, 4:00
University Chorale will perform a concert of music though the ages along with guest choirs from Chantilly and McLean High Schools.
Harris Theatre
Admission: Adults, $12; seniors, $8.
Mason School of Art: Alumni Exhibition
Oct 3–Nov 6
The Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances. Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
Admission: Free.
Mason School of Theater: The Laramie Project
Thu, Oct 13–Sat, Oct 15, 8:00
Sat. Oct 15, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: Adults, $20; seniors, $10.
The Havana Cuba All-Stars: Cuban Nights
Fri, Oct 14, 8:00
Pre-performance discussion: Michel Pardron, music director
Merchant Hall
Admission: $50, $43, $30.
Odd Squad Live!
Sat, Oct 15, 2:00 and 5:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: Adults, $15; children, $5.
Manassas Ballet Theatre: Frankenstein
Fri, Oct 21 and Sat, Oct 22, 7:30
Sun, Oct 23, 3:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $55, $45, $35, $25, $15.
Prince William Little Theatre: Bat Boy: The Musical
Fri, Oct 21, and Sat, Oct 22, 8:00
Sun, Oct 23, 2:00
Fri, Oct 28, and Sat, Oct 29, 8:00
Sun, Oct 30, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: Adults, $25; children, $20.
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).
Sat Oct 15
10:30am
1:00pm
Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Computer Club–TA-1
Wed Oct 19
12:00pm
1:30pm1:30pm
1:45pm
Hospitality Committee–TA-2 Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Group–Annex
Mah Jongg Club–TA-2
Bridge Club–TA-3
Fri Oct 21
9:00am
9:30am
10:00am
11:00am
11:00am
Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Annex Board of Directors Meeting–Rose Gallery
Classic Literature Club–TA-2
Homer, etc–Annex
Sat Oct 22
10:30am
Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Wed Oct 26
1:30pm
1:45pm
1:45pm
Science, Technology and Health Planning Group–Annex
Bridge Club–TA-3
Spanish Club–TA-2
Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Annex
Theater Lovers Club–TA-1
Classic Literature Club–TA-2
Homer, etc–Annex
Photography Club–TA-3
Religious Studies Club–TA-2
Dr. Who Club–Annex
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: Rebecca Jann, 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.
