Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

ENews September 26, 2025

by

OLLI E-News September 26, 2025
Print a condensed pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.
Executive Director Lisa Mariam hosted an appreciation event for OLLI volunteers, September 8, at Tallwood.

September 26, 2025


Editor of the Week: Paul Van Hemel
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

  • Fall classes are under way. Registration continues throughout the term.
  • The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, October 3; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, September 30, at 6:00.

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From the Desk of the Executive Director
Mason Visual Arts Exhibition: Before the Americas


By Lisa Mariam, Executive Director


Before the Americas is an art historical survey featuring 45 works by Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and African American artists, many of whom have lived and worked in Greater Washington. The works of these artists span painting, printmaking, sculpture, book art, performance, and video art. The exhibit traces the significance of these artists through four themes: Genetic Memory, Migration, Invisibility, and Interconnectivity.

The exhibition is currently on display through September and early October at Gillespie Gallery inside the Art and Design Building at Mason. I encourage you to visit the exhibition, which includes a significant painting by Sam Gilliam that was recently donated to the University Art Collection. You may also be interested in attending a symposium related to the exhibition on October 4, 12:30-6:30 at the Mason Center for the Arts Concert Hall, hosted by Exhibition Curator Cheryl Edwards. More information is available at this link.

Trail Blazing: Connecting and Keeping the Appalachian Trail​
You are invited to the George Mason University Libraries Special Collections Research Center for an Appalachian Trail Archives 100th Anniversary Event featuring author, historian, and Fulbright Scholar, Mills Kelly, George Mason Professor Emeritus.

Tour the Trail Blazing: Connecting and Keeping the Appalachian Trail​ exhibition and learn how scholars from around the world are using the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) Archives for teaching, learning, and research.

In 2022, George Mason University proudly became the guardian of the ATC Archives, the largest and most significant collection of its kind. This century-old archive includes correspondence, publications, more than 1,000 historic maps, and thousands of irreplaceable photographs. It serves as a vital resource for scholars, students, authors, and enthusiasts worldwide, providing invaluable insights into a century of conservation efforts.

Register to Attend
Monday, October 6, 2025 (Event Date)
6:00- 8:00
Fenwick Library
4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030

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Chat Topic for Team Bloch Wednesday Conversation October 1
By Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch,
Co-Moderators
The first and third Wednesday afternoon of each month, Team Bloch (Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch) moderate a friendly social chat on Zoom. Any member is very welcome to join us, to listen or to air views on the selected topic. We are very open to discourse and to new voices in any of our conversations. Please feel free to join in.
 
Our topic for Wednesday, October 1 is "What Do You Do in Your Leisure Time?" Do you have hobbies, such as reading, gardening, making music, sewing, woodworking, writing your memoirs, exercising, dancing, singing in a chorus, playing golf, or tennis? Or do you volunteer on a regular basis? Is this a new activity for you, one that you adopted post-retirement or during our covid-isolation timeframe? Do you do it alone or in a group? Be there to share; maybe you can find a kindred soul or a new activity for you to explore.
 
Hope to see many OLLI members on October 1 at 4:00 for our Zoom conversation. The link is found in the Daily Schedule.

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In Search of Senior Olympics Competitors


By Debby Mossburg, OLLI Member and Senior Olympics Participant


Did you know that this year’s Northern Virginia Senior Olympics (NVSO) is the largest ever, with over 1,200 adults, 50 and over, entering one or more of the 92 events over 17 days in September? We know of a few OLLI members who’ve competed this year or in years past.

Have you? We’d love to hear your stories and feature them in a special E-News article later this year, whether you rose to glory or, like me, came in near to dead last. If you’ve ever competed in the NVSO, please send me your name, year(s) competed, and event(s) if you’d like to be included in our tribute. Better yet, add a few lines telling about your experience. We’d love to encourage other OLLI members to give it a try. Please send me an email ([email protected]) by October 15. I can’t wait to hear from you!

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Medical Emergency at OLLI Tallwood? Did you know that we have an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) in the breakroom? Our staff is trained in its use if needed. Call 911. Notify staff. You might help save a life.
                                                                                                       From the Healthcare Advisory Workgroup
 
History Club Meeting Wednesday October 1


By Doug Snoeyenbos, History Club Coordinator


The History Club will hold its first meeting of the fall semester on Wednesday, October 1, at 4:00, on Zoom. The presenter will be our own OLLI member, Ben Gold. Ben will present on the Tonkin Gulf incident in 1964 that led to Congressional approval of formal United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Ben has a personal interest and a unique perspective on this topic because, at the time, he was there serving as Operations Officer on a destroyer in the Gulf. Ben transmitted many of the vital messages to and from the US Navy ships involved. This will be a very interesting presentation which you won’t want to miss.

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Theater Lovers' Group Kicks Off Its 2025-2026
Season with In-person Meeting



By Norma Jean Reck, Theater Lovers' Group Coordinator


On Sunday, October 12, all theater lovers are invited to join us to see the 2 p.m. matinee of The Turn of the Screw: The Musical at Creative Cauldron's (CC) new home at 127 E. Broad Street, Falls Church 22046 (next to Whole Foods). CC's musical geniuses Conner and Smith turned this Henry James' novella into a 90-minute musical described as "hypnotic and unnerving." You may remember that the story takes place on a remote country estate where the governess, caring for two children, soon has eerie encounters. Go online to http://www.creativecauldron.org to purchase First tier tickets for $35 when you enter the code SSS. Optional dinner after the show. Please email me after you have purchased your ticket so I can arrange for us to sit together.

Did you know that The Mousetrap started off as a short radio play that Agatha Christie wrote as a birthday present for Queen Mary in 1947? She based the play, then titled The Three Blind Mice, on the real-life story of Dennis O'Neill and his brother who were living on an isolated farm in foster care. The Mousetrap opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until March 16, 2020, when it closed due to the Covid pandemic. It has all the trappings of a fun whodunnit: strangers snowed in in a remote guest house, a policeman from London arrives looking for a murderer among them, and then one of them is murdered. Guaranteed to keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.
 
Join the Theater Lovers' in seeing The Mousetrap on Sunday, October 19 at the 2 p.m., matinee when the Providence Players perform it at The James Lee Community Center Theater, 2855 Annandale Road, F.C. 22042. Go online to purchase your $21 tickets and select your seat at providenceplayers.org. Optional lunch before the show TBA. Thanks to Bonnie for this terrific pick.
 
Save the dates: Sunday, June 28, TLG goes to National Theatre to see 2 p.m. matinee of Suffs, fresh from Broadway. Monday and Tuesday, November 16 - 17, we will take an overnight coach trip to NYC to see a Broadway show. Details will follow.

Editor’s Note: At the author’s request, all words are published unedited, exactly as submitted.

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Tallwood Book Club to Meet October 10


By Betty Ellerbee, Tallwood Book Club Coordinator


The Tallwood Book Club will have its regularly scheduled Zoom meeting on Friday, October 10th at 2:30. Participants will choose between Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama and The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar…or may choose to read both. In November we will also have two choices, H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald and Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.

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Photo of the Month


The September 2025 Photo of the Month theme was Black and White. We selected Bob Kelberg's photo "Horse in Black and White September2025," 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 Edward Marion, Photography Club Co-Coordinators

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Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop

Avebury Henge
 
I had been to see the more famous henge
with ropes that guard its spirit
of ancient rites and past worship.
 
Here is a more humble site where
it seems boulders were thrown randomly
by giants who once wandered these plains.
 
History, long lost, has been replaced
by myths and tales of these great rings
of stone pillars that encircle the quiet hamlet
now nestled within their fossilized orbit.
 
I’m surprised I am free to wander here
along with grazing sheep
indifferent to Neolithic history
that only seek the cool shadows
provided by the rocks.
 
As I touch these smooth surfaces
I wonder at mysteries
I can’t attempt to unravel.
I run my hand over a stone
four times my height
as if its sun-warmed surface
holds a worn braille
that could reveal the stories it holds.
 
                     –Jacqueline Davey

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OLLI Mason Free Music Presentations


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


Mason School of Music faculty and students invite you to music presentations free and open to the public in fall 2025. The presentations are scheduled from 9:30 to 10:55 Tuesdays at Fairfax Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 5114 Twinbrook Road, Fairfax, VA 22032. See the schedule below for details.

            

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Arts & Music at George Mason
Performances September 26 through October 5


By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer


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 below) or visit the venue's box office. For more information, see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton Center ticket purchase page.

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

(25-26 Season subscriptions to Great Performances now on sale)
 
Special Event – ARTS by George! An Evening with Darren Criss
Sat, Sep 27, 8:30
Concert Hall
Admission: $106, $81, $55 for performance only. For information on the entire evening of ARTS by George! Go to artsbygeorge.gmu.edu.
 
Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
Fri, Oct 3, 8:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Concert Hall
Admission: $65, $56, $41.
 
Papermoon Puppet Theatre
Sat, Oct 4, 2:00 and 7:00
A discussion with the artists from the stage will immediately follow the performance.
Harris Theatre
Admission: $35.
 
The Magic of Rob Lake
RESCHEDULED to April 19.
Mason Student and Faculty Performances

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

Mason Bands Concert: Celebrations in Motion
Tue, Sep 30, 7:30
Concert Hall
Admission: $19 Adult, $14 senior.

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At the Hylton Center (Manassas Campus)

ARTfactory’s Actor’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors
Fri, Sep 26, 7:30
Sat, Sep 27, 7:30
Sun, Sep 28, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $35 Adult, $30 senior.
 
Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra: Halloween Favorites
Sat, Sep 27, 8:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $30 Adult, $27 senior.
 
Soweto Gospel Choir
Fri, Oct 3, 8:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Merchant Hall
Admission: $55, $48, $35.
 
Pilobolus (dance company)
Sun, Oct 5, 2:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance.
Merchant Hall
Admission: $60, $52, $38.

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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; you may also log in at the member portal and click on ZOOM CLASS LINKS.

 
Sat Sep 27 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Sep 29
 		  4:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 Family History/Genealogy Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Sep 30
 
 		  2:00 pm
 3:45 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Caregivers Support Group – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Oct 1
 
 
 
 
 		 12:00 pm
12:00 pm
 1:30 pm
 1:30 pm
 4:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 Memoir and More Writing Group – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Board Game Club
Bridge Club
History Club – online
Spanish Club – online
Thu Oct 2
 		  3:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Fri Oct 3
 
 
 
 		  9:30 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon
 2:00 pm		 Crafts and Conversation
Mah Jongg Club
Homer, etc. – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Classic Literature Club – online
Sat Oct 4 10:30 am Tai Chi Club – online
Mon Oct 6
 
 		  2:00 pm
 4:00 pm
 4:00 pm		 Tallwood Trio
Genealogy Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue Oct 7
 
 		  2:00 pm
 4:00 pm
 4:30 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Mah Jongg Club – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed Oct 8
 
 
 
 		 12:00 noon
12:00 noon
 1:30 pm
 1:30 pm
 1:30 pm		 Memoir and More Writing Group – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Board Game Club
Bridge Club
Dabbling Artists Club
Thu Oct 9
 
 		  3:00 pm
 4:30 pm
 6:00 pm		 Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Ethnic Eats Club – online
Fri Oct 10
 
 
 
 
 
 		  9:30 am
 9:30 am
11:00 am
11:30 am
12:00 noon
 2:00 pm
 2:30 pm		 Photography Club
Crafts and Conversation
Homer, etc. – online
Cooking Club
Chair Yoga and More – online
Classic Literature Club
Tallwood Book Club
Sat Oct 11 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 Editor: David Gundry

Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, 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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AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
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