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Enjoy a fall bounty (lectures, courses, trips) through OLLI programs

 
Monica Kile is OLLI director at Eckerd College.
Monica Kile is OLLI director at Eckerd College.
Published Aug. 23, 2016

Fall in Florida holds much promise. Cooler weather — eventually. New shows on TV — eventually. The end to the presidential election — eventually.

But right now, folks can check out fun and educational programs on both sides of the bay, offered by Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and the University of South Florida in Tampa. Both institutions are offering their new fall catalogs of lectures, courses, trips and more in their respective OLLI — Osher Lifelong Learning Institute — programs.

These are two of an estimated 120 OLLI programs, aimed at adults 50 and older, at colleges and universities nationwide.

The Eckerd OLLI is in it 10th year, the USF program in its 23rd.

With an estimated 1,200 members, the Eckerd OLLI plans to offer approximately 150 classes and activities this fall. The majority of the classes are on topics ranging from art to history, politics to social sciences, culture to spirituality. Most events occur on the college's campus near the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

The span of topics is similar at the USF OLLI program, which has about 1,500 members, although the majority of events happen off the main Tampa campus and at satellite sites throughout the county. Members are mostly from Hillsborough, with a few attending from Pasco, Polk and Hernando counties.

Membership fees are similar: $49 at Eckerd and $40 at USF.

The really good news is that the two programs have a reciprocal arrangement. Members of one OLLI can attend events as a member of the other OLLI.

Eckerd OLLI

For the first time this year, the St. Petersburg OLLI will use a "guest pass," according to director Monica Kile. "If someone has never attended an OLLI class at Eckerd, they can attend one for free." Most OLLI events have a small fee, averaging around $5 for each hour of the event.

One of the newest series at Eckerd will bring London to St. Petersburg. On the heels of a successful Metropolitan Opera series, the Eckerd OLLI will offer a series of performances by the Royal National Theatre of London.

The recorded productions, including War Horse, Hamlet, Frankenstein and A View From the Bridge, will be presented on Friday afternoons.

Also new this year, the Eckerd OLLI will kick off with a free community workshop Nov. 15. Called For the Love of St. Petersburg, the program will feature Peter Kageyama, author of For the Love of Cities.

"So many retired people in St. Petersburg are from somewhere else and are looking to get engaged with their community," Kile said.

Among the fall term's classes are such titles as "The Continuing Refugee Crisis in the Middle East and Its Impact on Europe," "A Chief Curator's Secrets About Museums," "Estate Planning Issues for Florida Living: Legislative Update and Top 10 Planning Blunders," "Jackie Robinson, Reluctant Pioneer," "Remembering Pearl Harbor 75 Years Ago" and "Skyway: The True Story of Tampa Bay's Signature Bridge and the Man Who Brought It Down."

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Off-campus events include performances at the Francis Wilson Playhouse in Clearwater, a dine-around to selected restaurants in St. Petersburg and a day tour of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.

There will even be a series of class meetings on shuffleboard, culminating in a visit to the famous St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club.

USF OLLI

There are more than just classes and lectures at the USF OLLI, noted Ara Rogers, director. Members enjoy the social aspects of attending events with others who share similar histories and pasts.

A first this year will be a series of 10 free Friday noon lectures open to the public as well as members. Speakers will include two Tampa City Council members and Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, author of Collateral Damage: Petraeus, Power, Politics and the Abuse of Privacy.

The catalog reflects the program's outreach to all parts of Hillsborough County, with 20 "outposts," Rogers noted, including yoga and tai chi studios.

"There's a heavy concentration on poetics and comparative religions," she said. Writing — poetry and short story writing workshops — will also be offered. "We're doing a lot this term with games — bridge, mah-jongg and adding chess."

The USF program's kickoff event will be Sept. 14 and will feature Tampa Bay Times columnist Dan Ruth, "with a lighter look at the news."

Technology and computers aren't being ignored, Rogers said. A class on Microsoft's Windows 10 will be offered "by older instructors. Members come to our classes for someone who will explain it to them at a pace they relate to and in a language they can understand," she said.

Contact Fred W. Wright Jr. at travelword@aol.com.