OLLI at CCU offers a week to sample courses
Potential students may visit the OLLI facilities, meet the instructors and enjoy free lectures, demonstrations and refreshments at each of the outreach centers. The Free Week schedule is: Wednesday, Jan. 5 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Foundation Center in Conway; Thursday, Jan. 6 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Waccamaw Higher Education Center in Litchfield; and Friday, Jan. 7 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach Education Center at 79th Avenue North.
Free Week is an opportunity to sample course offerings from computer instruction to yoga and tai chi. There are also painting classes; French; Italian and German for travelers; wood carving; grief and forgiveness seminars; the history of the Holocaust; the inventive music of Vivaldi; self-defense for seniors; ballroom, line and shag dancing. Many of the OLLI instructors will provide an overview of their classes and answer questions posed by prospective students. Staff will be available to offer assistance with registration, photo IDs and parking permits.
While most of the presentations will be 30 minutes, several of the special interest groups (gardening, book, computer, French, bridge, quilting, birding, retirement and investing clubs) will hold their first monthly meetings of the new year. On Wednesday in Conway, Kathleen Libbey will present two free demonstrations on Talk Don't Type and the Adobe Acrobat Reader from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On Thursday, Jan. 6 at Waccamaw, Tea & Poetry will launch the OLLI Poetry Anthology from 3 to 4 p.m., and Lee Brockington will present a lecture on Francis Marion and the American Revolution from 7 to 9 p.m. On Friday, Jan. 7 in Myrtle Beach, Tonya Lloyd Franklin will host the Snowbirds Meet & Greet from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by JoEllen Langley's Starshine Performance Training class presenting their fall show at the 79th Avenue Theatre at 7 p.m.
The OLLI spring term officially begins Monday, Jan. 10.
OLLI membership ($20 for Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2011) is a prerequisite to taking courses, although you may elect to be a member without signing up for coursework. Membership includes free participation in the special interest groups, free workshops that are scheduled, a weekly online newsletter sent to OLLI members, as well as significant member discounts at cultural and wellness destinations along the Grand Strand.
For more information, call 843-349-2767 or visit the website at www.coastal.edu/olli, where the complete Spring 2011 catalog is posted, as well as the schedule for Free Week and each weekly e-newsletter.