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News From CALL September 2025
| Announcements | September Events | Interest Groups | Blog |
Watercolour sketch by Dorothy de St. Jorre, a member of the Sketch Club Interest Group
President’s Report
- Adrienne Kertzer
This newsletter gives plentiful evidence that many CALL programs that took a break over the summer are getting ready to resume their activities. Three Speaker Series—CALL Café, Health and Wellness, and Treks and Travels—will return soon, as will many interest groups and study programs. On the webpage Interest Groups and Study Programs, you will find links to many groups that are accepting members. Some of these are longstanding groups; others are new.
If you want to register, you must log into your account. CALL’s membership year ends August 31. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, now is definitely the time to do so. After September 1, members who have not renewed their membership will not be able to access the Registration webpage until they have renewed.
Some groups may indicate that they are “Full with Waitlist.” This gives you two options. One is to contact the facilitator and ask about joining the waitlist. The other is to take advantage of many new programs that are being planned. These include Antiques, Archaeology, Art and Appraisals, Bird Watching, Christianity, Ethnic Groups in Calgary and Their Cuisines, Genealogy, Housing for Seniors, Judaism, Renewable Energy, Societal Implications of AI, and Water Management. If you want to know more about any of these programs and/or would like to contribute to their planning, put the title of the proposed new program in your email’s subject line and send your message to info@calgarylifelonglearners.ca.
Keep in mind that the programs being planned require members volunteering to make them a reality!
Enjoy the last few weeks of summer. I’ll see you in September.
Important Message about Membership and Registration
- Webteam
If you haven’t had a chance to renew your CALL membership for the 2025-2026 CALL year, please take a moment to do so. We don’t want you to miss out on all the great CALL programming. Memberships not renewed by September 1 will be unable to view Registration information for Speaker Events and Interest Groups. You must sign into your CALL account in order to register for these programs.
If you want to double-check your membership status and renewal date, sign into your CALL account, click on the Blue Person icon on the top right-hand side of the page and select “View Profile”.
If you have forgotten your password, select the Forgot Password link. Once you receive the new password email we recommend waiting a few minutes and closing your browser windows before trying to sign on again, to allow time for the system to sync.
September Events
CALL Café
Kickoff 2025
Monday, September 15, 1:00–3:00pm
Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church, 4612 Varsity Drive NW
Speaker: Ryan Green
Note that the presentation is at 1:00 pm, with refreshments to follow
We are kicking off our year with a special presentation by Ryan Green, President of the Masters Gallery, entitled “Lawren Harris: Ordered Reflections”. Ryan’s previous presentations for CALL have been very well received and we are really excited to be able to have him join us again!
Attendees will have an opportunity to enjoy refreshments, meet new friends and learn more about CALL’s other monthly speaker events.
Members are asked to register for planning purposes, and when you do you may add up to four guests. Members of the public are welcome to drop in at no cost.
See you on September 15.
Treks and Travels
Hiking the Cotswolds
Wednesday, September 17, 7:30–9:00pm
Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church, 4612 Varsity Acres Drive NW
Speaker: Peter Usher
In the fall of 2024, Peter Usher embarked on daily hikes from an amazing country manor house in the Cotswolds, UK. He averaged 15 to 18 km per day walking along trails steeped in history and filled with beauty. Learn about visits to market towns and cities and see the beauty of this area in the west of England and discover the joy of returning to tea and cozy bed.
No registration required. Members of the public are welcome to attend (at a cost of $5).
Health and Wellness
Stroke of Luck: My Life in Amateur Athletics
Monday, September 22, 1:30–3:00pm
Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church, 4612 Varsity Acres Drive NW
Speaker: Steve Kelly
Steve Kelly is the author of the memoir Stroke of Luck: My Life in Amateur Athletics.
Steve’s main messages are to remind everyone of the benefits of an active lifestyle, to raise awareness of the full range of stroke systems, and to support the essential work of the Foothills Medical Center Stroke Unit.
Members of the public are welcome to attend (at a cost of $5 at the door). Registration is not required.
Interest Groups and Study Programs
CALL to the Orchestra
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra – Open Rehearsals for Seniors
For CALL members, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra offers seniors a unique way to experience the orchestra preparing for a performance, through open rehearsals of select performances.
Rehearsals are at the Jack Singer Concert Hall from 10:00 to 12:30. The cost is $20, payable to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
The 2025/26 Performance Schedule:
| Gil Shaham plays Beethoven; | Friday 12 September 2025 |
| Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; | Friday 3 October 2025 |
| Slavonic Dances; | Friday14 November 2025 |
| IX: Shostakovich; | Friday 27 February 2026 |
| Postcards from Italy; | Friday 8 May 2026 |
| Mahler’s First Symphony; | Friday 22 May 2026 |
Attendance must be paid by credit card in advance by calling: CPO Sales Team Box Office 403.571.0849.
CALL Attendees may join a coffee social after the rehearsal by registering separately at CALL to the Orchestra
Finding Peace and Joy Within
New Session
Wednesdays, 10 am to noon, Sept. 24–Nov. 19, 2025
Room 310, cSPACE Marda Loop
Facilitator: Barry Ronellenfitch
There is a universal human desire to be happy and to avoid suffering. And for the wise, this desire extends to those we love and to our community. We try to fulfill that desire through our outer world – family, career, service, hobbies, recreation, etc. Through modern technology, we now have wealth, health, and social connection to an extent that our ancestors (and many in developing nations) could only dream of. Yet which of us is truly happy and free of suffering? Do you have the feeling that “something” is missing?
We have known since we were small children that we have a mind and a body. However, we have a third, inner resource that we easily overlook, that can provide a source of uncaused joy and respite from suffering.
Please join us at “Finding Peace and Joy Within” to have a direct experience with this resource to help you have a happier and more fulfilled life. For information on the program and how to register, go to Finding Peace and Joy Within.
Read It Again
Mondays, November 17, 24; December 1, 8, 15, 10:00am–12:00pm
Girl Guides Centre, 2188 Brownsea Drive NW
Have you been watching Middlemarch on PBS and thinking ‘I must read that’? Now is the perfect moment to start reading this novel by George Eliot, or rereading it and sharing your thoughts with this group.
Beginning on November 17 and running through five Mondays, we will be discussing the characters and themes of this novel. Although Middlemarch was not published till 1871 and 1872, George Eliot examines the great changes taking place in England between 1829 and 1832, a period of increasing industrialization and societal restructuring not always welcomed by all. Amongst other issues, Eliot examines the role of women, the nature of marriage, and the impact of political reform.
Participants should read as much of the novel as possible before the first meeting. They will also be expected to do some research into the themes of the novel and to share their findings as we go along.
We still have several places available, so register as soon as possible! Read It Again
New Interest Groups
Art on Your iPad – Exploring the Procreate App
This group meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays in September, October, November, January, February, March, April, and May from 10:00am to 12pm. The meetings are held via Zoom, except for the first meeting, which will be in person.
If you’re interested in exploring digital art or digital colouring using an iPad and Apple Pencil, but you:
- know very little or nothing about your iPad or Apple Pencil,
- know very little or nothing about the Procreate App,
- have purchased the Procreate App but do not know where to start,
- want a structured and step-by-step learning process,
- need someone to answer your questions, and
- would benefit from written instructions and video recordings
… THEN the Art on Your iPad Interest Group is for you.
By joining this Interest Group, you will learn how to use the Procreate App on the iPad, iPad’s operating system, and Google Drive. No previous experience using an iPad, Procreate or Google Drive or art, for that matter, is required.
The first meeting will focus on setting up your iPad and getting you up and running with Procreate and Google Drive.
For more information and to register, log in and go to Art on Your iPad.
Lunchbox Theatre with CALL
Five Thursdays at noon: Oct. 23, Nov. 13, Dec. 11, 2025; Jan. 22, Mar. 26, 2026
Location: Studio at Vertigo Theatre, #161, 115 9 Ave SE (base of the Calgary Tower)
Facilitators: Marje Wing and Adrienne Kertzer
We are pleased to tell you about a new interest group that will be running in the 2025-26 theatre season.
A Calgary theatre company that began in 1975, Lunchbox Theatre presents “engaging, accessible one-act plays … focusing on new Canadian works that examine and explore socially relevant issues”. This year they promise “a little something for everyone: comedy, remembrance, holiday cheer, folk music, and social commentary.”
If you’ve ever attended a play and wished you could talk about it after, then Lunchbox Theatre with CALL is the group for you. Registered Interest Group members will attend Thursday Talkback performances and then meet in a local coffee shop to discuss the production immediately afterwards. Group members will purchase their own tickets and can attend as many plays as they wish.
For more information and to register, go to Lunchbox Theatre with CALL.
Democracy Under Siege
Second and fourth Thursday each month, starting September 25 to January 22, 1:30–3:00pm
Via online with Zoom Note: The number of meetings may be expanded if the group desires it.
In light of current world turmoil, this new CALL interest group will examine various models of democratic governance, their fragilities, and what the future holds.
Much emphasis is placed on very recent developments in the so-called Western world. However, democracy appears to be under siege in many countries throughout the world.
While it appears to be a new threat to what has been a relatively prosperous post-Second World War period, the threat to democracy as we perceive it is not a new phenomenon, and indeed it has been a silent threat for much longer than most people are aware. To many, the siege may now be creeping into our very own province of Alberta.
As a peer-learning group, each participant will be expected to volunteer to give a brief presentation based on an agenda item, which will be followed by collegial group discussion. In addition, members will be asked to read short items available online before some of the sessions to provide a common basis for discussion. Register at Democracy Under Siege soon while there are still spaces left in this program.
CALL Blog
- Maureen Osis, CALL Communications Team
Our July blog post “Bringing Stories to Life: The Magic of Readers Theatre” began with some history of the CALL Readers Theatre Interest Group, and then shared a delightful conversation with Sally Shah, CALL member who founded the Interest Group.
In August I wrote about seniors housing - a topic that can provoke many discussions among families and older adults. Check out my post “Aging, Healthcare and Housing: Can You Find Your Forever Home?”
The CALL Blog is public so please share with your family and friends.
If you are on Facebook, please follow us at https://www.facebook.com/CalgaryLifelongLearners/
Any questions or feedback, please contact us: info@calgarylifelonglearners.ca.The CALL Newsletter
- Newsletter Team
Did you know that we appreciate receiving articles from our members? We are happy to publish articles that celebrate CALL. Your personal experience about how you have benefited would be a valuable contribution to this newsletter. Please send your ideas and suggestions for future issues to info@calgarylifelonglearners.ca. We reserve the right to edit submissions and to determine when submissions will be published.
CALL Newsletter postings 2025-26
- Sept 26
- Oct 31
- Nov 28
- Dec 19
- Jan 30
- Feb 27
- Mar 27
- Apr 24
- May 29
- June 26
- Aug 21
Meanwhile, be well, stay well in every sense of the word.