Special Events

Most events are free and open to the public • Call 828.251.6140 for additional details.

Advance Care Planning

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville will hold an advance care planning workshop Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 7-9 p.m. at the Reuter Center.

The workshop will feature a panel whose members are experienced in addressing end-of-life issues. Discussion will include communicating your treatment wishes to loved ones and to medical personnel, ethical and legal issues, and the uses of advance directives.  Ample time will be reserved for questions. Assistance will be provided for anyone wishing to complete a legally valid advance directive, including the notarization required in North Carolina, using the Five Wishes format.

Click here to view a sample of the Five Wishes brochure.  Preparation for you to do before the workshop:  Talk to your possible "power of attorney for healthcare", the person who would make health care decisions if you are unable; if you have internet-access, print the sample Five Wishes brochure and study it and write down any questions you might have for the panel.  This workshop is free and open to the public.  For more information, call OLLI at 828-251-6140 or email olli@unca.edu. Click here to view an event flier.

Appalachian Summer Music Series

The Appalachian region is known for embracing musical traditions that have flourished ever since the first settlers introduced them. Join us as we present the finest examples of music that typifies our region: bluegrass, Celtic, and traditional/old time. Performances will be from 3-5 p.m. in the Manheimer Room at the Reuter Center. These performances are free and open to the public. Tickets will be available in the Reuter Center office beginning July 1; limit two tickets per person. Performers will have CDs for sale on performance days.

• July 14, 2013—Buncombe Turnpike.  Buncombe Turnpike is comprised entirely of western North Carolina natives. The group takes its name from the historic thoroughfare that ran through the mountains of western North Carolina from Greeneville, Tennessee to Greenville, South Carolina, in the 1800s. The band plays a variety of tunes ranging from traditional and contemporary bluegrass to gospel and hand-crafted originals. With their crowd pleasing demeanor, seasoned musicianship, and powerful vocals, the band has made a name for itself among traditional and contemporary listeners alike. They have opened for Marty Stuart, Sam Bush, and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. The group has recorded four albums, receiving critical acclaim from Bluegrass Unlimited.
• July 21, 2013—John Doyle.   In 1994 John Doyle brought his brilliant and innovative guitar stylings to the nascent Irish super-group Solas, which soon took the folk and Celtic music worlds by storm. As a member of Solas, John performed internationally to sold-out audiences and appeared on many television and radio programs, including NBC’s The Today Show, A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, E-Town, and World Café. In the years since going out on his own, John has recorded two solo albums, including Wayward Son, which The Irish Edition hailed as “a contender for Album of the Year.” Doyle has become a highly sought-after accompanist and session player for the likes of Joan Baez, Eileen Ivers, Tim O’Brien, Linda Thompson, Seamus Egan, Alison Brown, and Kate Rusby. More information about John can be found at johndoylemusic.com
• July 28, 2013—Tom and Alice.  Tom Sauber does it all, and you won’t hear anyone do it better. He’s a master musician in a variety of styles, a multi-instrumentalist (banjo, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin) and singer, well grounded in tradition, with a comprehensive grasp of style and an exceptional ability. Tom has devoted thirty-plus years to playing traditional music, and has been associated with a cast of characters that reads like a Who’s Who of old-time, bluegrass, and Cajun music. He hosted a radio show for twelve years in Los Angeles and has played and recorded with the likes of Byron Berline, John Hickman, Skip Gorman, Mark Graham, Weird Al Yankovic, and many others.  Alice Gerrard is a talent of legendary status. In a career spanning some forty years, she has known, learned from, and performed with many of the old-time and bluegrass greats and has in turn earned worldwide respect for her own important contributions to the music. She is particularly known for her groundbreaking collaboration with Appalachian singer Hazel Dickens during the 1960s and ‘70s. Their CDs influenced scores of young women singers. Her solo albums have been critically acclaimed in Billboard, Bluegrass Unlimited, New Country, and other publications, and showcase her many talents: her compelling, eclectic songwriting, her powerful vocals, and her instrumental mastery. Longtime friends, Tom and Alice perform most often with Brad Leftwich, but also enjoy performing as a duo: country duets, fiddle-banjo tunes, original songs—a wide variety from the vast repertoire that is traditional American music of the South.

Asheville Community Theatre’s Readers Theater

The Autumn Players is a troupe of seasoned actors dedicated to taking the theatre experience into the community. Readings of great literature by experienced performers can spark deep understanding and kindle lasting interest.  As words jump from the page with conviction and emotion, stories come to life. On Sunday, June 16, 2013, the Autumn Players will offer the Spoon River Anthology, adapted for the stage by Charles Aidman, from poetry by Edgar Lee Masters, directed by RoseLynn Katz.  Come enjoy this medley of characters from a small Illinois town in the Nineteenth Century as they  tell their life stories after their lives are over.  Their tales run the gamut – some bold and colorful, some full of everyday frustrations and more than a few revealing long-kept secrets from the grave.  This classic piece of Americana  includes folk singing and music. Performances take place in the  Manheimer Room at 2:30 p.m.  Tickets are $5 at the door.  For more information on the Autumn Players, click here. 

 Asheville Lyric Opera Summer Artist Training Program

On June 28, 2013, at 11 a.m., OLLI will welcome the Asheville Lyric Opera’s performance by the participants in their Summer Artists Training Program.  The ALO Summer Artist Training Program is built around a select group of singers. ALO's summer artists travel across western North Carolina to perform a unique program of scenes based in operatic and musical theatre repertoire. Each artist is part of an intensive two-month process involving a variety of directors, coaches, accompanists, and industry professionals. This summer each artist will understudy principal roles in Asheville Lyric Opera's July 19 & 20 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein II's Carousel. The ALO is excited to host five talented singers from points near and far and delighted to bring them to the Reuter Center for the first time.  This program is free and open to the public.

Asheville Storytelling Circle

On Monday, June 17 and Wednesday, July 17, 2013  11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.  The Asheville Storytelling Circle invites you to come share an afternoon of tall  tales:  original, literary and traditional stories focusing on historical and mythical figures.   The Asheville Storytelling Circle (ASC) is a non-profit organization of folks who love stories. Some of the members are professional tellers, others are amateur tellers, and still others just love listening to stories. 

Astronomy Club of Asheville

The Astronomy Club of Asheville meets the 1st Thursday of each month at Thursdays, 7-9 p.m., with an interesting line-up of speakers and topics.  OLLI members are welcome to attend the club meetings and star gazes, with club members on hand  to advise and assist them in the basics of Astronomy and the techniques of observing celestial phenomena.  Participation at club meetings and events is free.  Upcoming programs are  June 6, 2013, Rick Boozer “The Megallanic Clouds: What no One Knew Until Now”;  July-no meeting;  August  1, 2013, Dan Reichart “The Stonehenge Observatory.”   For more information on Astronomy Club of Asheville, click here.

Blue Ridge Orchestra

The Blue Ridge Orchestra is comprised of over 70 volunteers, nearly half of whom trained for a profession in music. Their passion for performing symphonic music of a high caliber at a high level brings them together at the Reuter Center’s Manheimer Room, Wednesday evenings, July 1 and 3, 2013, at 7 p.m. OLLI members are encouraged to drop by rehearsals, especially the last in a sequence before a performance. Upcoming rehearsals are for two concerts-Thursday, July 4, 7:30 pm, at White Horse Black Mountain, General Admission $15.00; Friends $10.00; Students $5.00; and Saturday, July 6, 6:00 pm  (RAINDATE:  Sunday July 7, 6:00 pm ) Biltmore Lake Pavilion Audience by invitation only.  Friends/Donors of the Blue Ridge Orchestra, and families & friends of BRO musicians are specially invited to attend. BYO lawn seats/blankets & picnics [if desired] Free; donations gratefully accepted.   For more information on the Blue Ridge Orchestra, click here. 

Civil War Lecture Series

Civil War Lecture Series 2013 "Community Under Stress:  The Civil War in Western North Carolina" presented by
Western North Carolina Historical Association in partnership with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC-A
and  Western Office of North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. 

• The next lecture in this series will be held on May 18, 2013,  2 p.m. at Simpson Lecture Hall in the Simpson Administration Building on the campus of AB Tech.  Dr. Gordon McKinney, popular lecturer and retired director of the Appalachian Center at Berea College, will present a lecture on William Holland Thomas, the only white man to ever be a chief of the Cherokee.   The lectures are free of charge to members of WNCHA and OLLI and $5.00 for non-members.  
• The second in the series will be held on June 15, 2013, 2 p.m., at the Reuter Center and  is the final lecture in the 2013 Civil War Lecture Series and will be a discussion on the Aftermath of the Civil War in the Western North Carolina Region.  Dr. Gordon McKinney and Dr. John Inscoe, Professor of History at the University of Georgia, will be tag teaming the discussion.  As you may remember, Dr. Inscoe did a lecture for us in March of 2012.   And you know Dr. McKinney.  John Inscoe is the author of the book War Race, and Rememberance, which inspired the 2012 lecture series.   

The lectures are free of charge to members of WNCHA and OLLI and $5.00 for non-members.   

Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society

The mission of the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society (EMAS) is to promote an awareness and appreciation of nature, to preserve and protect wildlife and natural ecosystems, and to encourage responsible environmental stewardship. EMAS will hold meetings at the Reuter Center on the third Tuesday of the month at  7 p.m.    The upcoming speakers are - May 21, 2013, Charlotte Goedsche on her cerulean warbler research; June 18, 2013, Joe Tomcho and Alex Wilson on the return of the American kestrel and other bird projects at Sandy Mush game lands.  For more information Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society, click here.

Fab Fridays Lunch & Learn Lectures

The Fab Friday Lunch & Learn Lectures are on hiatus during the summer.  Watch for them to return in the fall with a stellar lineup of speakers!

f/32 Photography

f/32 is a diverse group that shares an appreciation and love of photography.  Members range from the amateur to the advanced, from those that like to just take pictures to professional photographers.  At monthly meetings, they share their work learn new methods, and keep abreast of the latest industry news and equipment.  NCCCR members are offered free membership in f/32.  Attend on Wednesdays,  May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, 2013; all meetings begin at 7 p.m.  For more information on f/32 Photography Group, click here.

Medicare Choices Made Easy!

Are you new to Medicare? Are you confused by the many choices? Unbiased and accurate information is available from trained volunteers from the North Carolina Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program. In this partnership between the Buncombe County Council on Aging and the OLLI Civic Engagement Committee, free classes will be held on successive Fridays, June 7 and 14, 2013, 2-4 p.m., in the Reuter Center. The first session will be an overview (plans, parts, and policies) of Medicare. The second session will be in the computer lab, where participants will learn how to use the resources on the Internet to compare benefits, answer questions, and enroll when they are ready. Spaces are limited, registration required, so reserve your space by calling the Council on Aging, 277-8288.

Membership Roundup Barbecue Social

Join your OLLI friends for our fourth annual summer barbecue on Thursday, July 18, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Bandanas and cowboy hats are optional. Take this opportunity to socialize, enjoy great food, and sign up for your 2013-14 OLLI membership. 

Understanding Medical Imaging Technology Lecture

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 6 p.m.,  Perry Sprawls, Ph.D., Distinguished Emeritus Professor, Radiology, Emory University School of Medicine, will speak on medical imaging technology.  Medical imaging (radiology) uses a variety of modern “high-tech” method for detecting diseases, making diagnoses, and guiding treatment procedures. These include digital radiography and mammography, computed tomography (the “CAT” scan), MRI, PET, other procedures using radioactive compounds, fluoroscopy and ultrasound.  The great value is that each of these provides a different “view” of the interior structures and functions of the human body. Physicians can choose which procedure is appropriate for a patient depending on symptoms, potential or confirmed diseases, and other clinical information that is needed.

In this program we will be taking a “Fantastic Voyage” through the human body using images from each of the many methods.  The principles of each method will be illustrated to show how images are produced and how the different methods compare.  A special interest of Dr. Sprawls is helping all of us understand the science and technology in our lives today through his courses for non-medical professionals.  This program is free and open to the public.

New Member Welcome

Are you new to OLLI at UNC Asheville and the Reuter Center? Are you returning after being gone awhile? Come to the New Member Welcome on Friday, September 13, 2013, 10 a.m., to learn about all that OLLI has to offer and about ways to get involved. Meet other members and get answers. 

Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)

Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is a national program of the Corporation of National and Community Service, which assists older adults in finding volunteer opportunities.  Locally sponsored by the Land-of-Sky Regional Council, RSVP assists our 55+ population with finding meaningful and rewarding volunteer opportunities in Buncombe, Madison, Henderson, and Transylvania counties.  Come join us Mondays, 9:30-11 a.m., as RSVP holds monthly information sessions, each focusing on a specific area of volunteer opportunity.  The next session is scheduled for  May 20, 2013,  and will focus on Environmental Opportunities to volunteer.

Each session will include a short orientation to RSVP, a presentation on a current community need, and assistance with volunteer placement.  Attendiees are encouraged to contact Patti Cameron, RSVP Coordinator, 828.251.6622, rsvp@landofsky.org, to reser a spot.  for those not able to attend, a personal orientation can be arranged.  For more information on RSVP: www.landofskyrsvp.org.

Reuter Center Singers Special Events

The Reuter Center Singers, OLLI’s in-house choral group directed by Chuck Taft, study and perform classical, popular, show tunes and other favorites and perform regionally.  Plan to attend their popular Spring Concert featuring music of the 1950's on FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013,  7 p.m  (note new date and time) in the Manheimer Room at the Reuter Center. These performances are free and open to the public.  To find out more about the Reuter Center Singers, call Bob Dutnell (RCS President, 828.484.8327, rhdutnell@gmail.com) or Jean Boyd (RCS Vice President, 828.254.3458, jboyd85360@aol.com).

STEM Lectures

The STEM lecture series is on hiatus during the summer.  Watch for announcement of the upcoming speakers!

Symphony Talk with Daniel Meyer

The best way to enjoy the Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s masterworks concerts  is to come to the Symphony Talk for the inside scoop on the music, composers and soloists. For more information about the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, click here   On select  Friday afternoons at 3 p.m., Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s music director and conductor Daniel Meyer will speak about the performances of the next evening concerts.  Symphony Talks are on hiatus in the summer, returning this fall on September 20, October 18, and November 15, 2013. 

World Affairs Council

Come to the Reuter Center for these fascinating lectures and panel discussions that aim to advance international awareness and foster Western North Carolina's global ties. OLLI members receive a discount on WAC annual membership fee.  The World Affairs Council meetings are on hiatus during the summer and will return in the fall on September 3, October 1, and November 5, 2013.  Speaker information and session topic will be available closer to time.  Meetings are scheduled for  7:30 p.m in the Reuter Center's Manheimer Room.   For more details about programs, consult the WAC website.