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• OLLI New Member Chat Fall 2025

  • When
    Friday, October 17, 2025
  •  
    3:30 PM
  • Location
    Online

  Register

  
  

  New OLLI at BCC members are invited to
  our

  New Member Chat

  Friday, October 17, 2025
  Online at 3:30 p.m. Eastern
  

  Register to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
  

  The OLLI Member Services Committee welcomes all of our OLLI members to a Member Chat!

  -Meet new OLLI at BCC members

  -Learn about our Shared Interest Groups (SIGS), Distinguished Speakers Series and Travel Programs

  -Ask questions about our OLLI’s Website

  -Explore volunteer opportunities

  Please register to receive the Zoom link.
  

  We look forward to seeing you!

  Gordon Josephson	Ellen Croibier	Colleen Rossi
  President, OLLI at BCC Board of Directors	Member Services Committee Co-Chair	Member Services Committee Co-Chair

  Show details
• The OLLI Players Present: The Loyalist and Mum Bett's Minute

  • When
    Sunday, October 19, 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM
  • Location
    Berkshire Community College
  • Spaces left
    41

  Register

  The OLLI Players Present:
  

  Mum Bett's Minute and The Loyalist

  Two One-Act Readings

  Written by Jesse Waldinger,
  Directed by Barbara Waldinger

   

  Image left: Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett), Sculpture, Sheffield, MA. Credit: Dugan Murphy

  Image right:  Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Farewell to Flora MacDonald
  

  
  

  Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 2 p.m.
  In-person at Berkshire Community College
  Free and open to the public.

  
  

  A Staged Reading, followed by a Panel Discussion.
  

  This event is part of OLLI’s commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. The Loyalist explores the split between colonists who were committed to the cause of independence and those who remained loyal to the British crown. Recently freed from slavery, Mum Bett in Mum Bett's Minute wonders if the words of the Declaration of Independence (“all men are created equal”) apply to her. With humor and nuance, the plays thrust us into the shoes of these 18th century characters as they struggle to create our democratic experiment.

  
  

  Performance is in-person only and will not be recorded.
  

  Mum Bett's Minute:
  After winning her 1781 freedom suit, Mum Bett takes charge of her life.

  The Loyalist:
  Flora MacDonald, the Scottish heroine who helped save Bonnie Prince Charlie from the British, has migrated to North Carolina. Will she join the Revolutionary cause?

  Cast: Kim Wafer, Robin Nardi, Mike Pepino, Peter Podol, Alice Roth, Amanda Schenker, Lisken Van Pelt Dus, Neil Berman.

  Stage Manager: Alice Roth

  Music: Brian Hailes.

  Panelists: Katherine Kidd, Leyn Burrows, Michael Forbes Wilcox

  -------------

  This event is supported through the generous philanthropy of Nancy and Michael Vale, whose bequest established the Michael and Nancy Vale Performing Arts Fund at OLLI at Berkshire Community College. This endowed fund supports theater-based OLLI programming.

  Show details
• A Conversation with Steve Vladeck and Tom Gerety

  • When
    Monday, October 20, 2025
  •  
    3:30 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom
  • Spaces left
    1050

  Register

  Steve Vladeck  and Tom Gerety:
  How Far Have We Fallen? and What Will It Take to Climb Back?

  Monday, October 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET

  Online via Zoom/Free and Open to All

  A conversation on the present crisis with Tom Gerety and Steve Vladeck, a leading scholar of constitutional law and the author of the best seller, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic (2023).  
  

  Professor Vladeck teaches constitutional law and federal courts at Georgetown Law School and is a prolific writer and commentator on the response of the judiciary to the second Trump Administration and its assertions of executive authority.  He appears often on radio, TV and in podcasts.  He has his own influential Substack blog, One First, following the rulings and opinions (or lack thereof!) at the Supreme Court.  He graduated  from Amherst College in 2001 and then from Yale Law School in 2004, clerking on two U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. He went into law teaching at the University of Miami, where he served on the legal team that successfully challenged the legality of the Guantanamo Military Commissions. He taught at American University and the University of Texas before joining the law faculty at Georgetown.

  He and his wife and children have a second home in the Berkshires.

  Tom Gerety taught constitutional law through most of his career. He retired as Collegiate Professor of law and humanities at NYU.  He headed up the Brennan Center for Justice and was president of both Trinity and Amherst Colleges. He has law and philosophy degrees from Yale. 
  

  Free and open to all, but pre-registration is required. 

  This event will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel: OLLI: The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College

  Show details
• OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Bob's Way

  • When
    Wednesday, October 22, 2025
  •  
    9:30 AM
  • Location
    Bob's Way, Monterey
  • Spaces left
    9

  Register

  OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

  
  

  Wednesday, October 22 at 9:30 a.m.

  Bob's Way, Monterey

  https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/bobs-way

  Join us for this hike in Monterey. Rated moderate, the hike is a loop with a wonderful beaver pond, the most unusual dedicated bench on the BNRC properties, and magnificent views to the east and north. Beautiful all year round, this hike at the height of fall foliage season in South County should be a treat. Plan on two and a half hours for this hike.

  OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members.  You must register in advance and space is limited.

  All hikes begin at 9:30. We strongly recommend using hiking poles. If you don’t have them, we can provide poles for the hike. Good hiking shoes are essential.  If we need to cancel the hike due to rain, we will notify participants by email by 7:00 a.m. the day of the hike.

  Registration will open on Monday, October 6 at 9 a.m.

  Show details
• Natural History and Cultural Rebirth: Insights from China and Taiwan

  • When
    Wednesday, October 22, 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  Natural History and Cultural Rebirth: Insights from China and Taiwan

  
  

  Wednesday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET
  Online via Zoom

  Join us for an insightful presentation on the geological and natural history of mainland China and Taiwan, presented by Professor Markes Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Williams College, and moderated by Jock Whittlesey, former Foreign Service Officer. This session will explore the evolution of  China from 1900 and the impact of changing leadership style from Mao Zedong to Deng Ziaoping.  We'll delve into professional geological expeditions to mainland China and comparisons with Taiwan, highlighting the challenges faced by mainland China due to the depletion of iron ore and petroleum reserves. Discover the network of geoparks in mainland China and Taiwan, showcasing extraordinary natural history, including feathered dinosaurs in northeast China and the world's oldest fossil fish from southern China. Additionally, we'll observe the gradual changes in daily life and the rebirth of cultural and religious traditions in China. Don't miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and appreciation of our shared geoheritage.   We look forward to seeing you there!

  Markes E. Johnson is the Charles L. MacMillan Professor of Natural Science, Emeritus, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he taught courses in historical geology, paleontology, and stratigraphy in the Geosciences Department over a 35-year career. His undergraduate education in geology concluded with a BA degree (1971) from the University of Iowa. His advanced training in paleoecology through the Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago culminated with a PhD degree (1977). Beginning as a graduate student in Chicago, Johnson was attracted to the sparse literature on the geology of mainland China but the opportunities for academic exchange were slim during the 1970s.  After coming to Williams College, he made his first research trip to China in 1983 with support from the National Science Foundation.  Transportation for ordinary people was overwhelmingly by bicycle, men and women wore the same Mao jackets in either military green, or civilian blue or grey.  State-sponsored work brigades (the iron rice bowl) was the standard for employment.  But long-held traditions such as the Dragon-boat races on the Yangtze River dating from more than two thousand years ago were well intrenched.  Over the ensuing years, Johnson made several professional trips to China including a 2023 trip to Taiwan.  His research on earlier explorations by outsiders to China include the 1918 expedition financed privately by Robert Sterling Clark (founder of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown).  Johnson is the author of Islands in Deep Time (Columbia University Press 2023), which includes descriptions of his field studies around the world, including South Korea, China, and Vietnam. 

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

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

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

  Show details
• Book Talk with Barbara Viniar

  • When
    Tuesday, October 28, 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM
  • Location
    In-person at BCC

  Register

  Join Barbara Viniar for an author talk and book signing:

  Little Bird

  Tuesday, October 28, 2025
  2:00 p.m. Eastern
  In-person at BCC and via Zoom
  Free and open to the public.

  Barbara Viniar will discuss her debut novel, Little Bird. Set in early 20th century New York City, Little Bird is the story of a young Russian girl who is betrothed to a wealthy cousin in America to help her family escape the violence against the Jews. A classic immigrant story, she survives a perilous journey only to face the inevitable culture clashes that ensue. From obedient daughter to dutiful wife, she fights for the right to make her own choices, encountering love and loss before her ultimate triumph. Viniar will discuss the inspiration for the story, her writing process, and her publication decisions. Books available for signing at the end of the talk! 

  Barbara Viniar was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. She started her career as an administrator in higher education while teaching women’s studies and literature part time and writing her doctoral dissertation on “Women’s Moral Development in Contemporary Fiction.” Viniar served as president of BCC from 1994-2003, where she was instrumental in the founding of BILL, the precursor to OLLI. From 2003- 2008, she directed the Institute for Community College Development, a national leadership program at Cornell University, after which she assumed the presidency of Chesapeake College on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. After retiring in 2018, Viniar returned to the Berkshires and turned to blogging and writing a daily Haiku. During COVID, a chance discovery about her grandmother compelled her to imagine the story that became her debut novel, Little Bird, which was published by Sibylline Press in August 2025. She is currently working on her second novel. 
  

  Show details
• A Conversation with Tom Gerety and Aziz Huq

  • When
    Tuesday, October 28, 2025
  •  
    3:30 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom
  • Spaces left
    1210

  Register

  Tom Gerety and Aziz Huq:
  How Does an Authoritarian State Work?

  Tuesday, October 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET

  Online via Zoom
  Free and Open to All

  A conversation between Tom Gerety and Aziz Huq on the concept of a 'dual state' in which humdrum legal obligations are enforced for most people, more or less well, even as targeted individuals and institutions suffer utter lawlessness and oppression.  

  Professor Huq wrote an essay in a recent Atlantic about the work of the heroic German lawyer Ernst Fränkel, who fought for his clients even as the Nazi régime took power.  In 1941, as a refugee scholar at the University of Chicago, Fränkel published his important book, The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship. 

  Professor Huq holds the Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg chair at the University of Chicago Law School.  A British-American, he came to the United States for college at the University of North Carolina and then law school at Columbia. He clerked for Judge Sack on the Second Circuit and for Justice Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before joining the national security project at the Brennan Center.  He has consulted for the International Crisis Group and for the ACLU.  He is the author of several books and many essays.  

  Notable among his writings is his 2018 book with his colleague Tom Ginsburg, How To Save A Constitutional Democracy.; The Rule of Law: A Very Short Introduction (OUP 2024).  He has also written The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies (OUP 2021); and Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (New Press 2007) (with Fritz Schwartz). 

  Tom Gerety taught constitutional law through most of his career. He retired as Collegiate Professor of law and humanities at NYU.  He headed up the Brennan Center for Justice and was president of both Trinity and Amherst Colleges. He has law and philosophy degrees from Yale. 
  

  Free and open to all, but pre-registration is required. 

  This event will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel: OLLI: The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College

  Show details
• Beginner Candle Magick Workshop with Norma Kirby

  • When
    Wednesday, October 29, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    BCC
  • Spaces left
    14

  Register

  Beginner Candle Magick Workshop

  Wednesday, October 29
  10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  at Berkshire Community College

  In-person only.

  
  

  
  

  In this class you will:

  *Explore the history and symbolism of candle magick

  *Learn how candle colors, shapes and tools influence your work

  *Practice crafting clear and powerful intentions to incorporate into your candle

  *Be guided though the cleaning, clearing and dressing a candle for your intentions

  No prior experience is needed -  just bring your curiosity and an open heart.  All materials will be provided, and you’ll leave with the knowledge and confidence to craft your own candles at home.

  NOTE: THIS IS NOT A CANDLE MAKING CLASS

  Duration of the class is approximately 1.5 hours.    Please wear older clothing as we will be working with oils and it may be a little messy.   Also, bring a plastic bag to bring your candle home.

  Norma Kirby is a practicing High Priestess in the Cabot tradition of Witchcraft. She has started her Witchcraft education and completed her required degrees and was initiated as a High Priestess in 2011 under Laurie Cabot. She has continued to further her education in Witchcraft under Christopher Penczak and the late Raven Grimassi completing additional tarot and esoteric classes. She is a well-known reader in Salem, MA where she continues to grow and learn.

  Cost: $25 for OLLI at BCC members,
             $30 for non-members

  Price includes materials cost.

  Sign up today!
  

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

  Show details
• The Great Miscalculation The Race to Save New York City’s Citicorp Tower

  • When
    Wednesday, October 29, 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom

  Register

  The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

  The Great Miscalculation: The Race to Save New York City’s Citicorp Tower
  with Michael M. Greenburg

  Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. ET
  

  Online via Zoom

  How an engineering crisis threatened a building, a career, and the lives of countless New Yorkers

  In 1977, the Citicorp Center—a fifty-nine-story skyscraper with a striking slanted roof and columns perched off-center like stilts—instantly became one of the most recognizable features of the New York City skyline. Designed by renowned structural engineer William LeMessurier, the tower was hailed as the crowning achievement of his career. But behind its bold engineering lay a devastating flaw: the building had a one-in-sixteen chance of collapsing.

  The Great Miscalculation is the riveting true story of how that flaw was discovered, disclosed, and secretly repaired—an engineering crisis that threatened the seventh-tallest building in the world. As hurricane season approached, the Citicorp Tower’s vulnerabilities posed a looming danger, while the economic turmoil and political dysfunction of 1970s New York made a radical, unprecedented fix seem almost impossible.

  Blending engineering, history, and human drama, The Great Miscalculation uncovers the hidden story of a near catastrophe that reveals the very human pressures, compromises, and choices behind one of the greatest engineering close calls of the twentieth century.

  Michael M. Greenburgis a practicing attorney and narrative nonfiction author based in suburban Boston. A graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served as editor of the Pepperdine Law Review, he brings a lawyer’s eye for detail and a storyteller’s ear for drama to his writing.

  Michael is the author of five critically acclaimed nonfiction books: Peaches and Daddy, a tale of scandal, media frenzy, and moral panic in the Roaring Twenties; The Mad Bomber of New York, the gripping story of a manhunt that paralyzed a city and gave birth to modern criminal profiling; The Court-Martial of Paul Revere, which uncovers the forgotten military disaster that nearly eclipsed a Founding Father;
  This Noble Woman, the inspiring biography of Myrtilla Miner and her fight to educate African American girls in the antebellum South; and The Great Miscalculation, a riveting account of the race to save New York City’s iconic Citicorp Tower.

  Michael has been featured on NPR, Bloomberg, the Smithsonian Channel, Veritasium, and the Travel Channel. He has lectured at the New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, the U.S. Constitution Museum, and numerous historical and literary societies. His work reflects a deep belief in the relevance of history—and in the stories that still shape how we see the world today.

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

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

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

  Show details
• OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Basin Pond

  • When
    Wednesday, November 05, 2025
  •  
    9:30 AM
  • Location
    Basin Pond, Lee
  • Spaces left
    20

  OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

  
  

  Wednesday, November 5 at 9:30 a.m.

  Basin Pond, Lee

  https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/basin-pond

  Join us for this loop hike in Lee.  Rated moderate, the trail crosses several streams, has many glacial erratics, and a vista over a beaver pond.  This property, once slated to be a wealthy second home community with a golf course, offers glimpses into the variety of land uses typical to the Berkshires in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  The hike is approximately 2.5 hours.

  OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members.  You must register in advance and space is limited.

  All hikes begin at 9:30. We strongly recommend using hiking poles. If you don’t have them, we can provide poles for the hike. Good hiking shoes are essential.  If we need to cancel the hike due to rain, we will notify participants by email by 7:00 a.m. the day of the hike.

  Registration will open on Monday, October 20 at 9 a.m.

  Show details
• Awakening the Spirit: An Introduction to Mediumship with Norma Kirby

  • When
    Thursday, November 06, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 1:30 PM
  • Location
    Berkshire Community College
  • Spaces left
    18

  Register

  Awakening the Spirit:
  An Introduction to Mediumship Workshop

  Thursday, November 6, 2025
  10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
  at Berkshire Community College

  In-person only.

  
  

  Step into the sacred space between worlds and discover the timeless art of mediumship.
  In this heart-opening workshop, you’ll be gently guided to awaken your intuitive senses and explore the subtle whispers of spirit in a safe and supportive circle.

  Through guided meditation, simple practices, and shared experience, you will:

  • Awaken your natural intuition and learn to recognize the presence of spirit. 
    
  • Explore the difference between psychic insight and true mediumship.
  • Practice raising your vibration to align with the loving energy of the spirit world.
    
  • Experience exercises designed to help you sense, feel, and trust subtle connections.
    
  • Learn grounding and protection techniques to create balance and safety as you open.

  No prior experience is needed—only an open heart and curiosity. By the end of our time together, you’ll carry with you a deeper sense of connection, trust in your own gifts, and the first steps toward building a personal relationship with the unseen realms.

  Bring your lunch and plenty to drink as we will have a break as part of our preparation for the afternoon exercises. Burke's Cafe will also be open and lunch may be purchased.

  Bring a note book or a journal and come ready to listen, feel, and awaken the magic that is already within you.

  Norma Kirby is a practicing High Priestess in the Cabot tradition of Witchcraft. She has started her Witchcraft education and completed her required degrees and was initiated as a High Priestess in 2011 under Laurie Cabot. She has continued to further her education in Witchcraft under Christopher Penczak and the late Raven Grimassi completing additional tarot and esoteric classes. She is a well-known reader in Salem, MA where she continues to grow and learn.

  Cost: $25 for OLLI at BCC members,
             $30 for non-members

  Price includes materials cost.

  Sign up today!
  

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

  Show details
• Q&A with Marty Baron on Collision of Power

  • When
    Thursday, November 06, 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom

  Register

  The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

  Q&A with Marty Baron on Collision of Power

  Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. ET
  

  Online via Zoom

  Join OLLI at BCC for a unique Q&A opportunity with Martin Baron.

  
  

  Marty Baron took the helm of The Washington Post in January 2013, and in August 2013 Jeff Bezos shocked the media world by announcing he would buy the paper from its storied family owners. A few years later, Donald Trump entered the White House and began a relentless campaign against the press, branding journalists as “the enemy of the people.”

  Dealing with a billionaire owner and a president targeting the press, Baron guided the Post through one of the most tumultuous chapters in modern journalism. His newsroom provided groundbreaking and award-winning coverage and delivered hard-hitting investigations into lapses at the Secret Service during President Obama's administration, Trump’s dubious charitable claims, and the troubling past of Senate candidate Roy Moore. At the same time, he managed his staff amid cultural reckonings around gender, race, and the changing role of the media itself.

  In his talk, he will recount these years with the eye of a reporter and the steady hand of an editor, offering a behind-the-scenes look at journalism under fire—and a searching exploration of power in the 21st century. 

  Martin “Marty” Baron retired as executive editor of the Washington Post in February 2021, after spending eight years overseeing the Post’s print and digital news operations and a staff that reached almost 1,000 journalists during his tenure. News staffs under Baron's leadership have won 18 Pulitzer Prizes, including 11 awarded to The Post for public service, national reporting, investigative reporting, explanatory reporting, and other categories.

  Previously, Baron had been editor of the Boston Globe. During his more than 11 years with the publication, the Globe won a total of six Pulitzer Prizes for public service, explanatory journalism, national reporting, and criticism. The public service recognition was awarded to the Globe in 2003 for its inquiry into a pattern of concealing clergy sex abuse in the local Catholic Archdiocese. The story of the investigation was told in the gripping Academy Award–winning movie Spotlight (2015).

  Baron began his journalism career at the Miami Herald in 1976. Three years later he moved to the Los Angeles Times, working his way up from business reporter to business editor and then to editor of the newspaper’s Orange County edition, which then had about 165 staffers. He landed at the New York Times in 1996, soon becoming the associate managing editor responsible for nighttime news operations. Baron was named executive editor of the Miami Herald in 2000. Under his leadership as its top editor, the Herald won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for breaking news coverage for its reporting on the raid to recover Elián González, a Cuban boy at the center of a fierce immigration and custody dispute.

  Baron was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1976 with both a BA in journalism and an MBA, having completed a five-year program in four years. His career in journalism has been recognized with numerous honors and awards and he is the recipient of several honorary degrees.

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

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

  If you live in the vicinity of the Roeliff Jansen Community Library in Hillsdale, NY, we will be hosting an in-person social hour and screening of the program. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. 

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

  Show details
• Steam Engines: Mastering Water’s Third State

  • When
    Thursday, November 13, 2025
  •  
    9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Location
    Online via Zoom

  Register

  The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

  Steam Engines: Mastering Water’s Third State with Buck Beasom

  Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. ET
  

  Online via Zoom

  We take for granted that ships can carry us and our products across the seas. But while “Setting Sail” once literally meant billowing clouds of canvas, the Industrial Revolution transformed it into the simple problem of boiling water. Steam power changed everything, from how we powered our factories and propelled our ships, to a whole new method of transportation that conquered even our planet’s dryest and highest lands. This class explores the evolution of steam power, the ingenuity needed to maximize its potential and the transition from pistons to turbines – and from fossil fuels to nuclear power - that keeps steam relevant today.
  
  Buck Beasom worked in the private sector for 40 years in accounting, finance, systems design, applications development and database administration. The last three decades of that career included 20+ years teaching Business and Economics courses to conventional and adult college students and a five-year stint teaching History in public schools. He teaches courses for OLLI Chapters all across the country. 

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

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

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

  Show details
• Stroll through 50 Years of TV Sports

  • When
    Thursday, November 13, 2025
  •  
    1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    In-person at BCC and Online via Zoom

  Register

  The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

  Stroll through 50 Years of TV Sports with Neal Pilson

  Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. ET

  Hybrid at Berkshire Community College and online via Zoom

  

  Neal Pilson has been a major figure in television sports for close to 50 years and in 2018 was elected to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. A graduate of Hamilton College and Yale Law School, he was initially active in the legal profession in New York and joined CBS Sports in July, 1976 as the Vice President of Business Affairs charged with the responsibility of negotiating for the network broadcast rights to major events. In that role, subsequently as President of CBS Sports for 15 years, for the past 30 years as an independent consultant for major sports properties and as an expert witness in litigation involving several key sports properties, he helped shape the sports tv industry. The focus of his remarks will be his intensely personal experiences in working with the NFL, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the Olympics, NASCAR, The Masters, PGA Golf, US Open Tennis and unique personalities including John Madden, Pat Summerall, Brent Musburger, Jimmy the Greek Snyder, Phyllis George and Jim Nantz, among others. Neal will also discuss how and why sports executives make decisions on what sports to cover and which events to buy, who to hire (and fire), the incredible growth of women's sports, and how the TV sports business actually works. Neal recently retired after 17 years teaching Leadership Skills in the Sports Management Program at the Columbia Graduate School for Professional Studies. 

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

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

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

  Show details
• Willa Cather’s America: Life, Letters, and Literature

  • When
    Friday, November 14, 2025
  •  
    9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Location
    Berkshire Community College

  Register

  Willa Cather’s America: Life, Letters, and Literature

  
  

  Friday, November 14, 2025 at 9:30 a.m,

  In-person at Berkshire Community College

  This single-session course offers a compelling blend of literary lecture and dramatic readings in celebration of the sesquicentennial of Willa Cather (1873–1947), one of the most distinctive and enduring voices in twentieth-century American literature. Participants will explore Cather’s life, themes, and artistry while hearing her words brought vividly to life.

  A peer of Wharton, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and Hemingway, Cather charted her own path through determination and struggle. 
  
  Her groundbreaking novels — including O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, One of Ours, The Professor’s House, and Death Comes for the Archbishop — helped shape the American canon. This program explores Cather’s turbulent life, her uniquely American voice, and her continued relevance today — interwoven with dramatic readings from her fiction and letters performed by local actors.

  Peter Cipkowski is a literary historian with interdisciplinary research interests in early 20th century American literature, civic engagement, and global education. He also serves as the incoming president of the National Willa Cather Center Board of Governors. Peter received his doctorate from the University of Southern California and teaches at UCLA. Peter divides his time between Hillsdale and Los Angeles.

  _________

  Ticket information:
  

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

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

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• OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Steepletop

  • When
    Wednesday, November 19, 2025
  •  
    9:30 AM
  • Location
    Steepletop, New Marlborough
  • Spaces left
    20

  OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) Joint Hike

  
  

  Wednesday, November 19 at 9:30 a.m.

  Steepletop, New Marlborough

  https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/steepletop

  Join us for this loop hike in New Marlborough.  Rated easy, this hike is a loop around extensive wetlands.  Part of BNRC’s largest reserve, the hike will introduce you to just one of the many trails you may want to return to explore especially in winter and spring.  Although we may not see them, this reserve, surrounded by 5,000 acres of protected land, is home to beaver, otters, coyotes, and of course deer, bear, and many species of birds.  The hike is approximately two hours.

  OLLI at BCC and the BNRC are offering joint hikes this fall. These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC and BNRC members.  You must register in advance and space is limited.

  All hikes begin at 9:30. We strongly recommend using hiking poles. If you don’t have them, we can provide poles for the hike. Good hiking shoes are essential.  If we need to cancel the hike due to rain, we will notify participants by email by 7:00 a.m. the day of the hike.

  Registration will open on Monday, November 3 at 9 a.m.

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• Columbia County OLLI Hike and Meetup at Schor

  • When
    Sunday, November 23, 2025
  •  
    1:00 PM
  • Location
    Schor, East Chatham
  • Spaces left
    20

  Register

  OLLI in Columbia County 

  Hike and Meetup at Schor

  Sunday, November 23 at 1:00 p.m.

  Schor, East Chatham, NY

  Get outside for a brisk 2-mile hike the weekend before Thanksgiving. Bring a friend and meet new ones from OLLI. This guided hike in East Chatham promises views to Albany on a clear day!  

  
  

  Schor is a property of the Columbia Land Conservancy. The trails at Schor are primarily packed earth, with some rocks, exposed roots, and bog bridges. The group will take the Red Fox Loop and Summit Trail, which is rockier and steeper, but culminates in views of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains. Arrive early to hang out at the pond – there’s a picnic pavilion and plenty of seating for a pre-hike bring-your-own packed lunch.

  These hikes are free for OLLI at BCC members and guests.  You must register in advance and space is limited.

  We strongly recommend using hiking poles. If you don’t have them, we can provide poles for the hike. Good hiking shoes are essential.  If we need to cancel the hike due to rain, we will notify participants by email by 10:00 a.m. the day of the hike.

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• 2026 Art Exhibit Registration and Payment

  • When
    Monday, June 01, 2026
  •  
    9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Location
    Lichtenstein Center for the Arts

  Register

  
  

  Call for Entries!
  

  OLLI at BCC members are invited to participate in
  the OLLI Art Exhibit 2026 at
  the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts

  This multimedia exhibit exclusively showcases our many talented members and will run the entire month of June 2026. The exhibit will be available virtually after closing on the OLLI website.

  Deadline for entry: April 3, 2026
  Fee: $25 per artist

  2026 OLLI Art Exhibit Entry Form
  

  Instructions for photographing artwork

  ......................................................

  Thank you to the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts for generously hosting this event.
  ..............................................................................................................................................

  Questions? Email the OLLI office at olli@berkshirecc.edu
  

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