Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

ENews February 27, 2026

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OLLI E-News February 27, 2026
Print a condensed pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.

Board of Directors Meeting, Tallwood and Hybrid, February 20
 

February 27, 2026


Editor of the Week: Chitra Mohla
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

  • You should have received a spring catalog. Spring 2026 registration began February 17 and continues throughout the term (which begins March 23 and ends May 15).
     
  • On March 1, the Hylton Center presents the Washington National Opera (WNO) Orchestra with the Cafritz Young Artists in Favorite Operatic Moments. OLLI Mason members get 50% off two tickets (use coupon code WNOCF50 when selecting seats).
     
  • Due to an unexpected scheduling change the March 5 theatrical concert Matters of the Heart by three-time Tony Award winner Patti Lupone at George Mason University’s Center of the Arts will be rescheduled. Ticket buyers will be contacted directly by the ticket office with additional information. OLLI Mason members can purchase discounted tickets. (Price: $65; regularly $85-$105, Discount Code OLLI).
     
  • The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, March 13; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, March 10, at 6:00. 

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Literature, Language, Theater, and Writing (LLT) 
Program Planning Group Meets March 5


By Patricia Bangs, LLT Program Planning Group Co-Chair


The Literature, Language, Theater, and Writing (LLT) Program Planning Group will meet Thursday, March 5 at 10:00 via Zoom to plan our fall 2026 term and beyond.

OLLI Mason members are invited to attend and bring ideas for literature, theater, writing, or language programs, as well as possible resources. This could include individuals you may know who might want to teach or any other thoughts on this popular OLLI program area. In the fall 2026 term, we also seek programs that would celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation.

The meeting Zoom link is https://gmu.zoom.us/j/95425987068. It will also appear in the March 5 Daily Schedule.

Thanks to all who can come. See you on March 5.
History Club

 
By Doug Snoeyenbos, History Club Coordinator


The History Club will meet via Zoom at 4:00 on Wednesday, March 4. 

Jim Anderson has graciously agreed to present on The Great Locomotive Chase, a thrilling tale of bold Civil War raiders. In the spring of 1862, Union special operatives went behind the confederate lines and stole a locomotive, seeking to sabotage the Confederates’ vital single-track rail line between Atlanta and Chattanooga. Although the raid was ultimately unsuccessful, the raiders were awarded the newly-created Medal of Honor.

Jim Anderson is a historian and lecturer, and a 30-year veteran of the CIA. He has led tours of Civil War battlefields, and lectured for OLLI, the Cosmos Club, and several local Civil War Roundtables.

PATACS Donation to OLLI Mason Fund



By Paul Howard , OPCUG Program Chair
Former President of OLLI and President, PATACS

Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society’s (PATACS) relationship with OLLI is demonstrably a long-term, mutually beneficial association. Chuck Roberts, Bill Walsh and Paul Howard began that partnership in February of 2007, teaching two sessions on computer security in three OLLI classes offered in conjunction with Vee Johnson of Fairfax County's Consumer Affairs organization.

This relationship has continued with PATACS members Roger Fujii, Mel Mikosinski, John Krout, and others who have joined OLLI's AV Support Committee, helping OLLI with a variety of technical challenges, including email issues consulting, computer configuration and repair, researching and implementing videoconferencing, LAN/router and WiFi installation for OLLI, and most recently, the implementation of hybrid classrooms.

PATACS members Bill Walsh and Nick Wenri were referred to OLLI, were employed in staff positions as site assistants, and have continued to take fill-in slots as needed.

This January marked the beginning of the eighteenth year of PATACS' joint meetings with OPCUG, offering more than twenty presentations and two troubleshooting clinics a year to attendees of both organizations. Annual attendance at these meetings has been around 500 people per year (488 in 2025). Currently 14 of PATACS' 70 members are also OLLI members (as of February 2026). Several other PATACS members were formerly OLLI members.

Today (February 21), we're pleased to present a check for $500 to the OLLI Mason Fund in appreciation for this partnership, financial support of which now totals $6050, as well as equipment donations of $358.

In keeping with the suggestion made at the 2015 ceremony by OLLI's then Development Committee chair, Lesley Bubenhofer, PATACS requests that the “OLLI Mason Fund” use this donation for support of AV equipment, hybrid technology including Zoom, and facility requirements for the classroom used for OPCUG/PATACS joint meetings.

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Photo of the Month



The January 2026 Photo of the Month theme was Open. We selected Bob Kelberg's photo "Wine Glass at Portuguese Hotel," which may also be viewed at this page. To view other photos by members of the Photography Club, visit the club's photo website.

               -- By John Olsen and Lynne Cline, Photography Club Coordinators

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Member Achievement

 
New Book: Passages: Life of Challenge and Service
 


 By Dell Pendergrast, Senior Foreign Service Officer, Retired



Passages: Life of Challenge and Service, was published September 29, 2025. It is a memoir of stories and reflections about Dell Pendergrast's journey from origins in the Midwest to a Foreign Service career centered on Eastern Europe and its evolution to independence from Moscow.  After retirement from the government, Dell was director of a private scholarship program for young Americans in Ireland followed by
30 performances on stage with community theaters across the Washington D.C. area.

The book is available on Amazon at this link.

Dell is also a regular contributor to OLLI Ink and an active member of the Writer's Workshop.  

About the Author

Dell Pendergrast grew up in the Chicago area and graduated from Northwestern University in 1963. He received a Master's degree in Mass Communication Research from Boston University and entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1965. In a 32-year career Dell served in six overseas posts―Belgrade, Zagreb, Saigon, Warsaw, Brussels, and Ottawa―along with Washington DC positions. After retirement as a senior foreign service officer, he joined the non-profit US-Ireland Alliance directing the George Mitchell Scholarships for six years. Dell married Tula Rembe in 1963, and they had two sons, Mark and Kevin.
 
Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop

How It Starts

soft, slight
like a baby’s hiccup
a raindrop flicked a window pane
the sound was tentative, maybe incidental, perhaps imaginary 
so I listened
 
Silence
 
the furnace kicked in with a swoosh
like a white-capped wave
kissing the welcoming sand
then, a cluster of erratic taps
syncopation in the dark, moonless night
 
a streak of lightning
threw ungainly shadows
against my 3:20 a.m. bedroom wall
an explosion of thunder shook the house
as an orchestra of nimbus clouds
elegantly started to perform
Beethoven’s Ninth
on my humble roof
 
   - Nancy Coffey

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Obituary: William Ronald Campbell

Former OLLI member William Ron Campbell, Jr., who joined OLLI in 2004, died on
February 3,  2026, at the age of 86. Ron graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1961 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps beginning a distinguished military career, culminating in his retirement with the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1982. He also received a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Ron’s distinguished military career began with duty in Okinawa, Japan, and included assignments at Quantico, Virginia; Pascagoula, Mississippi where he served as the assistant air operations officer on the USS Tarawa; Coronado, California where he was assigned as the flight operations officer on the USS Tarawa, and Kailua, Hawaii, as the Commanding Officer of HMM-262 at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station in Hawaii until his retirement in 1982.

After his military duty, Ron worked in various management contracting roles until retirement in 2003. At OLLI, he enjoyed classes on history and singing for fun.

A funeral service was held on February 20, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Burke, VA. Donations may be made in Ron’s memory to The Church of the Good Shepherd or Young Marines. More information is available at this link.
 
For the Love of Music


By Linda H. Harber, Friends of Music at Mason Co-President



For all music lovers, please mark your calendars for this upcoming Friends of Music at Mason (FOMM) Evening in Amalfi on April 18th. You reserve a ticket which costs $85 and covers a lovely dinner and a donation to Mason Music student scholarships. For more information, please email me. After the dinner event, the group will move to the music room, where there will be live music fitting with the evening’s theme.

Anyone can be a Friend of Music at Mason with any size gift (attending this event makes you a friend).  Our wonderful students also appreciate having a supportive audience for their concerts and recitals.

Also, please check the Dewberry School of Music program calendar to see the wonderful concerts and recitals coming this semester. The Sunday Faculty Concert series has already started and all of those programs are free! And there are so many other exciting programs and recitals−jazz, symphony, band, choral, opera−so many types of music to love!

Hope to see you there!


 
Arts & Music at George Mason
Performances February 28 through March 22


By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer


The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) has several web sites of performances, talks etc.
CFA ticket purchase page
Center for the Arts YouTube channel 
Hylton ticket purchase page
the new https://masonartsamplified.gmu.edu/
music.calendar.gmu.edu/
theater.calendar.gmu.edu/
dance.calendar.gmu.edu
masonexhibitions.org/
and if you miss a live performance, there is a pay-per-view for many: https://cfa.gmu.edu/events/paid-digital-performances. For tickets for either Center for the Arts Concert Hall (CFA) or Hylton Center, call 1-888-945-2468. You can also buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links above) or visit the venue's box office.

Dr. Linda Apple Monson produces a periodic “Notes from the Director.” This email is full of information on interesting online performances by the students and faculty of the School of Music. If you would like to receive these bulletins, just sign up at this link to stay in touch. Also, the Center for the Arts has a website, Mason Arts at Home, which has a calendar of online events and access to many past performances.

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At the Fairfax Campus Venues

Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra with Vaughn Wiester
Sat, Feb 28, 8:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Concert Hall
Admission: $55, $48, $35.
 
Mnozil Brass
Sun, Mar 1, 4:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Concert Hall
Admission: $60, $52, $38.

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra with Patti LuPone: Matters of the Heart
Thu, Mar 5*, 7:30
Concert Hall
Admission: $105, $85, $64. 
*Due to an unexpected scheduling change the March 5 performance will be rescheduled.
Ticket buyers will be contacted directly by the ticket office with additional information.

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra with Demarre McGill
Sat, Mar 7, 8:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $75, $64, $54.
 
Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel: Mozart and Friends—Beethoven, Haydn, and Clementi
Sun, Mar 15, 7:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $60, $52, $38.
Fairfax Campus Visual Arts
(details can be found at https://www.masonexhibitions.org/)
 
The Prescription is Home
Through April 18, 2026
Mason Exhibitions, Arlington Campus
Mason Student and Faculty Performances

(see music.gmu.edu for additional student recitals)

Music Faculty Artist Series Recitals in Harris Theatre
Sun Mar 1, 7:00, Music Across Borders with Laura Kaufman Mowry (flute)
Harris Theater
Admission: Free and Open to the Public.
 
Mason Symphony Orchestra Concert: Concerto Competition Winners
Mon, Mar 2, 8:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $19 Adult, $14 Senior.
 
University Singers Concert: Finding Home
Tue, Mar 3, 8:00
Harris Theater
Admission: $19 Adult, $14 Senior.
 

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At the Hylton Center (Manassas Campus)

Pablo Sainz-Villegas
Sat, Feb 28, 8:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Merchant Hall
Admission: $55, $48, $35.
 
Washington National Opera Orchestra Featuring the Cafritz Young Artists
Sun, Mar 1, 4:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Merchant Hall
Admission: $71, $60, $45.
 
Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats
Sat, Mar 7, 11:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $24.
 
Nicole Zuraitis
Sat, Mar 7, 5:00 and 8:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $35.
 
Manassas Symphony Orchestra: Sonic America with Melanie Young, harp
Sat, Mar 7, 7:30
Merchant Hall
Admission: $35.
 
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy and The Celtic All Stars
Sun, Mar 8, 4:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Merchant Hall
Admission: $65, $56, $41.
 
Manassas Ballet Theatre: Les Sylphides and More!
Fri, Mar 13, 7:30
Sat, Mar 14, 7:30
Sun, Mar 15, 3:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $81, $71, $60, $50.
 
Prince William Little Theatre: Head Over Heels
Fri, Mar 13, 8:00
Sat, Mar 14, 2:00 and 7:00
Sun, Mar 15, 2:00
Fri, Mar 20, 8:00
Sat, Mar 21, 2:00 and 7:00
Sun, Mar 22, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $35 Adult, $29 Senior.
 
Visual Arts: OFFERINGS TO THE POTOMAC
ACKNOWLEDGING INDIGENOUS PLACE
February 24 - May 15, 2026
Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery, Manassas Campus

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For further details on any of the above events, see the CFA Event Calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar.

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Meetings & Clubs

Please note: OLLI Meetings and Clubs may currently take place in several formats: some are in person only, some are online only, and some are hybrid, meaning that they take place in person and are accessible online simultaneously. OLLI events and activities meeting online bear the identification "Z" in their course or event number (except clubs; you may need to check the OLLI calendar and daily schedule email for location and other event information).

The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office. The list is accurate as of mid-week. Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kick-off coffees, etc. The OLLI office has sent (or will send) emails with links and meeting passwords to club members.

 
Sat Feb 28 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Mar 2
 
 		 9:30 am
11:00 am
4:00 pm		 What’s in the Daily News? – online
Poetry Reading Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Mar 3
 
 		 2:00 pm
3:45 pm
4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Caregivers Support Group – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Mar 4
 
 
 
 
 
 		 10:00 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
12:00 noon
2:00 pm
4:00 pm
4:00 pm		 Board Game Club
Bridge Club
Investment Forum
Chair Yoga and More – online
Memoir and More Writing Group – online
History Club – online
Spanish Club – online
Thu Mar 5

 
 		 11:50 am
3:00 pm
4:30 pm
6:00 pm		 All the News – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Ethnic Eats Club – online
Fri Mar 6
 
 
 		 9:30 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon		 Crafts and Conversation
Mah Jongg Club
Homer, etc. – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Sat Mar 7 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Mar 9
 
 
 		 9:30 am
9:30 am
4:00 pm
4:00 pm		 What’s in the Daily News? – online
Poetry Writing Club – online
Family History/Genealogy Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Mar 10
 
 		 2:00 pm
4:00 pm
4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Mah Jongg Club – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Mar 11
 
 
 
 		 10:00 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
12:00 noon
4:00 pm		 Board Game Club
Bridge Club
Investment Forum
Chair Yoga and More – online
Spanish Page Turner Club – online
Thu Mar 12
 
 
 		 11:30 am
11:50 am
3:00 pm
4:30 pm		 Eat, Drink, and Be Irish
All the News – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Fri Mar 13
 
 
 
 
 
 
 		 9:30 am
9:30 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
11:30 am
12:00 noon
2:30 pm
4:00 pm		 Photography Club
Crafts and Conversation
Mah Jongg Club
Homer, etc. – online
Cooking Club
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tallwood Book Club – online
French Conversation and Happy Hour – online
Sat Mar 14 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online

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About OLLI E-News

OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Associate Editors: David Gundry, Deborah Kruesi

Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, Deborah Kruesi, Chitra Mohla, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel 
Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Thomas Appich, Martha Kossoff, Anne Hartshorn, Bonnie Becker, Carol McManus

Submissions: Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles, and photos. Submit material to: [email protected].
Deadline: Tuesday, 6:00, for that week's issue (Monday, 6:00, for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words.
Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes.

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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384
Email: [email protected]

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