|
Summertime in the Blue Ridge… cool mornings, warm afternoons, a time to (hopefully) slow things down a bit… except at the Community Center! We are back with our July blog and Third Quarter/Summer schedule (there was no June blog published) and hope to see you getting engaged with our upcoming regular programming and special events. As always, each event on our schedule lists the name and email address for each event leader. Please contact these instructors and group champions should you have any questions about the programs they lead. Once you’re engaged, the instructors will be able to keep you posted as to any possible changes or conflicts in schedule across the quarter. There are a few things that have been on our Board’s mind that we would like some feedback on.
First: Health Literacy: While this topic has recently received some national attention, it makes for an interesting discussion for us all. What does health literacy mean to us retirees? What does it mean to school aged children and their families? Is it more than being informed about your own health and being prepared to enter into a meaningful discussion with your primary care provider or specialist? What about the discussions you have with your family members and friends? If you would like to explore this topic with other interested townsfolk, please drop us an email and we will arrange a time for us to gather at the Community Center. If there is enough interest for a continued dialogue, we will reach out to local subject matter experts to join our regularly scheduled conversations.
Second: How many chess players do we have in our audience? Would you like to meet on a regular basis to play or perhaps teach the next generation of chess players? Perhaps run a weeklong chess camp for beginners or intermediate players regardless of age. This could be a wonderful cross-generational experience for our town. Send us an email if you have any thoughts to share on the topic and we can set up an organizational meeting.
Third: Earlier this month, Jodi and I were privileged to return to Sicily, and specifically the towns where all four of my grandparents hailed from. It made we wonder how incredible it would be if only I could hear their recorded voices tell their stories of leaving Sicily to come to America in search of opportunity. Sadly, no such recordings exist, no diaries, only fading oral histories. It got me thinking… I recently reached out to Dr. Samantha Sircey, who is the Principal at North Buncombe High School. I asked her if the HS staff might be interested in a joint project that would record the voices of locals who have lived here for generations, longtime merchants, health providers, and perhaps even newcomers to preserve their experiences about life in our wonderful town. The high school is equipped with the needed equipment and technical expertise to take on this task. Might you be interested in getting involved? During our Tuesday evening Mountain Music Jams we have musicians who play traditional music that has been played in these parts for nearly 200 years. Their stories need to be heard, the stories of their mentors and even their instruments need to be preserved. The incredible women who have kept alive the history of our town through their amazing work of curating the Dry Ridge Museum, their voices need to be preserved for future generations. Because once all these voices are silenced by time, so will be their stories, in their own words. Are we willing to accept that as part of our town legacy? As we ate lunch in a village where my grandfather fished with his father and altro pescatori, where the chef who greeted us serendipitously shares my last name, as we had our photo taken together with me holding a photograph of my grandfather – I thought to myself – “I wish I could hear those voices today”. If you might be interested in this project, please contact us.
Fourth: Anyone out there qualified to run a Math Camp for school aged students? Any families interested in having your children get involved in such a project for a week or two this summer? Please contact us via email with your level of interest and we will arrange a meeting to see if we can’t get this project off the ground before the students return to school.
With so many of our instructors needing some time off plus the need to get the schedule right with the fewest number of conflicts with paying customers at the Community Center, you we be getting monthly additions to the schedule as they materialize each month and not have to wait until the start of each quarter. This seems to give both staff and students more flexibility in getting projects advertised so that each class can hopefully start with momentum. Something new for later in the quarter: Ageless Grace Chair Exercise and Ecstatic Dance. Look for details in our upcoming Blogs.
Upcoming Special Events: We are pleased to once again offer a very special concert this quarter. On Friday, August 19th, Chuck Fink has once again organized a troupe of local Storytellers for what will assuredly be another great concert. Mark your calendars now and know we will be posting further details in our August 1st Blog. Also, note on the schedule, the addition of “The Artisan Players”. Janice Vertucci Schreiber and her Dreamweavers production company will be holding auditions later this summer as she builds her troupe of local actors to perform future theatric productions at our Community Center this Fall. Contact Janice (see Schedule) if you would like to participate in her many classes or upcoming auditions. Finally, Janice will be directing the play, Shirley Valentine for the Black Mountain Center For The Arts which goes up in September. We will be organizing a group trip to attend this production. If you are interested in being a part of this field trip, send the WCCHL staff an email.
All the best,
Thomas M. Balestrieri
Chairperson, Weaverville Center for Creative and Healthy Living
wcchl@weavervillenc.org
www.facebook.com/WCCHL
| 
