Community Calendar

Harry S. Truman once de scribed the presidency as “the most peculiar office in the world.” In this course, we will explore how the Founding Fathers left the office for future presidents to define, creating conditions for a dramatic expansion of executive power. We will examine how the presidency has come to dominate the three co-equal branches, with Congress and the Supreme Court at times ceding authority. We will consider how and why this shift occurred, how this peculiar office is won or lost, how they have exercised power, and how the rise of the administrative state has reshaped the balance envisioned by the framers.

America has provided fertile ground for new and alternative religions to sprout and grow. Some prosper and eventually become accepted as part of the normal religious landscape, some wither away and are forgotten, and some detonate, creating public scandal and in the worst cases, national tragedy. This course will examine New Religious Movements, popularly known as “cults”, within the US context. We will examine these religious movements both from insider perspectives and outsider perceptions. We will analyze the history, practices, and beliefs of these organizations to better understand them and deconstruct misconceptions. This course covers the 18th and 19th centuries.

In this course, we will explore the three fascinating realms of the cosmos: nearby planets and moons; the stars; and the galaxies (the great island of stars that turn out to be the building blocks of the universe.) Our discussion will be in everyday language, without any math, and will be accompanied by remarkable color images from the latest space probes and the world’s largest telescopes, including the latest breathtaking images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

This course traces Apple’s fifty-year history and its massive impact on personal computing, design, product culture, platforms and ecosystems, and daily life. Each session focuses on a different decade in Apple’s history, from the birth of the PC in the late 1970s to the latest Apple silicon, VR headsets, and future iPhones. We will learn how Apple reshaped not just technology, but how people live, work, and communicate.

Fitness expert and Wellness Recovery Coach Shari Withey leads this energizing four-week walking series designed to support overall health through consistent movement and guided instruction. Drawing on decades of experience in yoga, Pilates, weight training, and more, she brings a supportive and knowledgeable approach to each session.

Each session includes at least an hour of walking on local trails, popular paths, and lesser-known routes. Participants receive a simple posture analysis and fitness assessment during the first session to help establish personal goals. Over the course of the program, they will gain insight into alignment, agility, balance, and endurance, while learning how efficient movement can improve posture and strength.

Participants will walk, learn, and connect—leaving with greater confidence, improved wellness, and possibly new walking companions. Locations are shared in advance.

Activity Level: 2
(Current Members Only)

August Wilson was the first African American playwright to have a Broadway theater bear his name, a fitting tribute to a dramatist who brought African American culture and lived experience to the stage. In this course, we will read, watch, and examine the first five plays in Wilson’s American Cycle, a tenplay series representing each decade of the African American culture’s 20th century. We will explore Wilson’s life and the influences behind his work while focusing on Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Seven Guitars, tracing his powerful interpretation, celebration, and preservation of African American culture.

This course continues our journey into how music becomes the emotional engine of film. This is not film school—it is a celebration for film lovers who want to experience how music shapes story, character, and unforgettable moments. We will explore how instrumental scores and songs with lyrics work together to drive narrative, define identity, and capture cultural shifts. We will focus on films where songs take center stage, from iconic franchise themes to pop- and rock-driven storytelling. Spanning genres and eras, we will see how composers, songwriters, and performers expanded the language of film music. (Class will not meet 10/28)

This 6-week course introduces students to making pottery on the wheel and engages every stage of the ceramic cycle. It begins with throwing wet clay into basic forms like bowls and cups, then moves into trimming and modifying those leather-hard pieces, and finally glazing them. At the end of the course participants will be able to take home their finished, functional, handmade works of art.

Classes meet every Thursday from 6PM-8PM for 6 weeks, starting September 17th and ends October 22nd.

9/17

9/24

10/1

10/8

10/15

10/22

Raine's Bio: Raine Ransom was used to working in 3D spaces long before they started pottery. Initially a 3D artist for video games, Raine loved interacting with any object they could get their hands on to dissect and recreate its appeal. Moving from San Francisco, CA, they decided to pick up working with clay to help their work online but ended up falling in love with the challenge of the craft. They started throwing on the wheel in 2023 and since then they've been diligently honing their skills in order to make beautiful and unique pottery using Wild Clay they personally harvested and processed. Now, they teach ceramics to other students at multiple studios such as the Community Creative Center, Mount Sequoyah, and Imagine Studios. Raine is a current Mount Sequoyah Clay Studio member and has been excited to join the community.

$250 for all 6 classes, including clay and materials!

The 1960s is a decade wrapped in myth and misunderstanding. In this course, we will cut through that haze by turning to something powerful and concrete: the speeches of the era. The times and the conditions demanded these significant speeches. Together, we will listen to the voices that moved a nation and shaped history. With recordings preserved through television, video, and You- Tube, we will discover what these speeches still have to teach us today.

Since the 1890s, when Americans were beginning to develop their own traditions in classical music, composers have recognized the dilemma of creating the American sound. We will explore how classical musicians, and Broadway and Hollywood composers, most of them Jewish, followed parallel paths in creating sounds that have been defined as evocative of these lands and its people. Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, William Grant Steel, Florence Price, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein and others will be the protagonists of this lecture, supported with audiovisuals and anecdotes.