OLLI Interest Groups
The OLLI Interest Group is a new program that we are providing for our members by our members starting in July 2022. The program allows OLLI members to share an interest they have with other OLLI members on a regular basis. We currently have seven Interest Groups. We welcome new proposals from other members. Members interested in proposing an Interest Group are invited to look at the proposal form and submit a proposal here.
Location: Allerton Park & Retreat Center (after initial meeting at OLLI). Members will meet in a local parking lot to carpool to Allerton Park in Monticello, IL.
Maximum number of participants: 50
Meeting Time: On Hold until further notice in spring semester
Allerton Park and Retreat Center is an Illinois treasure. There are many things to do there and much to enjoy. There are beautiful gardens, fantastic hiking trails, and much to see, do, and learn. This Interest Group is for everyone who enjoys Allerton and those who have not yet discovered its unique beauty. Members of this group will meet at Allerton about once a month for a hike, a tour, a concert, a walk through the gardens, a garden workday, or an Allerton-planned event. Whatever you're interested in doing at Allerton, you’ll find other OLLI members who share your interests in this group. Let us know what you want to do there. You can choose to attend some or all of the group’s planned activities.
Location: OLLI Blue Classroom
The focus of the group is to learn to play these games and to develop friendships among OLLI members while playing. Mahjong and Min-Hwatu are games of skill, strategy, and luck. Interest group players will learn and play a modified version of the games with simpler rules. The rewards for playing will be great socialization and fun!
This group meets on the 1st & 3rd Fridays of each month, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Co-leaders: Mohan Tracy, David Tracy
Location: Area restaurants
Champaign-Urbana is fortunate to have a very diverse set of national cuisines: at least ten, with four or five more within an easy driving distance (Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Zambian, German, Korean, Lao, etc.). This group will meet once per month for dinner, conversation, and a chance to try familiar or unfamiliar menu items. Details will evolve and change as the group takes shape, but here is how we can begin.
On arrival at the restaurant, a knowledgeable person (friendly chef or group member) could tell us two things about that ethnic cuisine: (A) What are three characteristics that are different or special about this cuisine, and (B) What one entrée would you recommend to a beginner?
These get-togethers will require dinner reservations and agreement on a system for payment. With 10 or fewer participants, individuals or families can pay for their own meals: for larger groups, there are several options to choose from (split the group over two evenings? Let the group leader pay for all and split the bill evenly between the participants? We can decide later).
One restaurant dinner per month. Second Tuesday of the month or other convenient date; 6:30 p.m.
Location: OLLI Member Lounge
Meeting Time: This group will next meet on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
Maximum number of participants: 20
This interest group is a social group where members visit while working on handcrafts of any type. It can be knitting, crochet, needlepoint, cross-stitch, embroidery, and hand-quilting or any other type of craft you can work on with your hands while sitting in a chair — it could even be coloring. This group is all about having other people to talk to while you work on something. It’s also a place for members to share things associated with their crafts and to show off their finished works. Group members could also teach others how to do one of the crafts if someone is interested in learning a new skill. We could also allow for sharing patterns and ideas and swapping or trading extra supplies with others.
Handcrafts Together! will begin meeting again in early April. Thanks for your participation in this Interest Group.
Location: OLLI Blue Room
Time: 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Bi-Weekly on Thursdays
“History as Literature: enjoyable fact and fiction”
For writers of history, accuracy is the highest priority and good writing style is desirable. For historical novelists, it’s the other way around. This Group will read and discuss good examples of both. Last year we began with The Undying Past, a collection of 46 short stories and chapter-length self-contained extracts from novels. We’re now ready to begin reading the essays in The Faces of Europe, edited by Alan Bullock. These tell the stories of the groups and categories of people who make up European history—farmers, sailors, the poor, actors, artists, doctors, explorers, popular entertainers, rogues and villains, and many others. When we finish these, we’ll decide what to read next. All our reading will have one thing in common: whether fact or fiction, good history can be fun!
The History as Literature Interest Group will hold its meetings in the Blue Room every other Thursday, starting January 26 at 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Additional meeting days and times to be determined by the group.
Co-leaders: Isabel Cole, Walter Hurley
Location: Varies
There are dozens of good destinations for walks and hikes near Champaign-Urbana, and this group will explore them. Members of this Group meet at a prearranged spot for carpooling and drive to the trailhead for each hike. Usually, there will be a short warmup hike in the morning followed by a brownbag lunch or a local restaurant meal, then a longer hike in the afternoon (on hot summer days, the longer hike can be done in the morning). Total distance walked each day will usually be 2 to 6 miles. The most remote hiking destinations might be to Starved Rock State Park (two hours north) and Turkey Run State Park (two hours east).
At least one hike per month will be scheduled, more in spring and fall with good weather. We can begin with “third Saturdays” of each month. As the Group develops, dates and arrangements can change; it’s up to the Group members! Since weather is a factor, rain dates can be announced for each hike.
If you have questions or want to learn more about OLLI Interest Groups, please contact Kathryn Williams, OLLI Director at olli@illinois.edu.