Berkshire OLLI upcoming events

2026 Walking Tours: Indian Town, Stockbridge (Saturday, September 05, 2026)

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Walking Tours:
Indian Town, Stockbridge, Mass.

Seven Sessions to Choose From!

All tours are in person and onsite, rain or shine.

Saturday, September 5 at 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, September 6, 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 12, 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, September 20, 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 26, 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 3, 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, October 4, 1:00 p.m.

Indian Town was chartered in 1737 as a mission to the Mohican tribe to teach them English, about Christianity and about English agricultural practices. Recently, the Stockbridge-Munsee community in Wisconsin worked with Housatonic Heritage and other local partners to create a tour of the most important Mohican sites along the main street of Stockbridge. Trained by one of the creators of the walking tour, OLLI members will lead participants along Main Street to learn about the Mohicans, who lived in what is now Stockbridge for thousands of years, and aspects of their culture which are still present today. Stops include the Carriage Barn at the Mission House, the burial grounds and the site of the 2021 archeological dig for the Mohican meeting house.

This walk is approximately 1.5 mi. round trip, and the sidewalks are accessible. Participants should be prepared to be walking and standing for about two hours.

This walking tour has been developed by the Stockbridge-Munsee Community highlighting the years in which they lived in Stockbridge. Presented in partnership with Housatonic Heritage. The walking tours are free and open to the public.

NOTE--Does not include a tour of the museum interior. An inside tour, for a fee, can be arranged before or after the free Heritage Walk.

A more detailed description of the tour can be found here.

For more information about the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, click here: https://www.nativeamericantrail.org/stockbridge-walking-tour/

Fall 2026 OLLI Term (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

OLLI at Berkshire Community College

Fall 2026 Term

Beginning September 22, 2026

Our Fall term begins on September 22, 2026, and includes a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (online and in-person) courses. All classes take place in Eastern Time.

Fall 2026 course descriptions can be found here.

Hiking classes are using a separate registration form. Register for hiking classes here.

Course cost:
$60 for one courses
$110 for 2 courses
$150 for 3 or more courses

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!

OLLI at BCC Sponsors include: Berkshire Health Systems

Osher Online Fall 2026 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026)

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Registration closes September 14.

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:

The History and Experience of Route 66

Instructor: Peter Dedek
Mondays at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Six Sessions - 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9

A Cosmic Grand Tour: The Realms of the Universe

CLOSED - AT CAPACITY

Instructor: Andrew Fraknoi

Tuesdays at 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Six Sessions - 9/29, 10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27, 11/3

Apple at 50: How it Revolutionized Computing and Transformed Daily Life

Instructor: Leander Kahney
Tuesdays at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Six Sessions - 9/29, 10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27, 11/3

August Wilson and His American Cycle - The First Five: 1904-1957

Instructor: Ladrica Menson-Furr
Wednesdays at 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Six Sessions - 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11

The Magic Behind Film Scores:
The Role of Music in Great Movies-Part II

Instructor: Mike Argon
Wednesdays at 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Six Sessions - 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 11/4, 11/11

Tracing Our Roots: DNA, Family History, and the Politics of Identity

Instructor: Angelo Cervantes
Wednesdays at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Six Sessions - 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4

Early 20th Century Avant-Garde: From Rebellion to Abstraction

Instructor: Lauren Weingarden
Thursdays at 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Six Sessions - 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12

Class details and videos from instructors can be found here.

The End of WWII and the Creation of the Post-war Global System (Tuesday, September 29, 2026)

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:30:00 GMT

The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

The End of WWII and the Creation of the Post-war Global System with Prof. Warren Kimball

Tuesday, September 29 at 2:30 p.m.
In-person at BCC

Cost:

OLLI at BCC Members: Free
General Public: $10
WIC/ EBT/ ConnectorCare Card Holders: Free
Student/ Staff/ Faculty of BCC, MCLA, and Williams: Free

A talk and discussion of how Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, thought about and shaped the postwar world. A history that lasted for some 75 years and may be crumbling right now.

Prof. Warren Kimball is an OLLI at BCC Member and Professor Emeritus from Rutgers University. He is the author of Forged in War: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Second World War (1997), The Juggler: Franklin Roosevelt as Wartime Statesman (1991), and books on the Morgenthau Plan for Germany and the origins of Lend-Lease. He edited Churchill & Roosevelt: The Complete Correspondence (3 vols.,1984). His over 50 essays on Churchill, Roosevelt the era of the Second World War have popped up like dandelions in the spring, most recently in a published collection of co-edited essays, FDR's World: War, Peace, and Legacies (2008). He is an academic adviser to the Churchill Centre, and senior editor for the Churchill journal, Finest Hour. He chaired and served on the State Department Historical Advisory Committee, 1990-2003, and chair of the Secretary of State’s Review Panel on the Historical Office Issues in 2008-09.

While he still tries to unwrap the true "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" (FDR), and still is sifting the evidence as to whether or not Sir Winston ever really "smoked" that cigar B he is writing an institutional history of the US Tennis Association and is The USTA Historian. He is Robert Treat Professor of History (emeritus) from Rutgers University -- where he taught for 32 years, was Pitt Professor at Cambridge University, 1987-88, and Visiting Distinguished Professor at The Citadel, 2002-04. He held two fellowships at Corpus Christi College and was a Churchill Archive Fellow, both at Cambridge. He lives on Seabrook Island, just south of Charleston, South Carolina, and here in the Berkshires.

Writing Group SIG (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 21:00:00 GMT

NEW - Writing Group SIG

Free and open exclusively to OLLI at BCC members

First meeting will be on September 30, 2026 from 5-6:30 p.m. Eastern on Zoom

Do you enjoy expressing yourself through the written word? Are you looking for a supportive community of writers? Then join fellow scribes in the Writing Group SIG, where together you’ll pursue the art, craft and love of writing.

The group’s writing focus will be primarily storytelling through memoir. Members will meet on Zoom twice a month to share their writing (from at-home assignments) and participate in positive critiques of the pieces. An exchange of helpful resources and tips is encouraged.

At each session, two prompts to choose between will be suggested for the next meeting’s writing assignment. To allow enough time for reading and critiquing, the word count for assignments should be around 750. If time allows during meetings, members will engage in a short writing exercise in response to a prompt.

This SIG is open to beginner and more experienced writers and will meet every other week on Wednesdays, beginning September 30, 2026, from 5-6:30 pm. Limited to 10 participants.

For more information about this SIG, please contact Michelle Yadoo. (Make sure you're logged in to your OLLI account first!)

OLLI Players: Into the Breeches! (Sunday, October 04, 2026)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMT

OLLI Players Present:

Into the Breeches

Written by George Brandt
Directed by Jeannie Woods

Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.

In-person at Berkshire Community College
Free and open to the public.

Please register for this event.

A Staged Reading.

Sunday, October 4, 2026
2:00 p.m. at the Boland Theatre, Berkshire Community College.
Free and Open to the Public

About the Play

The next play reading from OLLI Players will be INTO THE BREECHES by George Brant. Jeannie Marlin Woods will direct this play that was described in Broadway World as “An absolute delight…thought-provoking and heartwarming.” The comedy is set in 1942 somewhere in the Berkshires. The local theatre is struggling as the theatre’s director and leading men are away, fighting at the Front in World War II. The director’s wife sets out to produce an all-female version of “The Henriad”, two of the Shakespeare’s Henry plays, assembling an increasing unlikely cast that comes together to prove that the show must go on!

Cast:
Maggie........Sharon Mason
Celeste.........Karen Curlee
Ellsworth.....Dan Woods
Winifred......Michelle Oram
Stuart......... James Erickson
Ida...............MaConnia Chesser
June.............Liv Cummins
Grace......... Lisken Van Pelt Dus
Narrator & understudy for June…….B.B. Birrell

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

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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.

The Dressmaker's Mirror: Sudden Death, Genetics, and a Family's Secret (Tuesday, October 06, 2026)

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC and Knesset Israel present:

The Dressmaker's Mirror: One Family's Secret and How Genetic Testing Could Save Yours

with Dr. Susan Weiss Liebman

October 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Online via Zoom

In the wake of her 36-year-old pregnant niece’s sudden collapse and death, geneticist Susan Liebman embarked on a frantic search for answers. The hunt culminated in the discovery of a previously unknown heart disease gene and an Ashkenazi Jewish mutation within it. Against this backdrop, Liebman's The Dressmaker's Mirror: Sudden death, genetics, and a Jewish family's secret, intertwines heartfelt stories of generations of love, loss, and resilience, with insights into genetics and the ongoing genetic revolution. The book offers a compelling call to action, guiding readers of all ethnicities how to use the frequently overlooked tool of genetic testing to safeguard their families’ health and save lives.

Susan Weiss Liebman, PhD, is a geneticist who studied at MIT as one of relatively few women at the time, then taught genetics while running her own research laboratory for fifty years — first at the University of Illinois at Chicago and later the University of Nevada, Reno. After the sudden death of her young niece revealed a hidden genetic mutation running through her family, she became a medical detective and an advocate for genetic testing that can save lives. She is the author of The Dressmaker's Mirror: Sudden Death, Genetics, and a Jewish Family's Secret. She and her husband of fifty-seven years have two children and four grandchildren.

_________

Ticket information: Free and open to the public. Registration required.

This lecture will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel.

This program has been generously sponsored by Marc Rudoltz and Lisa Hochman

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Bob's Way, Monterey (Wednesday, October 07, 2026)

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

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

Wednesday, October 7 at 9:30 a.m.
Bob's Way, Monterey

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 is especially beautiful. Plan on two and a half hours for this hike.

Directions to the trailhead and additional information about the hike are at https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/bobs-way

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 are on Wednesdays and begin at 9:30 a.m. 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 Tuesday, September 22 at 9 a.m.

Tribeca Gallery Tour (NYC Meetup) (Wednesday, October 07, 2026)

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:30:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC Travel Committee is pleased to announce another meet-up trip in NYC:

Tribeca Gallery Tour with Artmuse

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Signup deadline: Thursday, September 24
Tour: 11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

In-person only

Cost:
$130 per person for OLLI at BCC Members
$140 per person for non-members

Tour begins at Jack Shainman Gallery
46 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
Showing: Gordon Parks: Voices in the Mirror

This curated art tour for OLLI/BCC features 7-8 contemporary art galleries in Tribeca, led by Natasha Schlesinger. The tour will highlight exciting art exhibits, emphasizing both established and emerging artists. Discussions will focus on the concepts, processes, and understanding of the artists' work and careers.

Natasha Schlesinger is an award-winning art historian, art advisor, and curator with over 25 years of experience. She began her career in galleries in New York and London before working as a specialist at Christie’s auction house. She has lectured at Christie’s and Sotheby’s and taught at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and New School graduate program.

Schlesinger holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a Master’s degree from the Bard Graduate Center. In 2005, she received the Future Leaders of the Art World award from ArtTable.

To learn more about Artmuse click here.

Space is limited, register today!

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

Author Talk with Joan Cohen: Aging is Murder (Wednesday, October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Local Author Book Talk with Joan Cohen:

Aging is Murder

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Free and open to the public

Join us for a book talk, reading and Q&A with author and OLLI at BCC member, Joan Cohen!

When are you too old to perform a public service? Eighty-nine? Ninety? Four residents of Heyday Assisted Living think they're the ideal age to rid their country of hypocrites and liars. What do they have to lose? Why should mystery and murder be confined to a Clue game when, with a little resourcefulness, the skills of past careers can be revived to do so much good? Just don't mention the words "Fearsome Four" out loud!

Originally from Mount Vernon, New York, Joan Cohen received her BA from Cornell University and her MBA from New York University.

She pursued a career in sales, and executive management at computer hardware and software companies until she retired to return to school for an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the novels Land of Last Chances, published in 2019, and The Deepfake, published in 2024. She has been a Massachusetts resident for many years, first living in Newton, where she raised her family, and later in Wayland. She now resides in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires, with her husband and latest canine addition.

You can find out more about Joan and her work at her website here: https://joancohenauthor.com/

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This lecture will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel.

Berkshire Theatre Critics Panel 2026 (Monday, October 19, 2026)

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:30:00 GMT

Berkshire Theatre Critics Panel

Monday, October 19 at 11:30 a.m. EDT

Online via Zoom | Free & Open to All

On Tuesday, October 19 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern the Berkshire Theatre Critics Panel returns for an in-depth discussion and review of the 2026 theatre season in the Berkshires.

Discussion moderated by Naomi Spatz. Participating theatre critics include:

Peter Bergman, The Berkshire Edge and Berkshire Bright Focus
Jeff Borak, Berkshire Eagle
Gail Burns, Berkshire On Stage
Macey Levin, Berkshire On Stage
Paula Kaplan-Reiss , Berkshire On Stage

Jeannie Woods, Berkshire On Stage

Hear their thoughts on the hits and misses of the 2026 season and add your contribution!

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Olivia's Overlook - Burbank Trail North, Lenox (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

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

Wednesday, October 21 at 9:30 a.m.
Olivia’s Overlook – Burbank Trail North, Lenox

Join us for this loop hike on the Burbank Trail going north from Olivia’s Overlook in Lenox. We will descend the trail to Monk’s Pond, join a short section of the High Road Trail, and then hike south along Yokun Ridge with beautiful views of Stockbridge Bowl. The undulating trail is rated moderate and will take about 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 AM the day of the hike.

Registration will open on Monday, October 5 at 9 a.m.

An Evening of Stories and Songs featuring novelist, Rick Reiss and songwriter, Doug Mishkin (Tuesday, October 27, 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

An Evening of Stories and Songs
featuring novelist, Rick Reiss
and songwriter, Doug Mishkin

Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m.
In-person at the Common Room, Zion Lutheran Church, Pittsfield MA

Morocco Sahara Odyssey Tour Information Session (Thursday, October 29, 2026)

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

OLLI at BCC presents:

Morocco Sahara Odyssey Tour
Information Session

Thursday, October 29 2026 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Free and Open to the Public
Online via Zoom

OLLI at BCC is going to Morocco in November 2027!

You're Invited! Join us on this virtual Zoom call to learn more about the Morocco Sahara Odyssey Tour with OAT!

Come learn more and bring your questions.

See the trip brochure.

OLLI at BCC Sponsors include: Berkshire Health Systems

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Mahanna Cobble, Pittsfield (Wednesday, November 04, 2026)

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:30:00 GMT

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

Wednesday, November 4 at 9:30 a.m.
Mahanna Cobble, Pittsfield

Mahanna Cobble is the northern anchor of The High Road, a trail which will eventually become a series of connected trails that will run the length of Berkshire County.

The trail begins in the Bosquet Mountain parking lot. Beginning with a steep climb, it winds through the eastern side of Lenox Mountain to the top of the cobble. A bench honoring founding BNRC Executive Director, George Wislocki and the typical boulders of the Berkshires five cobbles, offer places to rest at the cobble while enjoying the unbroken view to the south.

This trail is moderate to difficult due to the elevation gain. Please consider this before signing up for the hike.

Visit the BNRC website for directions and more information: https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/mahanna-cobble

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.

Registration will open on Monday, October 19 at 9 a.m.

Living After Loss: Poetry for Holiday Time (Thursday, November 05, 2026)

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Living After Loss:
Poetry for Holiday Time

Thursdays, November 5, 12, and December 3
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only

Holidays and anniversaries ask much of a grieving heart. In this series draw on poetry as a stepping stone, a language, giving a place to land in honoring grief as you gently open to life is being lived in new ways after loss. Each session includes a time of centering, a check in, reading poetry, reflecting and writing and sharing your insights, learnings, vulnerabilities. Everything offered is optional.

Charlotte Nuessle, BSc, is a certified grief educator with David Kessler. She has led grief groups for 3 years. For the past 11 years she facilitated groups in exploring death and dying, as well as groups focused on strengthening resilience and personal development. She retired from a 25-year career in adaptive yoga and developing self-awareness for seniors and elders. Reading and writing poetry has given her a perspective on grief that opened creativity and possibility in the midst of loss.

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

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.

Designing a Life at Any Age (Thursday, November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Designing a Life at any Age
with Mary B. O'Neill, Ph.D.

Two week series:
Thursdays:
November 12
November 19
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

In-person only.

We can’t chuck it all and abandon our present lives. We’re embedded in relationships and situations. We live in the real world. Yet, we have the opportunity at any time to bring creativity into our lives, take more control, and move incrementally into a better place. And have fun doing it!

This dynamic, interactive two-session workshop provides tools to help you (re)connect with your values, purpose, skills, and talents, and to discern paths forward at any stage in life, whether you're facing retirement or a career pivot, immersed in caregiving, or simply want more coherence in your days.

Drawing on Stanford's Designing Your Life and Life Design Catalyst methodologies, this hands-on, collaborative workshop blends self-reflection exercises with authentic, supportive conversations among fellow participants. You'll explore possibilities and create concrete steps to move you toward a life of alignment and clarity.

Our time together will cut through abstract overthinking about your future, increase efficacy and joy, and foster connections with fellow participants. You'll leave the workshop feeling unstuck, more compassionate toward yourself, and with real momentum toward a life that feels right for you.

Mary B. O'Neill, Ph.D., CCSP, has reinvented herself more times than Madonna — and has used every tool she teaches in this workshop to do it. She is the founder of You Doing You Life Design and Career Coaching and the Director of Life Design at Boston Global Communications and Performance. Mary holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and is a Stanford University-Certified Designing Your Life Educator and a Life Design Catalyst facilitator. She is an NCDA Certified Career Services Provider and has served as interim Career Services Coordinator at CT State: Northwestern.

Mary is a college instructor with extensive experience designing creative programs and curricula that foster personal reflection and growth. She created a popular Philosophy of Happiness course that integrates philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness, which she infuses into her life design work. In 2014, Mary earned the Systemwide Adjunct Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU).

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

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.

Living After Loss: Poetry for Holiday Time (Thursday, November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Living After Loss:
Poetry for Holiday Time

Thursdays, November 5, 12, and December 3
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

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.

Lecture and Tasting - Tales from the Grove: A Chemist’s View of Olive Oil (Tuesday, November 17, 2026)

Tue, 17 Nov 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Lecture and Tasting -
Tales from the Grove: A Chemist’s View of Olive Oil with Prof. Patricia O'Hara

Tuesday, November 17
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
In-person only
at Berkshire Community College

Lecture and olive oil tasting with Patricia B. O'Hara, Amanda and Lisa Cross Professor of Chemistry, Emerita, Amherst College.

Join us for an exploration of the history, cultivation, harvesting and processing of olives and olive oil. What can we learn about the freshness and authenticity of oils based on some simple chemical tests that can protect us from rancid or fraudulent oils? How do we train our senses to appreciate some of the world’s finest extra virgin olive oils and what is the difference between cold press or first press? What are scientists learning about the health benefits of this “liquid gold”? Learn some tips about cooking with olive oil and hear of some of the non‐traditional and surprising uses of this vital substance.

Lecture will be followed by a guided tasting, and then some social time with cheese, bread, and more olive oil following the formal program.

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members,
$45 for non-members

Patricia O’Hara is the Lisa and Amanda Cross Professor of Chemistry, Emerita, at Amherst College, where she taught for 42 years. While there, she helped to found two interdisciplinary majors: the Biochemistry and Biophysics Program and the Education Studies Major. She served as Dean of New Students from 2010-2014 and Chair of the Chemistry Department for many years. She was awarded the Ferguson Teaching Award upon her retirement in 2025.

Professor O’Hara did her undergraduate studies at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY and her doctoral work at Columbia University. After a post-doctoral appointment at Stanford University, she came to Amherst College in 1983. Her research interest is biophysics; her lab uses fluorescence spectroscopy and single-molecule microscopy to study protein homeostasis. Her more than two dozen scientific publications appear in journals such as Biochemistry, Molecular Immunology, and the Journal of Physical Chemistry and Nature Chemistry. Her research students have presented and published over thirty Conference Proceedings in the Biophysical Journal. She is most proud of the many honors research students she has supervised and the hundreds of students who have learned to do research in her lab.

She has also contributed to the literature on curriculum development and pedagogy in chemistry and biochemistry. Her 2005 article “Turning on the Light: Lessons from Luminescence” in J. Chem Ed. was featured in a retrospective by the journal and has had more than 3000 downloads.

More recently, she expanded her interest in food science, developing a course in Molecular Gastronomy and writing and teaching about Olive Oil Chemistry. Her belief that food science can be used to motivate the teaching of science is the basis of her textbook on Food Chemistry in Small Bites, published in 2025, and a chapter titled "Molecular Gastronomy: A Universal Portal to the Molecular Sciences" in the Handbook of Molecular Chemistry (2021). With collaborator Zeynep Delen and her late husband Richard Blatchly, she published The Chemical Story of Olive Oil: from Grove to Table in 2017 (translated into Turkish in 2020 and Spanish in 2022) and Learning Design from the Olive in 2022. She has been invited to present talks on olive oil chemistry in venues ranging from a town hall in Belianes, Spain (2014), to an assembly of Senators, Congressional Representatives, and Mediterranean Diplomats at the U.S Capitol (2023), to an auditorium in Beirut, Lebanon (2023).

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.

OLLI at BCC and BNRC Joint Hike - Old Mill Trail, Hinsdale (Wednesday, November 18, 2026)

Wed, 18 Nov 2026 14:30:00 GMT

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

Wednesday, November 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Old Mill Trail, Hinsdale

The Old Mill Trail parallels the Housatonic River east of Pittsfield. The first section of the trail is fully accessible and hikers using motorized scooters, wheelchairs, and walkers will enjoy the first mile long section of the trail. For accessible trail hikers, a hike leader will return with you to cars at the end of the accessible trail.

When the accessible trail ends, some hikers will continue along the Housatonic to view the aqueduct built to power textile mills in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Fly fisher people will enjoy this trail which has many access points for fishing in this unpolluted section of the Housatonic.

Visit the BNRC website for directions and more information: https://www.bnrc.org/reserves/old-mill-trail

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.

Registration will open on Monday, November 2 at 9 a.m.

Designing a Life at Any Age (Thursday, November 19, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Designing a Life at any Age
with Mary B. O'Neill, Ph.D.

Two week series:
Thursdays:
November 12
November 19
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

In-person only.

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

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.

A Tale of Two Startles: Examining Escape Responses in Zebrafish with Josef Trapani, Ph.D (Thursday, November 19, 2026)

Fri, 20 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

A Tale of Two Startles: Examining Escape Responses in Zebrafish

with Josef Trapani, Ph.D

November 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Online via Zoom

Living After Loss: Poetry for Holiday Time (Thursday, December 03, 2026)

Thu, 03 Dec 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Living After Loss:
Poetry for Holiday Time

Thursdays, November 5, 12, and December 3
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
at Berkshire Community College
In-person only

Cost: $35 for OLLI at BCC members
$45 for non-members

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.