Lifelong Learning Highlights

Please consult your CareMerge calendars and weekly announcements for specific dates and times. All programming subject to change based on COVID-related recommendations to maintain health and safety of residents, staff, and visitors.

“THE LANGUAGE OF FILM” WITH RUSS COLLINS, CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MICHIGAN THEATER FOUNDATION

We’re thrilled to welcome a very prominent figure in the Ann Arbor community to our own Geddes Auditorium for a live presentation on the “language” of motion pictures; about how cinema, tv, video, and media have language systems and constructed dynamics like English grammar and music theory. For the past 32 years, Collins has been Executive Director and CEO of the Michigan Theater, earning his living by fostering a love for live performances and film in an 87-year-old building that was designed as a movie palace. Collins served on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board and on the Michigan Humanities Council board of directors, appointed by the governor. Collins provides commentary on films for several local radio shows. He also taught film studies at EMU from 2002-2013. In 2013, Collins was named to Indiewire’s inaugural list of “influences” in the independent film industry.

HAPPY FOR NO REASON WITH TAMARA ZONER

Join Speaker and Happiness Trainer, Tamara Zoner, to learn the actions and habits of happiness! Based on the NY Times Bestselling book, Happy for No Reason, and research in happiness and positive psychology, Tamara will share the tools that you can begin using to bring greater happiness into your life. A show-not-tell single mom to three awesome kids and a karaoke enthusiast, Tamara demonstrates daily how to create a life you love! She was the Director of Life Enrichment for four years at All Seasons West Bloomfield and has a six-year background in senior living.

WEEKLY TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS

Led by the Life Enrichment Team, these hands-on workshops are geared to meet residents’ every-changing technology needs, ranging from smartphone and tablet use to photography tutorials.

LIFELONG LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS

PARTNERS: ALL SEASONS AND OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE (OLLI)

The mission of OLLI is to enhance quality of life by providing stimulating, meaningful, and high-quality lecture series, classes, travel and social events for an increasingly diverse group of persons 50 and older. OLLI is a volunteer centered organization in that it offers programs for older adults, designed by older adults. It capitalizes on the skills, knowledge, and experience of dedicated senior volunteers who actively plan and implement the learning programs for their peers. Tune in each week from April 14 to May 19 to catch the series "Native Americans of the Great Lakes Region."

This quarter’s focus is Native Americans of the Great Lakes Region. Indigenous people migrated to the Americas more than 15,000 years ago. Their settlements spread over all of North, Central and South America, long before Europeans arrived. This lecture series focuses on the Native Americans who settled and thrived in the Great Lakes region for thousands of years. It will examine their various lifestyles, technologies, cultures, and religious beliefs in the near and distant past as well as the present. It will investigate the impact and the disruption that the arrival of Europeans had on their way of life. One topic that is especially relevant today, given climate change and other environmental problems, is the sustainable conception many Native Americans have of the relation between humans and the natural world.

LARRY WALSH PRESENTS "CYCLING ACROSS AMERICA TO SELF-DISCOVERY"

“Your job has been eliminated.” When Larry Walsh heard those words, his world was turned upside down. After serving 7 years in the Army and working for 28 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Larry Walsh stepped away from corporate life and cycled into the heart of America to fulfill his lifelong dream of riding across the country. He purchased a Surly Disc Trucker touring bike and began his 3,120-mile ride from California to Florida. Cycling over treacherous mountains, through open plains, unforgiving deserts, and over 200 unique small towns, Walsh not only discovered a new world and new people, but he uncovered a side of himself that he thought was long forgotten—one filled with true grit and determination. Join Walsh on his trip across America and see what it feels like to experience life one pedal rotation at a time.

VINCENT YORK’S HANDS-ON HISTORY OF JAZZ

Enjoy this new session as Vincent York introduces the audience to the deeper meaning and history of Jazz. Vincent plays and demonstrates how the evolution of diverse music styles contributed to the birth of jazz. It’s a hands-on, multimedia experience with audience participation, singing, and music. Vincent York was born into a family of musicians and a life of music. Vincent toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra until he formed his own band in 1977. He has recorded or played with noteworthy jazz artists such as Marcus Belgrave, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Aretha Franklin and Martha Reeves. As bandleader, Vincent York draws on his wealth of understanding and local professional artists to unveil the story of jazz to audiences of all ages.

ARTIST TALK

Angela Swan will give an Artist Talk about her diverse career as a sculptor, photographer, and community-builder. In May of 2020, she received her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Angela simplifies art processes to engage residents in a method she coined, Art for Everyone. She adapts artmaking to include all abilities, even those that don’t feel creative or who face physical or cognitive challenges. After her talk, we’ll have a Champagne Social where Angela will conduct a fun and engaging photoshoot with attendees. Don’t miss the Photography Collage in the Art Studio the following day!

ARNOLD COLLENS PRESENTS “RE-EMERGING VAN GOGH”

Vincent Van Gogh exhibits are sweeping the world. What's in them and what's the appeal? Arnold Collens holds degrees from Wayne State University’s School of Business and College of Education and Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. Over the last 17 years, he’s weaved photography and research to tell stories. He engages groups by sharing his interest in community, history, nature, art, industry, cars, and architectural landscape. In Florida, Arnie serves as a naturalist and day captain at Audubon’s flagship facility in Naples: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

DETROIT PUBLIC THEATRE’S “DETROIT ‘67”

To kick off an all-new partnership, you’re invited to attend a three-part community program with Detroit Public Theatre’s Co-Producing Artistic Director, Sarah Winkler and Connectivity & Engagement Manager, Madelyn Porter. In May, Winkler and Porter will visit All Seasons to discuss the history and vision of the Detroit Public Theatre and give us an exclusive snapshot of the development process of their upcoming production of the acclaimed play “Detroit ’67” written by TONY Award nominated daughter of Detroit, Dominique Morisseau. On June 3rd, we will attend a special matinee performance with students, for an intergenerational audience experience. The week following the performance, Winkler and Porter will return to All Seasons for a facilitated discussion about the themes, highlights, and questions raised by this unique production.