Special Programs 2013

Note:  Read the monthly 5CLIR Reporter for specific dates, times and locations for the following Special Programs throughout the year. Contact the facilitators of individual Special Programs with questions regarding accessibility, parking, guest attendance, etc. All locations noted are subject to change.

Book Interest Group – Naomi Yanis, facilitator

This group meets once each month from September through May, from 1:30 to 3:30, on various Friday afternoons, not conflicting with Opera Prep. Responsibility for leading the discussion of each book is rotated among the membership of the book group, with meetings held in members’ homes. We read a variety of contemporary fiction and non-fiction, as well as literary classics. The choices for the year are made early in the summer, so some of the reading can be done when more time for reading may be available. Contact Naomi if you are interested in participating.

Dine Around – Joice Gare, coordinator

Members enjoy a meal together in a local restaurant, usually a weekday evening, about once a month. Members are expected to take a turn making arrangements with the restaurant, setting a date, planning the menu and collecting payment ahead of time. Contact Joice if you are interested in participating and are not already on the Dine Around mailing list. Each participant is welcome to bring one guest.

Encore Programs and Special Lectures – Larry Ambs & Katy van Geel, facilitators

Enjoy our Friday programs reprising 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 the area, frequently at Applewood at Amherst, and usually beginning at 11:00 AM.  Information about specific programs is listed in the monthly LIR Newsletter and the on-line calendar. Contact Larry or Katy for further details.

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 PM. The meeting is held at Judith’s home in Northampton.  Contact Judith to register your interest in this program.

Opera Prep – Peg Bedell, facilitator

A series of HD video productions by the Metropolitan Opera is shown at the Hadley Cinemark Theater on Saturday afternoons.  Peg Bedell offers an introduction to each opera and the featured performers at the Meeting Room of the Northampton Lathrop Community House on the preceding Friday at 2:00 – 3:00 PM.  Anyone may attend any session and Lathrop residents are encouraged to attend.  The Friday Special Program dates for the 2016-2017 season are 10/21, 12/9, 1/7, and 1/20. The LIR monthly newsletter or a call to Peg will provide further details.  Please car pool and park considerately on Shallowbrook Drive.

Salon Music – Gerry Goldman & Carol Rundberg, facilitators

Enjoy the shared ambience of salon music making in which each musician, whatever their musical level, plays a selection for the group in a relaxed atmosphere. This is what LIR member music makers do once each month at the Northampton Community Music Center at 139 South St.  The group meets on the third Friday of each month at 10:30 AM.   Music makers are amateurs (lovers of music) who have in some cases returned to an instrument after a long hiatus, in other cases are beginning to learn an instrument. To discuss becoming a music maker or to be put on our e-mail list please contact either Jerry Goldman or Carol Rundberg.

Quien ama la musica, ama la vida” (Who loves music, loves life.)

Science Roundtable – Larry Ambs & John Armstrong , Facilitators

Science Roundtable is a discussion group for anyone interested in current issues in science. At each session we discuss one or two main topics presented by one of our members or a guest speaker. We reserve time at the end of each session for questions and informal discussion and we encourage members of the Science Roundtable to suggest topics for future sessions or to lead discussions themselves.

We meet four times each semester on the third Thursdays of the month from 2 to 3:30 pm at (location TBA).  A background in science is not needed 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 via email.  Please park considerately using the LIR parking map for Shallowbrook Drive.  Contact: Larry Ambs.

Technology Workshops – the Technology Committee

The goal of this newly created series is to help LIR members understand and use their laptops with the goals of learning how to find material for seminars on line, organize it on your computer, and prepare digital presentations. It is designed for LIR members with limited knowledge of their laptops. It will require pre-class preparation each week. Both Mac and PC users may apply and must bring their laptops (Windows, Apple, or Chrome laptops) to class. Meetings will be from 9:00 and 11:00 AM in Pierce Hall (next door to Lilly Hall), Smith College at the Mary Maples Dunn Conference Center on Fridays, September 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2016.

Please email the 5CLIR office (5clir@smith.edu) if you are interested, and you will be sent a course syllabus to review. If you then decide this workshop is for you, you must notify the 5CLIR office by email of your interest in participating. The workshop will be limited to 10 participants selected on a first-response basis.

Theater Interest Group – Kay Klausewitz & Gary Roodman, facilitators

The Theater Interest Group looks forward to attending professional-quality live theater plays and musicals at the many active theaters outside our usual familiar communities yet most still within an hour’s drive.  Matinees are preferred and transportation will be arranged.  Sometimes the performance will include talks related to the show offered by the theater.  Sometimes lunch might be arranged on a “pay your own” basis.  Group discounts make the shows more affordable.  Physical needs will be considered (such as hearing assistance, wheelchair ramps.)  Guests outside of LIR may come with you.  Possible venues are Worcester, Springfield, Lenox and Stockbridge, Adams and Williamstown, Pittsfield and Greenfield, all in MA.  In CA, Hartford & New Haven offer shows as does Brattleboro, VT.  For details on arrangements contact the facilitators, either Gary Roodman or Kay Klausewitz.

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 more information, contact Hy.

A NOTE FROM THE SPECIAL PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

If you are an LIR member and are interested in facilitating a Special Program, contact the Special Programs Chair, Kay Klausewitz by e-mail.  If you would provide a ride to a member to a Special Program or if you need a ride, call Kay.

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