Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

ENews October 2, 2026

by

OLLI E-News October 2, 2026
Print a condensed pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.

 

 

Activities/Clubs/Committees Fair, With Kick-Off Coffee, at Tallwood, September 17

October 2, 2026


Editor of the Week: David Gundry
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

  • The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, October 9; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, October 6, at 6:00

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From the Desk of the Executive Director
Join OLLI in Creating a Community Mural


By Lisa Mariam, Executive Director



It's Not Too Late to Join – Click here to sign up to reserve your space

OLLI at George Mason University is inviting community members of all ages to pick up a paintbrush and help create a new public mural celebrating lifelong learning, creativity, and community.

Community Paint Days

October 9 & 11| 10:00 – 4:00
(Rain dates: October 16 & 18)

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Personal Purpose, Meaningful Connections, Gardening



By John McAndrew, Board Member



We are seeking two additional Landscaping Committee members; no experience is necessary.

Six volunteers form the Landscaping Committee (a.k.a. the Dirty Knee Club) to maintain the gardens at OLLI’s Tallwood campus, but two will be leaving this year. We enjoy working together to keep the flower beds thriving, as well as having lunches and other outings.  

If you are interested, please contact John McAndrew at 703-508-7088 (call or text) or [email protected].
OLLI Mason Publicity in the Fairfax Golden Gazette



By Paul Howard, OLLI Board Member and Former President


 
A friend from my computer group recently sent my contact information to the editor of a Fairfax County publication for senior citizens, and I was interviewed by the editor of the Golden Gazette for their September 2026 issue. Here's a link to the result: click here.
 
Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop
Class Critique

We hunt for meaning in each other’s poems, 
musing over metaphors, pondering punctuation    

and line breaks.

We generously praise the well-turned phrase, 
couplets laced with internal rhyme, an apt title

(like mine).

We offer suggestions for consideration;
an open invitation that’s always well-meant
so as not to offend or completely up-end. 

Still … (calls the volta) 

it’s a sort of soft-pedaling on one’s psyche,
a tender trampling; wandering eyes

traipsing across your neatly typed page
rearranging words like furniture 
in your house, straightening thoughts

you painstakingly hung, purging your 
closet of anything trite and what just 
doesn’t fit.

Alas –  
sometimes quite necessary.
  
                    ‒Lisa Szymanski

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Arts & Music at George Mason
Performances October 3 through October 18


By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer


The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) has several web sites for performances, talks etc. For tickets for either Center for the Arts Concert Hall (CFA) or Hylton Center, call 1-888-945-2468.

CFA ticket purchase page
Center for the Arts YouTube channel https://us.list-manage.com/XJlfXOoEURq?e=c895636f39&c2id=e5e7b8527d8920b348ce98ee38141e3d
Hylton ticket purchase page
The new https://masonartsamplified.gmu.edu/
music.calendar.gmu.edu/
theater.calendar.gmu.edu/
dance.calendar.gmu.edu
masonexhibitions.org/.

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
 
Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
Sat, Oct 3, 8:30
Concert Hall
Admission: $145, $105, $75.
Visual Arts: Fairfax, Manassas, and Arlington Campuses
(details can be found at https://www.masonexhibitions.org/)
 

In Her Image

Through Oct 31

Buchanan Partners Art Gallery

Hylton Performing Arts Center

 

As You Were

Through Nov 11

Gillespie Gallery of Art

Art and Design Building

Fairfax Campus

 

What Remains?: The Vietnam War and Its Reckoning

Through Nov 21

Arlington Campus

 

Shaping Space

Through Nov 4 

Fenwick Gallery

Fairfax Campus

 

Across The Commonwealth

Through Dec 5

Patriot Perspectives Gallery

Johnson Center

Fairfax Campus

 

The Art of Seeing - Student Exhibition

Through Dec 5

CVPA Dean’s Suite

Fairfax Campus
Mason Student and Faculty Performances

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

Mason Bands Concert: West Side Story
Mon, Oct 5, 7:30
Concert Hall
Admission: Adults $20; Seniors $15.

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At the Hylton Center (Manassas Campus)

American Roots Series: Nothin' Fancy

Sat, Oct 3, 5:00 and 8:00

Gregory Family Theater

Admission: $35.

 

Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Sun, Oct 4, 2:00

Merchant Hall

Admission: $65, $55, $45.

 

Prince William Little Theatre: Man of La Mancha

Fri, Oct 9, 8:00

Sat, Oct 10, 2:00 and 7:00

Sun, Oct 11, 2:00

Fri, Oct 16, 8:00

Sat, Oct 17, 2:00 and 7:00

Sun, Oct 18, 2:00

Gregory Family Theater

Admission: Adults 26; Seniors $26.

 

Manassas Chorale: Let Freedom Ring!

Sat, Oct 10, 7:30

Merchant Hall

Admission: $30, $28.

 

KC Dance Center: Kollywood Nights

Sun, Oct 11, 5:30

Merchant Hall

Admission: $30.

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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., bolded below. The OLLI office has sent (or will send) emails with links and meeting passwords to club members.
 
Sat Oct 3 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Oct 5
 		  9:30 am
 4:00 pm		 What’s in the Daily News? – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Oct 6
 		  2:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Oct 7
 
 
 
 		 12:00 noon
 1:30 pm
 1:30 pm
 4:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Board Game Club
Bridge Club
History Club – online
Spanish Club – online
Thu Oct 8
 		  3:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Fri Oct 9
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 		  9:30 am
 9:30am
10:00 am
11:00 am
11:30 am
12:00 noon
 1:30 pm
 2:00 pm
 2:30 pm		 Crafts and Conversation – hybrid
Photography Club – hybrid
Mah Jongg Club
Homer, etc.
Cooking Club – off site
Chair Yoga and More – online
French Conversation – online
Classic Literature Club – online
Tallwood Book Club – online
Sat Oct 10 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Oct 12
 
 		  9:30 am
 4:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 What’s in the Daily News? – online
Family History/Genealogy Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Oct 13
 
 		  2:00 pm
 3:45 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Caregivers Support Group – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Oct 14
 
 
 
 
 		 11:50 am
12:00 noon
 1:30 pm
 1:30 pm
 2:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 Investment Forum
Chair Yoga and More – online
Board Game Club
Bridge Club
Memoir and More Writing Group – online
Spanish Page Turners Club – online
Thu Oct 15
 
 
 		 11:50 am
 3:00 pm
 4:30 pm
 6:00 pm		 All the News
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Ethnic Eats Club – online
Fri Oct 16
 
 
 
 
 
 
 		  9:30 am
10:00 am
10:00 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon
12:30 pm
 2:00 pm		 Crafts and Conversation
Board of Directors Meeting
Mah Jongg Club – online
Game On: Talking Sports – online
Homer, etc. – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Oktoberfest
Classic Literature Club – online
Sat Oct 17
 		 10:30 am
 1:00 pm		 Tai Chi Club – online
Personal Computer User Group – hybrid

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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: Chloe DiStaso, David Gundry, Deborah Kruesi, Chitra Mohla, John Nash,
Paul Van Hemel
 
Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Thomas Appich, 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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Notice: You received this newsletter because either you are a current OLLI member or you have been provided a courtesy copy. If you are an OLLI member who did not renew your membership, you can continue to receive our newsletter by emailing the office at [email protected] with your request. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you'd like to receive it each week, please email the office and ask to be added to the courtesy-copy list.

Copyright 2026 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University, 4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone 703-503-3384, Fax 703-503-2832


 






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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OLLI Mason is a nonprofit, equal opportunity 501(c)(3) organization
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