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• TRAINS: The Economics and the Romance

  • Start
    Monday, January 06, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM
  • End
    Monday, January 13, 2025
  •  
    11:30 AM
  • Location
    In-person in Stockbridge and Lenox
  • Spaces left
    18

  Register

  Trains: The Economics and the Romance

  with Norma Kirby and Carole Owens
  

  Two Session Workshop on
  

  Mondays, January 6 and 13
  

  10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
  

  In-person in Lenox and Stockbridge
  

  Workshop Cost:
  OLLI at BCC Members: $20
  Non-members: $25

  
  

  This workshop is about the history of trains from the first trains pulling into Berkshire County with cargo from the Erie Canal, Hudson River, and Boston. We will explore the vast economic opportunities that changed a small county into a desired destination.

  Session One, January 6 at the Stockbridge Train Station:
  The Economics of Trains

  This session will explore the impact the train had on the growth and shape of Berkshire County. Topics will include railroad bankers and the Pullman Strike.

  Session Two, January 13 at the Lenox Train Station:
  The Romance of Trains

  The Sound of the Whistle in the night, the steam rising, we love it all!
  

  Norma Kirby is a Locomotive Engineer and Road Foreman with Amtrak whose career included all the train tracks that enter Berkshire County and the stories that have been passed down from generations of railroaders.

  Carole Owens holds a doctorate, practiced for 30 years as a therapist and mental health program designer. She has written 12 books mostly on American history with brief forays into murder mysteries. Currently she writes for the Berkshire Edge, the Berkshire Eagle, and her own hyper-local paper, Stockbridge Updates.

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• The Science of Happiness

  • When
    Tuesday, January 07, 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom

  Register

  The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents
  The Science of Happiness
  

  with Prof. Catherine Sanderson
  

  Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. ET

  Online via Zoom
  

  The surprising and not-so-surprising information on the science behind happiness. What role do money, marriage, friends, children, weather, age, and religion play in making us feel happier? Is happiness stable over time? How can happiness be increased? Professor Catherine Sanderson will describe cutting-edge research from the field of positive psychology on the factors that do (and do not) predict happiness, and provide participants with practical (and relatively easy!) ways to increase their own psychological well-being.

  Catherine Sanderson is the Poler Family Professor of Psychology at Amherst College. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology, with a specialization in Health and Development, from Stanford University, and received both masters and doctoral degrees in psychology from Princeton University. Her research has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. Professor Sanderson has published over 25 journal articles and book chapters in addition to four college textbooks, middle school and high school health textbooks, as well as the Introduction to Psychology course for The Great Courses. In 2012, she was named one of the country's top 300 professors by the Princeton Review.

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

  Admission is $10 for OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Museum members, and $15 for the general public.
  

  Admission is free for students, staff and faculty from Berkshire Community College, MCLA, Simon's Rock, and Williams; youth 17 and under, and those holding WIC, EBT/SNAP, or ConnectorCare cards.

  Pre-registration is required. Register safely and securely online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9am-4pm) to register by phone with a credit card.

  In Partnership with the Berkshire Museum

  
  

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• Help is on the Way! Learning Basic Computer Skills Workshops

  • Start
    Thursday, January 09, 2025
  • End
    Thursday, January 16, 2025
  • Location
    In-person at Berkshire Community College
  • Spaces left
    0

  Join waitlist

  Help is on the Way! Learning Basic Computer Skills Workshops

  In-person only, at Berkshire Community College
  January 9 and 16 at 10 a.m.
  

  Join Mark Van Horn together with OLLI volunteers and staff for short targeted workshops to teach you specific computer skills.

  
  

  Each session will start with a short presentation followed by small group help to answer all your questions about that topic.
  

  Thursday, January 9 at 10 a.m.
  Session One: How to Navigate the OLLI Website (and others)

  Have you ever tried to log in and couldn't?  Want to register online but can't find the event? This workshop is for you!  We will cover site navigation, how to log in and change your password and other OLLI website tips and tricks.  All of the information will be transferable to other websites you may use.
  

  Thursday, January 16 at 10 a.m.
  Session Two: Email Organization and Navigation

  Closed at Capacity
  

  Can't find the Zoom link in your email?  Did you know you can search in, and organize your email? This session will cover basic email navigation and organization tips and tricks.

  You can sign up for one or both of the sessions!
  These workshops are for OLLI at BCC members and each session is $10
  

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• Winter 2025 OLLI Term

  • Start
    Tuesday, January 21, 2025
  • End
    Wednesday, March 12, 2025
  • Location
    Online and In-Person

  Register

  OLLI at Berkshire Community College
  Winter 2025 Term

  
  

  January 21 - March 12

  Our winter term runs January 21 - March 12, 2025, and includes a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (online and in-person) courses. All classes take place in Eastern Time.

  Winter 2025 course descriptions can be found here.

  Course cost:
  $50 for one class
  $95 for 2-3 classes
  $125 for 4 or more classes
  

  Call the OLLI at BCC Office at 413.236.2190 (Mon-Fri, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Eastern) to register by phone with a credit card, or with any questions you may have.
  

  To sign up for courses, you need to be an OLLI at BCC member. (Not a member yet? Join here.) Not sure which classes you want to take? Sign up for one or more Flexpasses, which allow you to attend six individual class sessions of your choice within a semester, as long as the class is not full. Click here to learn more about Flexpasses.

  Note that our online courses are recorded, unless otherwise noted. If you cannot attend live, or if you miss a session or two, you can access that course's Padlet for the recording link and watch it at your convenience.

  Questions? Contact us at olli@berkshirecc.edu or 413.236.2190. We look forward to hearing from you!

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• Osher Online Winter 2025

  • Start
    Thursday, January 23, 2025
  • End
    Monday, March 10, 2025
  • Location
    Online

  Register

  
  

  Osher Online is a program from the Osher National Resource Center (NRC) at Northwestern University.  These classes are delivered by the Osher NRC via Zoom, with participants from all over the country. All times listed are Eastern time.

  OLLI at BCC is excited to be a part of this program. Space is limited! Register early.

  Osher Online classes are $60 each, and available to OLLI at BCC members only. 

  Each class has a limit of 13 students from each participating OLLI. Register by January 2.
  

  Osher Online classes are not recorded.

  After you register for Osher Online classes, you will receive a welcome email from the Osher NRC. This email will include an Osher Online username and password as well as a link to the Osher Online Website, through which you will access your classes.
  

  You will also have access to a pre-class orientation, where you'll get helpful information for accessing your class. There you'll find the class Zoom link, syllabus, discussion board and Customer Care contact information.

  Available Courses:
  

  Color and Symbolism in Art History
  Mondays 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Eastern time
  Instructor: Eleanor Schrader
  

  The Tourists Tour of the Wider Universe
  (filled! email olli@berkshirecc.edu to join the waiting list)
  Tuesdays 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
  Instructor: Andrew Fraknoi
  

  The Secret Life of Familiar Birds
  (filled! email olli@berkshirecc.edu to join the waiting list)
  Wednesdays 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Eastern time
  Instructor: Elizabeth Burnette

  The World of Musical Satire
  Wednesdays 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Eastern time
  Instructor: David Misch
  

  Science Everyone Needs to Know
  Thursdays 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Eastern time
  Instructor: Kjir Hendrickson

  The Next Generation's Legacy of the Holocaust
  Thursdays 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
  Instructor: Ruth Wade, Joy Wolfe Ensor & Rita Benn

  Class details and videos from instructors can be found here.

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• Iceland Trip Information Session

  • When
    Tuesday, January 28, 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom

  Register

  OLLI at BCC presents:

  Untamed Iceland
  Trip Information Session

  with a representative from
  Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT)
  

  Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. ET

  Free and Open to the Public
  Online via Zoom
  

  OLLI at BCC is going to Iceland in September 2025!

  Click here for a downloadable brochure of the “Untamed Iceland” Tour by OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel). 

  If you are interested in small group travel, exploring and learning about the culture, geology, flora and fauna, literature and beauty of this small island nation, this is the trip for you.

  Come learn more and bring your questions!

  

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• Sarasota Double Header!

  • When
    Tuesday, February 11, 2025
  •  
    11:30 AM
  • Location
    Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236

  Register

  
  

  The OLLI Special Events Committee presents 
  

  SARASOTA DOUBLE HEADER

  Tuesday, February 11 at 11:30 a.m.
  This program is in-person in Sarasota, Florida
  

  Sarasota Art Museum and OLLI at Ringling College, 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236

  Join us for your own lunch at Museum BISTRO at 1:15 p.m.
  

  11:30 a.m. SARASOTA ART MUSEUM
  

  Joe Fig: Contemplating Vermeer
  In 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam hosted a monumental exhibition of Johannes Vermeer, showcasing 28 of the 35 masterpieces attributed to the enigmatic Dutch painter. Drawing on his own visit to this historic show, artist Joe Fig created 16 new paintings. In these works premiering in Contemplating Vermeer, Fig not only pays homage to the seventeenth-century painter’s mastery of light, color, and verisimilitude, but also reflects on the aesthetic experience in the Rijksmuseum’s galleries. Expanding on his decade-long Contemplation series, he captures his subjects—artworks and their viewers—and their surroundings, exploring how people engage with or contemplate artworks in public spaces.

  Larry Fink / Martha Posner: Flesh and Bone
  This exhibition explores the creative dialogue between photographer Larry Fink (1941-2023) and sculptor Martha Posner (born 1956), who were romantic partners for more than 30 years. Radically different artists, their work nonetheless shares common themes of desire, vulnerability, and brutality. Both also explore myth throughout their art: Posner explicitly, through her re-imagining of female subjects from various legends and mythic traditions; Fink implicitly, through his shrewd eye for human impulse, folly, and bravado, qualities he found in almost every scenario no matter how base or exalted.

  2:30 p.m. DOCUMENTARY FILM
  SCREENING AND CLASS
  (with the OLLI at Ringling College)

  Resistance – They Fought Back
  We’ve all heard of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but most people have no idea how widespread and prevalent Jewish resistance to Nazi barbarism was. Instead, it’s widely believed that “Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter.”  Filmed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel, and the U.S., Resistance – They Fought Back provides a much-needed corrective to this myth of Jewish passivity.

  Meet Paula Apsell, News and Documentary Emmy winner and the writer and co-director of the award-winning film Resistance — They Fought Back.

  SIGN UP IMMEDIATELY FOR THIS FABULOUS EVENT!
  

  Costs:
  OLLI at BCC Member: $38
  Non-Member: $42

  Registration closes on February 5.
  

  No refunds unless space is filled from a waiting list!  
  Questions? Special Events Chair: Arline Breskin (413) 446 4102

  Register online or call 413.236.2190 (M-F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register by phone with a credit card.  
  

  Thank you to OLLI's Special Events Committee for organizing this and so many other great OLLI events!

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• Bring Your Story to Life: Enrich Your Writing with the Five Senses

  • When
    Friday, February 14, 2025
  •  
    3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom
  • Spaces left
    3

  Register

  Bring Your Story to Life: Enrich Your Writing with the Five Senses

  An online writing workshop led by

  Robin Fasano

  
  

  Friday, February 14

  3:00 -4:30 p.m.
  

  Online via Zoom

  Workshop Cost:
  OLLI at BCC Members: $15
  Non-members: $20
  

  Join us in this workshop as we deepen our writing and use the five senses to enhance storytelling.

  The senses are an entryway to strong storytelling and we’ll be engaging the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to add depth, details, and imagery. By tapping into our senses, we build a vivid story, make the words come alive, and transport the reader. 

  We’ll use in-class writing techniques, prompts, and exercises to sharpen our awareness and bring the physical world into our story for a full sensory experience.

  Open to all writing levels.
  

  Robin Fasano has written for Spirituality & Health, Berkshire Magazine, Berkshire Living, and The Massachusetts Review, among others. She has worked in publishing, philanthropy, and communications.

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