Start 2017 with new knowledge
As you make your New Year’s resolutions, why not add something to your list that will introduce you to something new and expand your mind?
LifeLong Learning offers classes on a wide variety of topics. Several of the classes are full already; if you have registered and find you have a conflict, please let us know so someone on the waiting list can take your place.
The following classes have openings. You can register for them by coming to the LLL Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon through December 16 or go online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.
Ballet – Romeo and Juliet: If you’ve signed up for the LLL trip to the ballet, be sure to take this one-hour introduction to the ballet that will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the performance. Wednesday, February 1, 11:00 a.m. to noon; $10
Bicycling: Whether you already bike beyond the walls of PC or want to develop the expertise to ride in traffic and with a group, this two-part class if for you. You’ll learn how to maintain your bike, clothing and equipment to keep you safe. Wednesdays, February 8 and 15, 9:00 a.m. to noon; $35
Great Decisions: How will the new administration handle the serious issues facing the world? The eight-week Great Decisions course, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association, will study topics as important as nuclear security, trade and politics and U.S. foreign policy and petroleum. There are five separate sections, beginning the week of January 23. All are listed in the LLL Schedule and online; $30
Opera: An Introduction: If the idea of a play performed entirely in song in a foreign language leaves you totally perplexed, here’s your chance to learn about the art of opera from Arizona Opera’s Education Manager Joshua Borths. Spend an hour and learn about the history, context and music of the opera and receive exclusive, behind-the-scenes information about opera productions. Wednesday, January 11, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.; $10
Retirement: Two different courses to help you prepare for or get the most out of your next stage. Linda Burridge, a certified professional coach, has worked for more than 30 years as a consultant dedicated to the personal and professional growth of others. In What’s Next? on Saturday mornings, January 14 and 28, she will give you tools to help you determine what you want to be in retirement; in What’s Holding You Back on Saturdays, February 18 and March 4, she will help you overcome the obstacles to enjoying the retirement you envision. Both courses are $30.
Writing Workshop: If you’ve always wanted to write, or are writing but feeling stuck, you’ll want to enroll in this course for writers of fiction, nonfiction and memoirs. Local author Ann Lee Miller will guide you through a series of activities designed to enhance your understanding of the planning, writing and editing processes of writing. Saturday, January 7, 9:00 a.m. to noon; $50
LLL gift certificates available; Note new LLL center hours
New this year: LifeLong Learning has gift certificates in any denomination; a perfect way to say thank you to your PebbleCreek friends and neighbors.
Volunteers will be at the LLL Center in the Eagle’s Nest Activities Center Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon through December 16. We’ll then take a break for the holidays and re-open January 3.
You can also purchase tickets for Premier Lectures or register for trips, classes and special events at the center. Please bring a check, credit card or cash for your purchase.
Premier lectures highlight Life in North Korea and Walk Around the World
In January, LifeLong Learning takes you around the world, first to North Korea for a look at how people live in the most totalitarian regime on the planet and then for an inspiring story from a woman who actually “walked” around the world.
Tickets for both lectures are $15 a person and may be purchased in advance, either online or at the LLL Center Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and noon until December 16 or after the first of January. Both lectures will be in the Renaissance Theater.
Barbara Demick
Friday, January 13, 7:00 p.m. Life in North Korea
Award-winning journalist Barbara Demick was the first bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times in South Korea, from which she reported extensively on human rights in North Korea. During her lecture she will bring us deep inside North Korea, based on the interviews she conducted with defectors.
In 2010 she published Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, which follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over 15 years, a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise to power of his son Kim Jong Il and a devastating famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
Demick won the George Polk Award for her reporting on life on one street in Sarajevo during the course of the war in Bosnia. The series, which ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer, was also a finalist for the Pulitzer.
Polly Letofsky
Saturday, January 28, 7:00 p.m. Walking Around the World at 3 mph
“How will my parents take the news that I was killed by a flying cow?” Polly Letofsky wrote in her book 3 mph: The Adventures of One Woman’s Walk Around the World.
If you wonder why someone would sell all her possessions and leave the peace and beauty of Vail, Colorado, to begin a walk that would last five years and cover four continents, 22 countries and more than 14,000 miles, you’ll want to be in the audience when Letofsky tells us about her adventures.
Her walk began in 1999, after several friends developed breast cancer, and she wanted to raise awareness of the disease. Survivors and well-wishers around the world joined her on the walk, bringing into the open a disease all too often hidden in other parts of the globe.
Letofsky, who found herself far from home when she learned about 9/11, richly details her journey with humor, talking about both the good times and the hardships. Sometimes serious, sometimes funny, but always inspirational, her program personifies the spirit of commitment and perseverance that will compel you to conquer life’s challenges – one step at a time.
CAFÉ Flutes
What are you doing Sunday, January 15?
Emily Grotta
If you enjoy music you’ll want to be in the Chianti Room at 2:00 p.m. January 15 as LifeLong Learning presents a free program with the Central Arizona Flute Ensemble, known as CAFE Flutes. The seven musicians will present a varied program ranging from classical to Broadway with many stops along the way.
CAFE Flutes are the first of three free programs planned by LifeLong Learning to feature the cultural arts. The Sunday Series, fashioned after a salon gathering, will bring to PebbleCreek a range of fine art events that are suitable for a small setting, as opposed to those that play in the Renaissance Theater. Each program will run from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. and will include light refreshments.
While the programs are free, registration is required so that we do not exceed the number of people the room can hold. To register, please go online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org and look for Sunday Series under Special Programs. Or you can come to the LLL Center when it is open, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon through December 16 or after the first of January.
On February 12 LifeLong Learning presents the violin/piano duo of Magdalena Strahota and her sister Josepha Strahota. Both of these young women have immense talent and will provide us with a wide range of music – from Classics to Celtic, from Broadway to Bach.
Magdalena is the music director of two choirs and teaches in the Tolleson High School district. She is a student at the Phoenix Conservatory of Music and has played in many venues throughout the valley including the convention center.
In March we’ll have the culmination of PC Reads, which is encouraging book groups to read Belgravia, the new novel by Julian Fellowes, who created Downton Abbey. The program will include a discussion and light refreshments.
Ben Hurlbut, Ph.D.
Mark your calendar for LLL January, Monday lectures
LifeLong Learning takes a break in December so everyone can enjoy the holidays but resumes with a full schedule of lectures in January that you won’t want to miss.
Monday Morning Lectures begin at 10:00 a.m. in the Renaissance Theater, except for the last lecture of the month which will be held in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom. Tickets are $4 per person at the door.
Monday, January 9: Drought in the Southwest
The Arizona drought is real and the future is not looking better. The ongoing drought began in the mid-1990s and continues to negatively impact the levels of ground water and reservoirs. Will there be enough water to sustain the existing development, let alone the current level of growth? Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, will talk about the drought and steps the state has taken to minimize its impact.
Monday, January 16: Join Just Folks for a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King.
Monday, January 23: Phoenix High School Kids Beat MIT at Robotics Competition
In 2004, four high school students from central Phoenix, children of undocumented Mexican immigrants, beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s team in a robotics competition. It is a story of hard work, determination and a dedicated and talented teacher who inspires students to master math and science and perhaps most of all, to believe in themselves.
Faridodin “Fredi” Lajvardi is that teacher. He has been teaching at Carl Hayden High School for 28 years and he will talk about the team’s successes and how he builds confidence and success in his students.
Monday, January 30: Stem Cell Research and Treatment
Stem cell research is one of the most rapidly changing areas of medical science, making news for progress in treating cancer and other diseases; however, the field has been embroiled in scientific, political and ethical controversy since its beginnings in embryonic stem cell research. Ben Hurlbut, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the ASU School of Life Sciences, will review the controversy surrounding stem cell research and explore the future of this promising field. He will also talk about the latest developments in laboratory equipment such as the use of a scientific centrifuge for example. Hurlbut holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University in classics and a Ph.D. in the history of science from Harvard University.
Note: This lecture will be in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom.