LifeLong Learning at PebbleCreek

What’s happening in April for LLL?

The 2015–2016 season is almost over but there are still a few events for you to enjoy during April.

For more information about these events, please visit www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.

April 7: Trip – Amazon Distribution Center trip; wait list only.

April 7: Cinema Society – Final movie of the season. 10:00 a.m. $20

April 19: Trip – Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg. See the Cowgirl Up! exhibit and have lunch at Rancho de los Caballeros. Leave PC 8:45 a.m. $60

April 21: TED Talk – Final session for this season. Free but must register. 2:00 p.m.

Wow, what a season

With just a few events left in the 2015-16 season, we pause to thank everyone who supported LifeLong Learning by participating in the many events this season.

And what a season it was! Sixteen Monday Morning lectures, six Premier Lectures, 21 classes, 13 trips, six Cinema Society movies, four special events and four TED Talk afternoons.

The LifeLong Learning team—some 70 residents strong!—loves to bring these programs to you, the PebbleCreek community. A labor of love gets better each year.

In addition, while the season is at an end, planning for next year is already underway. The team is vetting teachers, lecturers, locations and special program options. The trip team hopes to bring even more next season, TED Talks will begin in the fall, the Cinema Society will continue for year three and we’re already dreaming about new programs to meet the needs of our ever-expanding PC community. As always, we welcome your comments, ideas and referrals.

Many of us will also be spending time this summer upgrading the website and the registration process. While the first year of online sales was a great success, particularly with seasonal residents who had been unable to reserve spaces in our most popular events in previous years, we have some bugs that need to be fixed and we will be addressing them during the summer.

How will you know what is planned for the coming season?

As in the last several years, the best way to be informed is to subscribe to the LLL enewsletter. If you don’t receive it, send an email with your name to [email protected].

Details of the programs planned for 2016-17 will be available at www.lifelonglearnigatpc.org in late September, the printed SCHEDULE will be in the clubhouse carousels by September 30 and registration will open for everyone, regardless of where you are at the time, on October 1.

Have a wonderful summer wherever you may be. The LifeLong Learning team looks forward to an exciting 2016-17 season.

Spreading ideas with TED Talk

“I haven’t had to think about things like that in a long while. It feels good.”

The comment came after a session of LifeLong Learning at PebbleCreek’s newest program TED Talks, based on the nonprofit global program that highlights, through short talks, ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.

In PebbleCreek our goal is to bring people together, expose them to new ideas and create a community in which these ideas can be explored from various points of view. Each session begins with a short TED video followed by small group discussions.

“The challenge for our TED Talk planning team is to identify talks that will inspire lively small group discussion,” said Shannon Tyree, the leader of the TED sessions. So far talks have ranged from How to Buy Happiness to How to Use a Paper Towel. The full list is available online at http://lifelonglearningatpc.org/special/ted.html.

“Our hope is that we’ve piqued the curiosity of our participants who will share what they hear with their family, neighbors and friends,” said Phyllis Minsuk, co-chair of Lifelong Learning. “TED is the newest LLL program that has become successful and will likely become a permanent part of the LifeLong Learning program.”

There is still time to join us in April, but registration is required. Meanwhile, we are already planning next season. We expect to start the monthly sessions in the fall. Look for announcements in the PebbleCreek Post and in LifeLong Learning’s enewsletter. To subscribe, send an email with your name to [email protected].

Attention art lovers! Cowgirl Up!

Artists, art lovers and lovers of everything western — hurry up and sign up now for the LifeLong Learning at PebbleCreek trip to see the Cowgirl Up! show in Wickenburg on April 19.

What is Cowgirl Up? Simply put, the best work of women artists who capture the spirit and lifestyle of the West.

Now in its eleventh year, Cowgirl Up! is the highlight of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum’s year. Last year the exhibit generated more than a half-million dollars in sales for its artists. This year, with 58 artists presenting more than 200 works of art, the exhibit is larger and better than ever.

What? You didn’t know there was a wonderful museum in the sleepy town of Wickenburg? The museum is dedicated to showcasing the art and history of the American West through creative exhibits and educational programs that preserve the West’s cultural legacy.

The LLL trip will include a docent-led tour of the Cowgirl Up! exhibit as well as the museum’s collections of cowboy gear, authentic period clothing, dioramas depicting the desert frontier and the region’s history. You’ll step back in time as you stroll the streets of Wickenburg at the turn of the 20th Century.

Following the museum tour, we’ll enjoy the buffet lunch at Rancho de los Caballeros, a Dude Ranch Resort, Spa and Golf Club that opened in 1948.

The much requested trip to Wickenburg, April 19, boards the bus at 8:45 a.m. and returns to PC at 2:30 p.m. The total cost is $60. Register at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org (search for Cowgirl Up!) or call Lisa Greenhoot at 541-554-5628.