Welcome to Adult Learning & Living
Join us for fun, educational, engaging, social, and sometimes delicious activities. Now with our growing virtual programming, it's easy! Center members, non-members, residents near or far, people of all backgrounds, faiths, ethnicities, fashion styles, chocolate preferences—all are welcome! Come along and we'll explore the arts, build a broader understanding of our world, taste a few treats together, and possibly pick up a new skill or two. We'd love to have you.
Our January Offerings | ||||||
Date | Day | Time | Event Name | Description | Cost | For Tickets & Registration |
Jan 4 | Monday | 10am |
Learning Zoom: |
Meet Danielle Vierra to learn basic skills for using Zoom and its meeting window. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 4 | Monday | 11am | Still Traveling: Sensational Seville |
Let James Sokol zoom you to southern Spain to tour with our terrific, professional, local guide, who leads these interesting live “tours." |
$15-$50 | Click here |
Jan 4 | Monday | 1pm | Learning Zoom: Practice Forum |
Join Danielle Vierra for a review of skills taught in our Zoom manuals and for an open forum to ask focused questions about using Zoom. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 5 | Tuesday | 1pm |
Coffee Talk: |
Let’s slow down and appreciate the things we have; share one that is particularly special. Bring a favorite object -- a piece of art, craft, jewelry or other object -- and share with Danielle Vierra & others its interesting history and/or the reasons you love it. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 6 | Wednesday | 1pm |
Music and Morsels: Classical Elegance for the New Year |
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FREE-$15 | Click here |
Jan 6 | Wednesday | 3pm |
Cocktails & Cabalettas: Operatic Happy Hours |
Bring a drink and join James Sokol & others for a happy hour of beautiful music, interesting insights & fun chat. |
Cost: $8-$20 | Click here |
Jan 7 | Thursday | 1pm |
Broadway Backstage |
Let James Sokol zoom you through the Stage Door to meet special guest theater professionals – who bring unique expertise, experiences & insights to our exclusive discussions. |
Cost: $15-$50 | Click here |
Jan 10 | Sunday | 2pm | Terrific Tastings: "Changed" Cheddars MUST PURCHASE BY DEC 27th! |
Let us deliver these goodies to your doorstep, then set out some wine, crackers and join culinary host James Sokol for a live, online, guided tasting of "changed" cheddars w/a special guest! |
Cost:$15-$60 | Click here |
Jan 11 | Monday | 10am |
Learning Zoom: |
Meet Danielle Vierra to learn basic skills for using Zoom and its meeting window. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 11 | Monday | 1pm |
Learning Zoom: |
Join Danielle Vierra for a review of skills taught in our Zoom manuals and for an open forum to ask focused questions about using Zoom. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 12 | Tuesday | 10am |
Book Fest: |
Dr. Michael Roizen, Chief Wellness Officer of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses his co-authored groundbreaking lifestyle guide, which reveals the best foods for healthier living, disease prevention, better performance, and a longer life. Each delicious recipe is paired with practical information about the nutrients and benefits of the ingredients, what portion size to eat when, and helpful substitutions. |
Cost: $10-JCC Members (Enter “OMJCC” in the coupon code for the member price.) |
Click here |
Jan 12 | Tuesday | 1pm |
Coffee Talk: |
Join Danielle Vierra & others for a "no reading book discussion!" Gather to hear and share recommendations, commentary & connections. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 13 | Wednesday | 1pm |
Learning Unlimited: |
Join Oak Dowling for a review and discussion about the movie “Just Mercy” -- a very popular film and book about the Alabama Equal Justice Initiative and the freeing from prison of Walter McMillian, a wrongly convicted African-American man. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 14 | Thursday | 5pm |
Book Fest: |
Join this author talk to hear about how Sweetbitter meets The Firm in this buzzy, page-turning debut novel - already optioned to Netflix - about sex and power in the halls of corporate America. |
Cost: $6-$35 | Click here |
Jan 17 | Sunday | 2pm |
Terrific Tastings: French Wine Road-trip MUST PURCHASE BY JAN 3rd! |
Let us deliver wines to your home, then join James Sokol & Bob Sawicki for a virtual, metaphoric road-trip to three different wine regions in France. |
Cost: $15-$98 | Click here |
Jan 17 | Sunday | 5pm |
Book Fest: |
Lisa Lillien’s #1 bestselling cookbooks are about keeping things easy, while serving up big portions of better-for-you food that tastes great! Kick off the new year with Lisa as she shares her fastest and easiest recipes for meals and snacks –including a live cooking demo! |
Cost: $6-$30 | Click here |
Jan 18 | Monday | 10am |
Learning Zoom: |
Join Danielle Vierra for a review of skills taught in our Zoom manuals and for an open forum to ask focused questions about using Zoom. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 18 | Monday | 1pm |
Learning Zoom: |
Join Danielle Vierra for a review of skills taught in our Zoom manuals and an open forum to ask focused questions about using Zoom. |
FREE | Click here |
Jan 18 | Monday | 2pm |
Songs of Dreams: A Multi-Genre Musical Celebration of MLK Day |
Join James Sokol to journey through an array of music – Broadway, pop, opera & more! – exploring the theme of “dreams” along the way. |
Cost: $5-$12.50 | Click here |
Jan 19 | Tuesday | 1pm |
Coffee Talk: Documentaries & Discussion |
View “The Speed Cubers” online and be ready to actively discuss before our gathering. Join Paula Love for a talk about this fascinating documentary. |
FREE | For discussion registration, click here For documentary, click here |
Jan 24 | Sunday | 1pm |
Terrific Tastings: Benevolent Brownies & Blondies |
Let us deliver goodies to your doorstep, then join culinary host James Sokol for a live, online, guided brownie & blondie tasting with special guests! |
Cost: $15-$50 | Click here |
Jan 25 | Monday | 10am | Learning Zoom: Beginner Skills |
Meet Danielle Vierra to learn basic skills for using Zoom and its meeting window. | FREE | Click here |
Jan 25 | Monday | 11am | Learning Zoom: Practice Forum |
Join Danielle Vierra for a review of skills taught in our Zoom manuals and for an open forum to ask focused questions about using Zoom. | FREE | Click here |
Jan 25 | Monday | 1:30pm | Exploring Opera: Sensational Seville | Join James Sokol for a musical journey thru Seville to see actual sites, discuss & watch video performance clips of some of the operas set in these locations. | Cost: $12.50-$20 | Click here |
Jan 27 | Wednesday | 1pm | Learning Unlimited: A Hunger for Stories |
Join Dale Biron to celebrate poems that help us remember what is possible, even when such things feel improbable. | FREE | Click here |
Jan 27 | Wednesday | 5pm |
Book Fest: |
Two formidable men collide in this "first-class legal thriller" and NYTimes bestseller about a celebrated criminal defense lawyer and the prosecution of his lifelong friend -- a doctor accused of murder. |
Cost: $11-$25 | Click here |
Jan 31 | Sunday | 5pm |
Book Fest: In conversation with Holly Firfer, CNN Journalist |
This NYTimes bestselling author & journalist explores – in American Baby – the untold story of a predatory, secret adoption system in postwar America through the dual stories of Margaret and the son she never intended to give up. |
Cost: $11-$35 | Click here |
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Questions? |
Moments of Joy, Laughter & Learning! Subscribe to receive notices of upcoming programs, special events, and our newsletter Moments of Joy. Send your name, email address, and city of residence To increase the probability of our emails reaching your inbox, please add James’ email above to your eAddress book. Subscribe here. |
Fill your senses. Join us for exciting online events with custom concerts, thoughtful films, and local food tastings. These are one-of-a-kind, not-to-be-missed events! |
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Virtual Music & Morsels Bring coffee/tea & dessert to your computer, take your front row seat, and join us for a 1-hour live concert with a special guest artist who will not only perform, but also offer insights into the program’s pieces. Live Q&A enriches the experience! Your ticket purchase helps support not only our programs, but also our guest artists(s) whose schedule(s) and income(s) have been severely cut by this challenging period. |
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Terrific Tastings Partnering with family-owned businesses, many of which may be struggling during this challenging period, we are delighted to create our live, online, educational tasting experiences. Each month features a different specialty & a different guest who bring unique insights to the tasting. Come for the treats, stay for the fun! Click here for more info. |
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Still Traveling Would you like to still travel? Now you can without leaving your home – just stay still! Let us whisk you away for an interesting, educational & fun live, guided group tour in a destination beyond your front door! Join a guide from one of our popular Cultural Arts Trips to explore a topic or site at a distant destination as (s)he Zooms across the time zones to lead us. Live Q&A, photos, graphics and video clips (when available) will transport us to the destination! Your ticket purchase helps support not only our programs, but also our special guests – professional guides – who are mostly or completely out of work. |
Share your thoughts. Drop into Coffee Talk. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, or whatever), pull up a chair, and join others for an engaging chat. |
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Book Banter |
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Documentaries & Discussions |
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Stories of the Passed |
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Watcha Watchin’? |
Expand your mind. | |
With Learning Unlimited, you can revisit a favorite subject or pick up a skill by diving into something new at our one-time lectures w/Q&A on a variety of subjects. |
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Class Whether an opera newcomer or a long-time fan, join us for a single session or a full series of our popular classes. Put down your opera glasses, take your front row seat, and explore this gorgeous, if sometimes intimidating, art form. Join James Sokol who started his career under Beverly Sills at NYCOpera, worked on projects with Opera Company of Philadelphia, then moved to work at San Francisco Opera. With years of in-theater and teaching experience, backstage anecdotes, beautiful video performance clips, and a down-to-earth perspectives, Sokol creates classes that always delight. |
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Lectures Keep an eye on our upcoming events for presenters and educators who are regularly scheduled to share their expertise on a variety topics—from current events to local art installations to financial and legal education. |
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Presentation Let us sneak you in the Stage Door to go backstage on Broadway! A different, special guest theater professional who brings his/her unique expertise, experiences, and insights to our discussion will be featured at each of these exclusive, behind-the-scenes visits. Live Q&A and photos/video clips (when available) will enrich our experience. Your ticket purchase helps support not only this program, but also our special guests – theater professionals – who are mostly or completely out of work. |
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Presentation Let former opera professional & instructor James Sokol pull back the curtain and take you on exclusive, behind-the-scenes visits to the opera. Meet a different special guest opera professional, who brings his/her unique expertise, experiences & insights to our discussion. Live Q&A and video clips highlight our visit. Your ticket purchase helps support not only our programs, but also our guests – opera professionals – who are, mostly or completely, out of work. Come learn, off-stage, what makes the magic happen on-stage! |
Adult Learning & Living Donors A special thanks to the donors who through their commitment to quality programs, care for the community, and the generosity of their gifts, are helping to make this season's Adult Learning & Living programs possible. |
Anonymous, Ursula Gropper & Nate Sumner, Leslie & Steve Isaacs, |
Dr. David & Rosalind Bloom, Jody & Ed Cale, Annette & Richard Delaney, Nancy Ellenbogen & Joel Lurie, Ilene Genet & Bob Standish, Jean & Alan Kay, Kelter Foundation, Harriet Kossman, Judith & David Layne, Margarite Olmos, Joyce Ratner. |
Lorraine Barry, Marilyn Beller, Carolyn & Richard Cogan, Moira & Kenneth Feingold, Liz & Joe Greenberg, Gisela Hewitt, Barbara Kirkner, Joan & Jim Kirsner, Sue Moriguchi, Ruthellen Toole. |
Barbara Begany, Carolyn Bieneman, Jona Consani, Dwight Daley, Dimensions in Travel, Michael & Lori Ferguson, Jeanne Gnuse, Christine & Ron Grossi, Nancy Hemmenway & Thomas Welsh, Flavinia & Stevie Kirz, Susan Kolb, Susan & Mark Lachtman, Rosalie Marcovecchio, Kim & Marc Press, Melanie Sperling & Robert Rodvien, Neva Turer, Lorraine Voskanian. |
Becky Anderson, Elizabeth Austin, Lee & Frank Battat, Jo Ann Berman, Janet Braff, Judith & Richard Burns, Joanne Chappell & George Hagan, Gloria Cote, Pamela Dekema, Barbara Dembo, John & Martha “P.” Denison, Louise Dibble, Etty Dolin, Mary & Oak Dowling, Judith Einbinder, Jane Epel, Gayle & Abe Farkas, Barbara Friede, Bernice Greene, Erica Heath, Gail & Jerry Jacobs, Iris & Alvin King, Julie Klein, Sheri Liebscher, Joan Lithgow, Diane Martin, Elaine McKenna, Jeanie Merriman, Jane Merryman, Jackie & Howard Nemerovski, Joyce O'Connor, Joyce Pavlovsky, Jeanne Radtke, Donald Reinberg, Jack Rengstorff, Steven Reynolds, Joyce & Gary Rifkind, Marcia & Michael Rubenstein, Walid Saad, Donna & Mark Saberman, Carol Savio, Judie & Leonard Shaw, Damien Keller & James Sokol, Gregory Spencer & Ben Isaacs, Kathleen Urmini, Beth Vivio, Alice Walker, Barbara Ward, Judy Whellan, Marilyn Williams, Diane Williams, Laurie Williamson, Sondra Wuthnow. |
Lauri Arbeit, Faith Barry, Barbara & Nathan Becker, Joan Bekins, Marion & Wayne Bulette, Virginia Button, Justin Chew, Betsy & Chuck Cordes, Jim Cox, Barbara Cullen, Carol Cuzner, Jeffrey Dake, Marilyn de Guzman, Ronnie & William Feldman, Susan Fishman, Barbara Fopp, Carole & Mark Friedlander, Janet Friedman, Susan Fyles, Michael Gorton, David Gowdey, Rosemary Greenberg, Karen Haines, Gloria Herzog, Marc Horowitz, Francine Hulot, Susan Kelly, Sheri & Jerome Langer, Jerrold Levine, Maxine Litwak, Linda Marks, Bente & Arne Martinsen, Holly Middleton, Judith & Neil O'Hanlon, Josephine Pelletier, Pamela Rand. Lois Roach, Marc Samuelson, Jules Schechner, Debra Schloss, Marilyn Schneider, John Schwabacher, Paula Siegel, Peter Snoek, Sandra Spector, Philip & Rebecca Susser,, Jane Wallace, Suzanne Waterman, Carol Wolfe, Deborah Yaffe. |
Alicia Allen, Barbara & Larry Babow, Marilyn Bagshaw, Diana L. Blank, Catherine Blumberg, Ellin Chess, Carol Carter Colbert, Carlotta P.B. Gonzalez, Judy Gries, Tom Herington, Diane Hyde, Kate Johnston, Donna Kaulkin, Jessie King, Shirley Long, Gerald Lopatin, Barbara Merino, Dorothy Nirenstein, Laura Phipps, Jane Rivera, Crissy Davis Roach, Wendy Robbins, David Rose, Michelle Rosengaus, Melanie Rubin, Carole Shaw, Marjorie Siegel, Lexie Sifford, Maureen Tarpey, Delore Veenstra, Sandra Watts, Rhea Wolkowitz, Loretta Zweig. |
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Thank you for your support!