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Welcome to ElderwiseIn-person, online, and hybrid classes Winter Term 2025 Registration is Open! > All Classes

All Classes   

 
  • The Museum of Modern Art in New York City 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before class begins.

    The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) is an acclaimed multicultural institution with almost 200,000 artworks. Wendy Evans will show highlights from the collection, including Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, Pablo Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon, and Salvador Dali’s Persistence of Memory. She will also explore some less-famous works to give us ideas of what to look for on future visits. Wendy Evans was raised among the museums of London, England, and holds advanced degrees from Oxford University and Wayne State. She taught art history at Wayne and is a long-time docent volunteer at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Wendy loves to share her passion for art with groups like Elderwise. More information is available at www.art-talks.org.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Wendy Evans

  • Dates: 3/24/2025 - 3/24/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: M

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • Visiting the Top and Bottom of the World 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before class begins.

    The ultimate adventure: visiting the top and bottom of the world within a single year. In January 2023, the Sami people and Northern Lights called Mary and her husband to Norway, north of the Arctic Circle, into the long Arctic winter nights. We will enjoy the beautiful scenery, learn about Sami people and their reindeer herds, and experience an overnight stay in an ice hotel, keeping our eyes peeled for the brilliant Northern Lights. In December 2023, Mary traveled south into Antarctica’s summer. Sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, across the dreaded Drake Passage, we will experience the beauty of the peninsula of Antarctica while cruising past beautiful cliffs, snow-covered landscapes, huge, glimmering icebergs, and lovely bays. We will enjoy the silence of sailing, broken by glaciers calving into the sea, and the wildlife: fur seals and a variety of whales, penguins, and birds (if we are lucky). We will stop by the on-board science lab for the ship’s citizen science program. Join us to discover why Antarctica is known as the world’s last truly wild frontier. Mary Bondarenko loves traveling and, with Antarctica, has now visited every continent. Mary holds a B.S. in psychology and a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois, and a J.D. from Cooley Law School. She is retired from a diverse career with a Fortune 500 company.

     

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Mary Bondarenko

  • Dates: 3/17/2025 - 3/17/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: M

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • Woman in the Dunes 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before class begins.

    An amateur entomologist has left Tokyo to collect rare beetles in an area of tall sand dunes. When he misses his return bus, he is persuaded to spend the night with a young widow in her house at the bottom of a dune. He finds himself trapped there with no choice but to assist the woman in an unending struggle to prevent shifting sand from burying her home. Their daily labors are punctuated by her determination to remain, by his dreams of escape, and by erotic battles of the sexes. Woman in the Dunes was one of the 1960s international art-house sensations. It is the product of collaboration between novelist Kobo Abe and director Hiroshi Teshigahara, who was nominated for an Academy Award. We will view a nicely-restored release in Japanese with English subtitles. John Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He is not a movie maven, but he enjoys films and sharing them with Elderwise cinema lovers.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): John Stewart

  • Dates: 2/17/2025 - 2/17/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: M

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • Where Two Worlds Met: The Great Lakes Fur Trade 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Nearly 400 years have passed since the first encounter between Indigenous people and the French in the Great Lakes region. Neither culture was ever the same since then. The early exchange was mutually beneficial and cordial. The Native people did not feel threatened by the Europeans nor did the Europeans fear the Indigenous people. Each had a commodity the other needed: trade goods for the Native Americans, fish and fur for the Europeans. The two cultures often blended in intermarriage, for the French presence was primarily fur trappers, missionaries, and soldiers. It was not until a third ingredient was added, the British, that conflict erupted into the French and Indian War. Rochelle Balkam taught history and government at Ypsilanti High School for 36 years. She taught Michigan history at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) for 27 years and at the University of Michigan for 4 years. Rochelle holds an M.A. in history and an M.S. in historic preservation from EMU. She is president of the Michigan One-room Schoolhouse Association, and previously served on the board of the Historical Society of Michigan and as a member of the Washtenaw County Historic District Commission.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Rochelle Balkam

  • Dates: 3/6/2025 - 3/6/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • The History of the Calendar 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Bill Ingram will lead us through the history of our calendar, starting with the Egyptians and Babylonians and how they shaped the later Roman calendar. Then we will investigate the problems with the Roman calendar that Julius Caesar had to fix, the problems with the Julian calendar that Pope Gregory had to fix, and right up to what is going on in Ukraine with the Gregorian calendar. There is much to talk about: the signs of the zodiac, why there are two different calculations for the length of the year, why weeks and months are the length they are, why do we need calendars anyway, and finally why our calendar is so wonky: why “thirty days hath September”? William Ingram is Professor Emeritus of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan. He is known for his work on early modern drama and performance.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): William Ingram

  • Dates: 3/11/2025 - 3/11/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Tu

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Michigan's Polar Bear Experience in WW1 

  • HYBRID: In the classroom and online. A Zoom link will be sent to all one day before class.

    Discover the fascinating story of Michigan’s Polar Bears, a group of U.S. soldiers sent to northern Russia during World War I. This presentation explores their unique mission, enduring the harsh Arctic climate while engaging in combat long after the war officially ended. Learn about their challenges, bravery, and the lasting impact of their service, highlighting a little-known chapter of American military history. Perfect for history enthusiasts interested in World War I and Michigan's contributions. Ray Stocking is a lifelong resident of Michigan and has a personal connection to “Michigan’s Polar Bears.” Ray’s grandfather, Vernie F. Stocking, was a U.S. Veteran of WWI and served in the 339th Infantry, Company F in Arch Angel, Russia. Ray will share some personal family photos and other memorabilia during this presentation. Ray is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where he received his BBA and MBA degrees in business management.

     

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Ray Stocking

  • Dates: 3/18/2025 - 3/18/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Tu

  • Building: Hybrid: In-Person and Online

    Room: Vineyard Cafe and Zoom

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  • Tiny Twisted Trees: An Introduction to Bonsai 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    This class was rescheduled to Tuesday, February 18, 1PM-3PM.

    Learn about the history and practice of the ancient art of bonsai, from its origin in China, introduction to Japan, and eventual spread around the world. Styles and aesthetics of bonsai will be discussed, along with the influence of different cultures as bonsai has been introduced into new places. Examples will be shown of how individual bonsai are styled and developed over time. Jay Sinclair is a retired public school science teacher who has been climbing the infinite learning curve of bonsai for more than 30 years. In addition to caring for his own trees, he volunteers with the collections at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Hidden Lake Gardens.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Jay Sinclair

  • Dates: 2/18/2025 - 2/18/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Tu

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Planning Your Organic Raised Bed Garden 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.

    Sheila Carroll will teach us how to effectively plan and prepare a raised bed garden during the winter months. She will guide us through essential steps to ensure our garden is ready for planting when spring arrives. We will learn how to design a garden layout, choose the best heirloom and non-GMO seeds, and create a planting calendar that aligns with our local growing conditions. In addition to practical tips, Sheila will also delve into soil enrichment strategies, such as how to source and prepare organic compost and fertilizers during the winter months. This class emphasizes the importance of early planning to maximize yields and maintain a sustainable, chemical-free garden. (A follow-up class will be held in the Spring Term.) Sheila Carroll is an author and gardening enthusiast. She provides a simple, earth-wise approach to cultivating a beautiful garden and more sustainable living. Her book, Organic Raised Bed Gardening: Seven Easy Steps to a Sustainable, Low-Stress, and Chemical-Free Backyard Harvest of Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers, is a top pick on Amazon for backyard and container gardening.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Sheila Carroll

  • Dates: 3/13/2025 - 3/13/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • An Update on Time-Restricted Eating 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before class begins.

    This presentation provides an update on Time-Restricted Eating (TRE), a form of fasting that limits eating to a certain number of hours each day. While gaining in popularity, some still question whether or not TRE is a healthy practice. In one way or another, daily fasting was likely something that was practiced unintentionally by our ancestors, who did not have 24/7 access to food the way we do today. Utilizing a combination of online videos and PowerPoint images, presenter Robbi Duda RN MS, will discuss the science behind Time-Restricted Eating, a program that is currently being used to treat Type 2 Diabetes. In addition to controlling diabetes and some immune system disorders, TRE is also designed to help people lose weight and reduce hypertension. Robbi will also discuss practical approaches to this method. Robbi Duda is a retired nurse educator and American Nurses Credentialing Center (AANC) Board Certified Geriatric Nurse. She has a master's degree in Community Health Nursing from the University of Michigan.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Robbi Duda

  • Dates: 3/10/2025 - 3/10/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: M

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • The Fire This Time 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church
    Please read The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward, before the 1st session.

    Published 53 years after James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time (1963), The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward, includes essays and poems that echo Baldwin’s jeremiad while situating contemporary experiences about race in the 21st century. Following Jericho Brown’s poem, “The Tradition,” and Ward’s Introduction, the book is divided into three parts: “Legacy,” “Reckoning,” and “Jubilee.” Our two discussions will move through these sections, from beginning to end. How these writings interface with Baldwin’s will be considered as well. Kevin Eyster is a Professor Emeritus at Madonna University in Livonia, where he continues to teach courses in literature.

     

  • Fee: $30.00

  • Instructor(s): Kevin Eyster

  • Dates: 3/20/2025 - 3/27/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 2

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • The Magic of Brill Building Pop: Early 60s Songwriting Teams 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Sandwiched between 1950s rock ‘n’ roll and the mid-1960s British invasion, brilliant songwriting teams in two Manhattan office buildings made pop music magic. Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, were striving Jewish youth voicing their own experiences for other teens and young adults. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and “Up On the Roof” melded black and white, classical and Latin, with a strong female presence. Brill Building pop created a soundtrack for the baby boom generation that remains compelling 60 years later. Michael Homel is Professor Emeritus of History at Eastern Michigan University. He specializes in 20th century American history and American urban history. He is the author of Unlocking City Hall: Exploring the History of Local Government and Politics, and other publications on urban politics and education.

     

  • Fee: $30.00

  • Instructor(s): Michael Homel

  • Dates: 3/12/2025 - 3/19/2025

    Times: 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 2

    Days: W

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Ballet Extraordinaire: The Ballets Russes 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Entrepreneur, genius, and scoundrel, Sergei Diaghilev founded the Ballets Russes in 1909. For the next 20 years, he brought together composers, artists, and dancers to create some of the most exciting and controversial ballets of the 20th century including the three groundbreaking Stravinsky scores: The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring. We will first survey the people and productions of the Ballets Russes. Then we will watch complete performances, including The Firebird and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun with the original choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Henry Aldridge is an Eastern Michigan University Professor Emeritus of Electronic Media and Film Studies and an avid music lover.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Henry B. Aldridge

  • Dates: 3/12/2025 - 3/12/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: W

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Our Many Voices Singing Free 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    The American Musical is often characterized as diversion, distraction, and amusement, yet from the earliest days of Vaudeville to the present, the musicals have both reflected and shaped our civic and social values. In this uniquely American art form composers, lyrists, and performers have employed sentiment and satire, melody and mirth, to both entertain and enlighten America’s distinctively heterogenous audiences. In this class, Ken Stevens will explore the ideals and values in shows by time honored theatre luminaries like Rodgers, Kern, Sondheim, Williams, and more recent award winners like Kander and Ebb, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Terrence McNally, while considering the evolution of audience characteristics over the decades. Ken Stevens came to Michigan from the University of Cincinnati. He is Professor Emeritus at Eastern Michigan University, where he created both the musical theater program and the graduate and undergraduate programs in arts management.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Ken Stevens

  • Dates: 3/20/2025 - 3/20/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Vernal Pools 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Come join us as Elle Bogle unravels the mystery of the unique and important wetlands called vernal pools. Learn how to properly identify, interact with, and protect these delicate and magical habitats which serve as both homes and essential breeding grounds to many animals including blue spotted salamanders, wood frogs, and fairy shrimp. Elle Bogle is a passionate outdoor educator and adventurer who takes pride in connecting people with the beauty of nature. She has been working as a naturalist with Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission for four years and as an environmental specialist with the Ann Arbor Public Schools for five years. Her specialties are amphibians and reptiles, dragonflies, and mindfulness in nature. She is an avid reader and book lover who also enjoys traveling, kayaking, hiking, and spending time with her family.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Elle Bogle

  • Dates: 2/26/2025 - 2/26/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: W

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Planet Earth II: Islands and Mountains 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before each class session begins.

    This breathtaking British documentary series, narrated by David Attenborough, highlights incredible landscapes and dramatic moments in the lives of animals in a portrait of life on earth. Planet Earth II is a sequel to Planet Earth (TV Mini Series 2006), and was filmed in 40 different countries, with crews making 117 film trips, 2,089 total shooting days or over 5.7 years non-stop. This is the first BBC series to be produced in Ultra-high-definition 4k technology. Each episode covers a different habitat: islands, mountains, jungles, deserts, grasslands, and cities. 

                                        March 7        Islands, Mountains

                                        March 14     Jungle, Deserts

    Linda Gintowt holds an M.A. in drama from the University of Toronto. Linda served as the Elderwise Program Coordinator for five years. She is pleased to share her love of nature with Elderwise friends through this iconic series.

     

  • Fee: $30.00

  • Instructor(s): Linda Gintowt

  • Dates: 3/7/2025 - 3/14/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 2

    Days: F

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • Discoveries in Lake Huron's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.

    Since its designation as the first freshwater national marine sanctuary in 2000, NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary has worked to preserve a historically significant collection of shipwrecks through research and education, encouraging access to the rich maritime history of the Great Lakes. Collaborating with partners, this work has led to the discovery of shipwreck sites, such as the schooner barge Ironton, sunk in a collision in 1894. Join a sanctuary maritime archaeologist as they share the Ironton's tragic story of loss, its exciting story of discovery, and learn more about the sanctuary's ongoing exploration of Lake Huron. Stephanie Gandulla is a maritime archaeologist and the Resource Protection Coordinator for NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, based in Alpena, Michigan. Working to protect the Great Lakes and its rich history through research, education, and outreach, Stephanie has led and participated in archaeological expeditions, on-water educational programs, and innovative interpretive initiatives. 

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Stephanie Gandulla

  • Dates: 3/21/2025 - 3/21/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: F

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • William W. Cook: U-M Donor Extraordinaire 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    William W. Cook (1858-1930) graduated from the University of Michigan’s LSA and Law School and donated the Martha Cook Building and the entire University of Michigan Law Quadrangle. This class will describe how a man who grew up in the small Michigan town of Hillsdale became a successful lawyer in Manhattan, helped to create trans-global communications, and became the nation’s leading expert on corporation law. Cook was generous but eccentric, and racially biased by today’s standards. Margaret Leary’s presentation addresses critical changes in the role of philanthropy and of race in the last century, both at the university and nationally. Margaret Leary received a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from the University of Minnesota, another from Eastern Michigan University, and a J.D. from the William Mitchell College of Law. She taught at the University of Michigan Law School and was director of the university’s Law Library from 1984 to 2011. Margaret is the author of Giving It All Away: The Story of William C. Cook and His Michigan Law Quadrangle (University of Michigan Press, 2011).

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Margaret A. Leary

  • Dates: 2/19/2025 - 2/19/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: W

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • American Politics Panel 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.

    As our politics panel convenes at the start of a new administration, questions require answers. Did final 2024 election results differ from what they seemed in November? How did the transfer of power compare to four years ago? What do partisan majorities in Congress and the legislature predict for policy outcomes of the new president and Governor Whitmer? Who were the president’s executive nominees? And what foreign and domestic crises demanded attention? Join us as we tangle with national and state political news. Jeffrey Bernstein studies and teaches political science and American politics at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). Jeffrey specializes in public opinion and political behavior. Michael Homel is Professor Emeritus of history at EMU. Mike’s special expertise is in the fields of 20th century American history and American urban history. Larry Kestenbaum is the Washtenaw County Clerk/Register of Deeds. He is the creator and owner of the Internet’s most comprehensive source for American political biography, PoliticalGraveyard.com.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Panel Political

  • Dates: 2/26/2025 - 2/26/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: W

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • Reflections on the 'Forgotten War' in Sudan 

  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.

    Michael is an anthropologist who has visited archaeological sites in Sudan, most recently in 2023, two months before the catastrophic war between two warring factions broke out in April of that year. Since then, as of August 2024, an estimated 16,000 people have been killed, more than 8 million have been internally displaced, and an additional 2 million have fled to neighboring countries. More than half of Sudan’s 25.6 million face acute hunger or worse. Here in the West, this “Forgotten War” has received little to no attention. Since the outbreak of the war, Michael has stayed in near-daily contact with two members of a Sudanese family who, having lost their since-ransacked home in Khartoum, fled to two other Sudanese cities before finally seeking refuge in Egypt. He will provide insight into the conflict through the lens of their experiences, and through a broader look at the history of the region and the global dimensions of putatively “local” conflicts, concluding with some suggestions about how, as conscientious citizens of the world, we might take some modest steps to help mitigate the suffering of those whose lives have been disrupted by conflict. Michael Fahy holds a Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the University of Michigan and taught for 20 years at the University’s School of Education. He is an anthropologist of the Middle East, where he lived and pursued research for several years. Since 2004 Michael has offered presentations on Middle Eastern history and culture to American military personnel across the United States and Europe.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Michael Fahy

  • Dates: 2/28/2025 - 2/28/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: F

  • Building: Online Course

    Room: Online via Zoom

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  • Advances on Medicine's Ultimate Frontier: Cancer Immunotherapy 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    In 2019 Maria Castro and Pedro Lowenstein shared with us their research on immune mediated gene therapy. Maria will provide a progress report on their recent findings and the ongoing results of their clinical trial, which was recently completed at the University of Michigan. Maria also will share some exciting data related to immunotherapies and their use in treating incurable cancers. Maria and Pedro have devoted more than two decades to pursuing the immune mediated genetic treatment of cancer – medicine’s “ultimate frontier.” This gene-therapy strategy enables the human body to fight malignant brain cancer (and potentially other solid cancers) by employing genetically engineered viruses (vectors) to kill the tumor cells and elicit an anti-tumor immune response. Maria will also discuss the Phase I clinical trial at the University of Michigan and exciting developments which have revolutionized the treatment for lung cancer and melanoma. Maria G. Castro, Ph.D., is the R.C. Schneider Professor of Neurosurgery, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and Program Director of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Biology Training grant at the University of Michigan Medical School. She dedicates her research to immune-mediated cancer therapies.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Maria G. Castro

  • Dates: 2/27/2025 - 2/27/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Gilbert and Sullivan: HMS Pinafore 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    An arranged partnership between England’s foremost composer of classical music and its leading creator of light comic verse might appear to be a recipe for impossible expectations. And, for the first few years of their collaboration, the comic operas produced by William S. Gilbert and Arthur S. Sullivan proved to be a mixed bag of successes and disappointments. Beginning in 1878, however, with the debut of HMS Pinafore (or The Lass That Loved a Sailor), the team of Gilbert and Sullivan became an international sensation, evolving into a cultural institution in Great Britain and in her former colonies around the world. In this presentation, Todd Maslyk invites you to enter the Topsy-Turvy world of Gilbert and Sullivan, to investigate why their work continues to be staged more often than that of any author not named William Shakespeare, and to take a closer look at HMS Pinafore, which will be staged by the University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society (UMGASS) this April. Todd Maslyk is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan, and the current president of UMGASS. He has been a Gilbert and Sullivan fan since a childhood encounter with The Mikado and is regularly to be found around campus in Ann Arbor pushing people in the direction of the nearest theater.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Todd Maslyk

  • Dates: 3/13/2025 - 3/13/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Explore Detroit Art at UMMA 

  • OFFSITE TOUR: The University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor
    Time: 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.


    Enrollment: This tour is limited to 15 attendees. A waitlist will be available.

    Please let the Elderwise office know if you are unable to attend this tour. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant.

    Join an experienced UMMA docent in a guided tour of two dynamic temporary exhibitions. The first exhibition features three generations of Latinx artists from Southeast Michigan. La Raza Art and Media Collective was formed in the 1970s by a group of Latino/a students at the University of Michigan to give a voice to the cultural and political expression of Chicano, Hispanic, and Latin American communities both on campus and beyond. This exhibition revisits the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the RAM Collective to reflect on the profound impact of these visionary creators. The second exhibition highlights the photographic work of Metro Detroit Chinese American artist Jarod Lew, from the Please Take Off Your Shoes series, 2018–2021. It explores themes of identity, community, and displacement through portraits and still lifes set within suburban Southeast Michigan homes. The tour will begin in the UMMA lobby next to the Shop. Tour route and restrooms are both accessible by elevator. The tour will be guided by an experienced volunteer docent, who will select stops throughout the museum and facilitate group discussion.
    Driving directions and parking information will be sent to class registrants a few days before the tour.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): UMMA Docent Staff

  • Dates: 3/19/2025 - 3/19/2025

    Times: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: W

  • Building: Offsite

    Room: UMMA

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  • Ypsilanti Historical Museum Tour

  • This class has reached the enrollment limit.  Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • OFFSITE TOUR: 220 North Huron Street, Ypsilanti

    Enrollment: This tour is limited to 10 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
    Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this tour. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant.

    The Ypsilanti Historical Museum’s collections are housed in a handsome Italianate mansion built in 1860 by banker Asa Dow. The building’s fourteen rooms are filled with 19th century furnishings and artifacts donated by the area’s residents. It features two parlors, a country kitchen, a solarium, and rooms dedicated to crafts, costumes, music, tools, and toys. There is a room celebrating some of Ypsilanti’s more notable past citizens, their industries, and their accomplishments. If time allows, we will descend to the basement for a quick look at the extensive city archives - which include items such as maps, photographs, directories, court records, tax rolls, and obituaries. The museum is operated and maintained by volunteers, most of whom have local connections, as well as by interns from the historic preservation program at Eastern Michigan University. John A. Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He has served as a volunteer docent at the Ypsilanti Historical Museum for the past 13 years. Driving directions and parking instructions will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.

     

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor: John A. Stewart

    Capacity Remaining: 0

  • Dates: 3/28/2025 - 3/28/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: F

  • Building: Offsite

    Room: Ypsilanti Historical Museum

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  • Book Club
    Dates: 1/27/2025 - 3/24/2025

  • ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
      If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
      please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
      Thank you!
  •  
  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before each class session begins.

    Using prepared questions and our own observations, the discussion each month will explore a book from current best-seller lists. Selected books for the Winter 2025 term are:

    January The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride    
    Please read before the first class session.

    Published in 2022, 400 pages Historical Fiction

    When a skeleton is found in the bottom of a well in Pottstown, PA in 1972, the investigation is hampered when the crime scene is washed away by Hurricane Agnes. The novel then returns to the 1920s and ‘30s to detail the lives of the residents in the mostly Black and Jewish neighborhood.

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    February The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis

    Published in 2008, 309 pages Mystery

    First of a series with Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two. When her estranged friend leaves her a key to a locker in the Copenhagen train station, she finds a suitcase containing a three-year-old boy, naked and drugged, but alive. Nina must decide what to do with this unknown child, while forces are trying to hunt both of them down.

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    March H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

    Published in 2014, 320 pages Non-fiction

    This story of adopting and raising one of nature's most vicious predators explores grief, falconry, and the author's journey to train a goshawk. Fierce and feral, her goshawk's temperament mirrors Helen's own state of grief after her father's death.

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    Please read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store before the first class session.
    The facilitators will send a list of discussion questions for each book to all registrants prior to each Book Club session.

    Kathleen and William Hillegas are long-time members of both Elderwise and the Book Club. Both are avid readers, and look forward to a lively exchange of ideas, opinions, and interpretations.

     

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  • Taking Apart the News: Another Critical Year
    Dates: 2/3/2025 - 3/28/2025

  • ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
      If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
      please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
      Thank you!
  •  
  • ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent a day or two before each class session begins.
    1st Session: Monday, February 3, 1PM-3PM
    2nd Session: Friday, March 28, 1PM-3PM

    Al Chambers’ Taking Apart the News (TATN) classes will emphasize the 2024 Election. Who won and why? What has happened since? How is the defeated candidate and party handling the bitter loss? What seem to be the early implications for the Presidency, Congress, Supreme Court, and the U.S. population? How are other nations reacting, both allies and adversaries? These sessions will also review other major news and media coverage, plus look for a bit of humor! Al Chambers continues to focus on the power and speed of news, media, and technology, in this rapidly changing world. Taking Apart the News is in its 21st year at Elderwise.

     

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  • Backing Up Your Computer
    Dates: 2/12/2025 - 2/12/2025

  • ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
      If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
      please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
      Thank you!
  •  
  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    If our computers and phones performed flawlessly, and we never ever deleted anything by accident, then we wouldn’t have a need for backing up our data. Unfortunately, that’s not how life goes. In this presentation, Jim Keen will make sense of the various ways we can keep our files safe. He will explore hard drives vs. “The Cloud,” Apple Time Machine, Windows File History, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud, and more. Jim will also talk about the reasons for – and common methods of –backing up our data, so we will be able to decide what’s best for our own situation. Jim Keen holds a B.A. in communications and an M.A. in educational studies from the University of Michigan. He currently owns and operates Keen Focus Technology Tutoring.

     

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  • EMU Theatre: The Rocky Horror Show
    Dates: 2/12/2025 - 2/18/2025

  • ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
      If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
      please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
      Thank you!
  •  
  • In-Person Pre-Play Class: Friday, February 12, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

    Because of weather we are moving this class to online via Zoom.


    Presenter: Phil Simmons


    In-Person Live Performance: Sunday, February 16, 2:00 p.m., Legacy Theatre, EMU Campus.
          Book Music, and Lyrics by Richard O’Brien
          Directed by Phil Simmons           
          Music Direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis

          
    Note: Suggested for mature audiences only


    In-Person Post-Play Class: Tuesday, February 25, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
    Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Presenter: Phil Simmons

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    Fees:
    Members: $20 for the pre-play and post-play classes, plus a $12 ticket fee
    Nonmembers: $30 for the pre-play and post-play classes, plus a $12 ticket fee

    Emeritus Faculty: Members $20; Nonmembers $30
    Includes two tickets to the performance and the pre-play and post-play classes.
    Please contact the Elderwise office to register for the Emeritus Faculty tickets and the online Pre-play class,
    you cannot do this yourself online.

    Extra Tickets are $12 each.
    Please contact the Elderwise office to purchase extra tickets. This cannot be purchased online.

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    Parking: 
    Driving directions and parking instructions will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the performance.
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    In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named "Rocky." We will talk about this show, how it came to exist, and what genres of musical theatre and theatre make up this romping piece. Phil Simmons is the Director and a professor of Musical Theater at Eastern Michigan University, and a card-carrying member of the Actors Equity Association. He has lectured and taught master classes in dance across the United States. Phil’s passion is teaching the next generation of actors, singers, and dancers to be happy, thriving, career-long performers.

     

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  • PTD Theatre: The Hat Box
    Dates: 2/13/2025 - 2/13/2025

  • ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
      If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
      please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
      Thank you!
  •  
  • In-Person Pre-Play Class: Thursday, February 13, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
    Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church
    Pre-Play Class Presenter
    : Karrie Waarala

    Matinee LIVE Performance: Wednesday, February 19, 2:00 p.m.
    Riverside Arts Center, 76 North Huron Street, Ypsilanti, MI

    Written by Eric Coble
    Directed by Karrie Waarala

    Note: Mature content and language.
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    Fees:
    Members $25; Nonmembers $30

    Includes pre-play class and one ticket to the performance.

    Extra Tickets are $15 each.
    Please contact the Elderwise office to purchase extra tickets. This cannot be done online.

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    Do we ever really know our parents? Do we want to? Really? Two sisters are about to find out when they discover a hat box hidden in the back of their recently deceased father's closet. What sits inside sends them off to visit eccentric Aunt Esther and on an increasingly wild ride down memory lane. With surprising twists and hilarious turns, Eric Coble's new comedy of family lore revels in the bizarre and beautiful mysteries that make up a life. Karrie Waarala holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine, for which she wrote, produced, and performed her one-woman show, LONG GONE: A Poetry Sideshow, which debuted in Ypsilanti, MI, in 2011. She has directed, served as technical director, and appeared onstage for a number of PTD productions, and currently serves as PTD Productions Treasurer.

     

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