Experts Coming to Enlighten Audiences
Patricia Ingalls
LifeLong Learning (LLL) has invited a Mark Twain re-enactor, a world-renowned romance author and an epidemiologist to give expert presentations soon in PebbleCreek’s Renaissance Theater.
An Evening with Mark Twain, Feb. 6, features Paul Mast portraying the legendary American author and humorist. Mast brings to life Twain’s penchant for humor, satire and unflinching honesty. From Twain’s carefree boyhood in Missouri to his later years as a popular author and cultural critic, Twain’s life was as colorful and complex as the characters he created. Mast’s career has ranged from the Catholic priesthood, to book-and-play author, to his current seven years as a one-man stage performer.
How to Succeed at Becoming an Author, Feb. 9, reveals how PebbleCreek resident Debbie Macomber became a prolific, popular No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of romance novels, known worldwide. She has also published three best-selling cookbooks, a variety of other highly acclaimed nonfiction works, and children’s books. She will talk about the process, tribulations, and rewards of writing a book.
Valley Fever, March 2, facilitates senior epidemiologist Brandon Howard, from Maricopa County Department of Public Health, as he educates his LLL audience on causes of Valley Fever, spread through a fungus in the soil here in the Southwest. He’ll explain how people and animals become infected, how it affects the body, plus symptoms, prevention, testing, and treatment.
For full details, and to register for the $15 evening Premier presentation, go to lifelonglearningatpc.org.
The theater is equipped with a hearing-loop system, which is a special type of sound system for people who use hearing aids. Full information is posted at LLL’s website.
February Classes Teach Skills
Patricia Ingalls
Three February classes provide opportunities to learn a) how to decorate Valentine cookies, b) how to appreciate American art from the early 20th century, and c) how Arizona weather can get so-o-o hot. Each class begins at 1 p.m. in the LifeLong Learning (LLL) Center.
Valentine’s Cookie Decorating, Feb. 4, cookie entrepreneur Kathy Worwa will repeat January’s hands-on workshop on transforming sugar cookies into works of art, which students will take home to enjoy. Worwa majored in art in college, then switched to business. After retirement, she worked part-time as an art teacher for grade schoolers. When she moved to PebbleCreek, she started her own cookie business.
American Art, Feb. 12, Bonnie Brown, a Philadelphia museum docent with more than 20 years of experience, will present artwork of the Harlem Renaissance, a modern-art movement prevalent in Northern cities, like New York and Chicago, during the Roaring Twenties/Jazz age.
Arizona Weather—Why Is It So Hot? Feb. 19, Kevin Hillstrom will discuss Arizona’s annual weather cycle, including cold winter storms, windy spring fronts and June conditions that lead to July/August Monsoon season, Pacific hurricanes and September/October transition-season rainfall. In this fast-paced session, Hillstrom will walk participants through one of the wettest fall periods in recorded history and will offer a sneak peek into what Monsoon 2026 might look like.
For full details on February classes and to register, go to lifelonglearningatpc.org.