Community Calendar

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.

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)

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.

Arts Live Theatre is preparing for FALL! A variety of after-school theatre classes are available for ages 4-5, 6-8, 9-12, and 13-18 years old. Fun-filled class themes include Fairy Tale Wonders, Percy Jackson’s Quest, Pinocchio Escapades, Dinosaur Adventures, Magic School Bus, Hogwarts Hidden Mysteries, Acting Creates Character, and Minions & Monsters! Classes begin the week of August 31st and run for eight weeks!

Join us every Monday from 6–8 pm, beginning October 5, 2026, for informal, non-instructional figure drawing sessions with a live, undraped model.

Open to artists of all skill levels, these relaxed sessions offer an opportunity to draw from life, practice, and connect with other local artists. No experience is necessary. Volunteer artists host each session and will be available to offer feedback or guidance upon request.

Every Monday beginning October 5, 2026
6–8 pm
$15 per session
18+ only

Please bring your preferred drawing materials and a drawing board if you have one. Chairs are plentiful, but easels and drawing boards are limited.

Note: Please check the gallery website or social media for closures; cancellations may occur due to holidays, weather or special events.

The American Experiment began with the Declaration of Independence and led to the creation of the federal judiciary, one of the country’s greatest experiments. In this course, we will trace the evolution of the courts from their English roots to their formal establishment in the Constitution. We will explore how the Supreme Court, lacking the power of the purse or military, derives its authority from its ability to connect with the people of the US and protect democracy. We will examine creation of the federal judiciary and the power of the Marshall Court, the Court’s evolution through the New Deal, the Vinson Court, the Warren Court’s “Rights Revolution,” and the role of today’s US Supreme Court.