Raise the Roof!

There’s been a lot of buzz around CCAE the last few weeks!  As we closed out our wildly successful Home Run in Harvard Square series, we now move on to the next project:  fixing up our facilities.  A group of our most dedicated art students have decided to bring our two-dimensional arts students, faculty, and friends together and put on a show to raise funds and fix a couple of our leaky roofs.

The “Artists Raise the Roof Show” is a ten–day exhibition of two–dimensional work by artists – both students and faculty. This show is designed by a group of students who are helping the Cambridge Center for Adult Education (CCAE) raise funds to replace the roofs over the Roberts Room at 42 Brattle Street and the Art Studio at 56 Brattle Street.

ARTISTS RAISE THE ROOF will open officially on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 with a reception that runs from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. This opening party will include refreshments and an auction of selected art works.

For more information, including a gallery of images, please visit our website.

Home Run in Harvard Square – From Will

From the desk of Associate Director, Will McMillan

I attended last night’s HOME RUN IN HARVARD SQUARE double header and learned, among other things, that minor league baseball players get a per diem of $25 a day to help pay for their meals.

Larry Lucchino was a surprise guest panelist for the second seminar with Janet Marie Smith. He joined her on stage during the Q&A after her presentation on the the great (and not so great) baseball parks in America.

I wonder if we will have any surprise guests for next week’s panel with Nancy Brady, her dad, Tom Brady, Sr., Todd Carey and his mom, Pamela Carey. They are going to be talking about how to raise a gifted athlete.

Nancy is in Boston to run the marathon with her sisters — and they will all be on NECN tomorrow (April 17th) for an interview at 1 PM.

Mr. Brady and Ms. Carey also agreed to be interviewed for this month’s cover story in the Boston Parents’ Paper.

Here is a link for anyone who is curious to learn more about their parenting experiences and philosophies:

http://boston.parenthood.com/Gifted_Athlete.php

CCAE Faculty Reading

Ever wonder what credentials our writing faculty have?  Now is your chance to find out!  This Friday, March 19, join us for a reading, where some of our writing faculty strut their stuff!  If you decide you like our writers, sign up for a class!

This reading is free, and open to the public, and will take place in our 56 Brattle Street location, otherwise known as the Blacksmith House.

Here’s a lineup of the night:

Barbara Beckwith, “Apt in Apt”
Kimberly Davis, “Alchemies of Loss“
Don Gervich, “In an Infinite Way”
Daniel Gewertz, “The Eve of the Iguana”
Sue Katz, “Mature Heat”
Judah Leblang, excerpt from “Finding My Place: One Man’s Journey . . ..”
Janet Pocorobba, “Screw Support, You Need a Rival”
David Semanki, “Widescreen”

Our Spring Term begins on March 29, so there’s plenty of time to register for your favorite writing class – but do it soon!  Writing is one of our most popular categories!

The Islamic Veil: Can We Know the Other?

An Experiential Program Exploring Cultural Difference

Kendall Dudley, 2010 Mass Cultural Council award winner, will present one of a series of public art events at the Cambridge Center focused on how we see the other. As the global signs and symbols of cultural difference become more visible and compelling, we are in danger of believing that what we “see” approximates some kind of accurate “reality.” In this program, the Iraqi abaya, the Iranian chador and the Afghan burqa provide the context for exploring the variety of ways we may accurately and inaccurately perceive “difference” in general and in specific, the Islamic veil. A potent, complex garment, the veil provides a window into the nature of perception, especially when our perceptual lens is colored by political, economic, social and religious differences.

These garments have been swept up into the politics of feminism, multiculturalism, and globalization. In such a context, the veiling of women can even serve as partial justification for aggressive acts directed at “liberating” women so that they can be “free” to express themselves. By contrast, looking at the veil as a complex garmentimbued with rich social, economic, religious, and psychological power, we can understand some of our own responses to it and look more thoughtfully at those of others. To help bridge the cultural distance, interested participants will be invited to try on a burqa or abaya, look at themselves in mirrors, and note the differences between their anticipated responses to wearing it and their actual responses. Audience members are invited to react too and suggest ways to better understand the “other,” especially when the other is separated by clothing, culture, language, and world view. While this experiential presentation/lecture will help to deepen understanding for anyone, it is especially useful for teachers, negotiators, artists, and concerned citizens.

Kendall Dudley has a MA in Middle East studies from Columbia, worked in Iran and studied Islamic art and architecture. This presentation is also funded by the Boston Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Association and the Rica Charitable Trust.

The Islamic Veil: Can We Know the Other? $10, Wednesday, March 10, 6:00 pm, 56 Brattle Street.   Purchase tickets on our website.

Baseball Fever!

If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve seen that we’ve been very excited about a brand new series of events at CCAE, called HOME RUN IN HARVARD SQUARE.  It’s a one time series of seminars drawing on the art, science, history, and business of baseball – and we’ve got an incredible lineup!  Where else can you get the opportunity to see the likes of Larry Tye, Sam Kennedy, Mike Hazen, Tom Brady, Sr., and more big hitters discussing America’s favorite pastime?  Visit our website to find out more about our speakers and buy tickets!

Harvard Square is gearing up for baseball season, too:  Join the “Chair Club” on Sunday April 4 outside of Cardullo’s for an Open Mic Celebration and share your stories and memories about baseball.

We’re gearing up for another season of hope – and we hope you’ll join us!

Keep up to date on all these events on our HOME RUN IN HARVARD SQUARE Facebook Page, and share video, photos, and your stories about baseball on the HOME RUN IN HARVARD SQUARE Blog!

Stay tuned for more!

Updating our Infrastructure

CCAE will be closed on Monday, February 15 in observation of President’s Day.  There will be no classes on this day.

We’ll be taking that opportunity to update some of our electrical infrastructure, which means that our website will be down for a period of time on that day.  We hope to be back up and running as soon as possible with as little interruption as possible, but if you’re planning on registering for a class, we suggest doing it either this weekend or after the 15th!

On a related note, in case you haven’t seen, our Spring Term registration is now available online.  You may have received a catalog at home – but if you’re like us at CCAE, you’d like to go a little greener.  We’ve got a solution for you!  While we try to keep our mailing list as updated as possible, we’re aware that sometimes our students get multiple catalogs at one address or catalogs to a person who no longer lives at the address in question.  If you’d like to go green and read our catalog online, click here to update your subscription preferences!

Experience the A.R.T.

We’ve got an exciting event this week!

Diane Paulus, the recently appointed Artistic Director at the American Repertory Theater, will be stopping by this Wednesday (February 10) for our Wicked Smart series.

Diane Paulus has pushed the envelope when it comes to her theater.  Under her leadership, the A.R.T. has developed a new focus that seeks to include the audience’s total theater experience, giving audiences a voice, a sense of ownership, and a feeling of importance in the theatrical event. This audience-driven vision recognizes that theater is not just a play on the stage, but also a social occasion for people to come together and experience community.

If you’ve seen anything the A.R.T. has done this season, The Donkey Show, Sleep No More, Best of Both Worlds, or Gatz, you’ll know personally what this is about – a revolution in the way theater is presented to the world, and how it can seep its way into your core.  While we’re sure she won’t give away the entire recipe of her secret sauce, we’re sure that Ms. Paulus will tell us why theater has long-needed this injection of participation.

Still not sure who Diane Paulus is?  Read some of what’s been written – even the NY Times is sitting up and taking notice, covering her wave-making productions and attitude!

So don’t miss your chance to ask the questions you’ve had all season about the A.R.T. – for instance, will The Donkey Show be a permanent fixture at Oberon? – this Wednesday at 6:00 PM at the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square!  Buy your tickets early – this will be popular!

Wicked Smart is co-sponsored by WUMB 91.9 FM’s Commonwealth Journal. Diane Paulus will be interviewed by Commonwealth Journal host Janis A. Pryor, and excerpts will be aired on Commonwealth Journal at a later date. For more information, visit commonwealthjournal.org.

Ideas Wanted From Young Adults!

© xkcd.com

We want to help you find squirrels.

This summer, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education will present classes, events, and programs designed to help young adults aged 18-30 negotiate the present and find their way into the future.
And we want your ideas!

Please join us for food, drink, and lively conversation about your ideas! Just pick one of the following brainstorming times:

Saturday, February 20, 2:00 pm
Tuesday, February 23, 12:15 pm
Wednesday, February 24, 6:00 pm

For full event descriptions, email Michael Cicone or call 617-547-6789 ext. 310.

Take part in one of our brainstorming sessions at 42 Brattle Street and get
two free tickets to one of these upcoming CCAE events of your choice:

Perspectives on Climate Change                                                               February 24
Wicked Smart with Chief Justice Margaret Marshall                           March 9
The Islamic Veil                                                                                            March 10
An Evening with Nikki Giovanni                                                               April 10
Hearing Voices (Speaking in Tongues)                                                    April 16
The History of Sports in Boston                                                                May 12
The Bauhaus Story                                                                                       June 1
(Note: event choices subject to availability)

It’s time for those New Year Resolutions again!

What are you doing in 2010 to improve yourself and your world?

CCAE is your destination for keeping all your resolutions!  And with Winter Term beginning January 11, there’s still time to make them!  Register today!

Here’s what some CCAE staff will be doing:

Liz, our Communications Director, got a whole lot of kitchen equipment for Christmas.  So she wants to master her meals and get social in the Friday Night Cooking Series.  Have you seen all the awesome cooking classes we have?  What a delicious way to ring in the new year!

Will, our Associate Director, loves yoga classes, but wants to be greener.  Instead of recycling himself, he’s going to attend our Perspectives on Climate Change lecture.  He’ll be learning how climate change affects the world, seeing it through art, photography, journalism, science, and more, while discussing how to better the environment.

Charlotte, one of our hard-working Program Planners, is a writer at heart.  So she’s dedicating 2010 to becoming a better writer and writing more.  What better way to stay focused on that goal than by taking a writing course at CCAE?  Now the only task is to choose – Dazzle Yourself: Polishing Your Writing, or How to Fix Your Novel?

What are your resolutions for 2010?

Holiday Hours and 2009 Wrap-Up

Whew!

Holly Fair has come and gone and 2010 is about to take over.   We’ve been busy little elves at Cambridge Center for Adult Education this year, and we have just a few housekeeping notes before we close out 2009:

-Check out some pictures and video from this year’s Holly Fair on our website.

-Take note of our holiday office hours:
12/21-12/23: 9am -7pm
12/24: 9am-1pm
12/25-12/27: closed
12/28-12/30: 9am-7pm
12/31: 9am-5pm
1/1-1/3: closed.
Our office will re-open at 9am on Monday, January 4, 2010.

-Still need to register for a class? No worries – our registration system is 100% online and you can register anytime at www.ccae.org – in real time!  Don’t forget that Winter Term begins Monday, January 11!

-Can’t find that last minute gift for people on your list?  Get them a Cambridge Center for Adult Education Gift Certificate!  Learning never goes out of style, and they can choose the class!  Request a gift certificate online here.

Have a happy, safe, and wonderful holiday season from everyone here at CCAE!