Week of Sept 28

September 28, 2026

The OLLI Fall Catalog is available on our Website. Give us a call in the office at 401.874.4197 or Click Here to register for classes online.

CYBER SENIORS IS BACK!  Need help with your laptop, cell phone, ipad or other technology. Our student volunteer, Keira, will be in the lobby on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, Oct 7, 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
  • Wednesday, Oct 21, 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
  • No appointment necessary! 

FALL ADD ON CLASSES- Click the title to register or call the office: 401.874.4197.

FALL CLASSES IN DANGER OF CANCELLATION- Click the title to register or call the office 401.874.4197

PARKING PERMITS- 2025/2026 Parking permits expired July 31. Parking is FREE in the Plains Road Lot #25 with your OLLI membership but you must have a current 2026/2027 permit. Please call the office to renew if you haven’t already done so. If you get a $50 ticket you will be responsible for appealing it with URI AIMS Parking.

THIS WEEK AT OLLI 

Monday

  • 9:30AM Slavery, Emancipation & Race in New England
  • 11:00AM Great Artists in American Roots Music (Osher Online)
  • 11:30AM Music of the Sea
  • 11:30AM Where Do Birds Come From, and Why are Birds Living Dinosaurs?
  • 1:00PM Art Detectives: Forgery, Provenance & Science of Authentication (Osher Online)
  • 1:30PM The Nature of Autumn

Tuesday 

  • 9:30AM Paris in the Dark
  • 10:00AM Biking
  • 10:00AM Beneath the Breakers (Offsite)
  • 10:00AM Pen, Ink & Wash: Drawing Home Scapes
  • 11:00AM Winning the White House: The Evolution of the Presidency (Osher Online)
  • 11:00AM History of a One-Room School (Bell School)
  • 11:30AM The New England/Rhode Island/Alaska Connection is GLACIAL!
  • 1:30PM Game On!
  • 1:30PM “My Dearest Friend” Letters of Abigail & John Adams-Postponed to 10/13/26
  • 1:30PM Roger Williams: All the World’s A Stage
  • 5:00PM Birth of English Detective Story: The Moonstone
  • 5:00PM Heroes & Headaches: New England’s Story of Piracy at Home & Abroad
  • 5:00PM A Cosmic Grand Tour (Osher Online)
  • 7:00PM Apple at 50: How if Revolutionized Computing (Osher Online)

Wednesday

  • 9:30AM Cancer Essentials
  • 10:00AM Peace Dale Museum & Village Tour (Offsite)
  • 11:30AM Beginner French for Travel
  • 12:30PM Bowling
  • 1:00PM Hiking
  • 1:00PM Jump the Shark
  • 2:00PM Cribbage
  • 3:00PM Contemporary American Short Story, Part 1 (ZOOM)
  • 3:30PM Anton Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard & Stories
  • 5:00PM Birth, Life & Death of Voting Rights Act of 1965

Thursday

  • 9:30AM Spanish 101
  • 10:00AM Beginner Mah Jongg
  • 11:00AM Current Events
  • 11:00AM Tour of the Westerly Armory (Offsite)
  • 1:00PM Mah Jongg
  • 1:30PM The History of Architecture & Urbanism: Brutalism-Present
  • 2:00PM Intergenerational Perspectives on Healthy Living Environments (Multicultural Center)
  • 3:00PM “Studies Show..”(Or Do They?) (Osher Online)
  • 4:00PM A Complicated History: The Land Beneath URI

Friday

  • 9:00AM Qi-Gong for Vitality – Intro (Offsite)
  • 9:30AM Fun with Engineering for Non-Engineers
  • 9:30AM The Rhode Island Courts (Offsite)
  • 10:00AM Topics in Ecology
  • 10:00AM Photo Friday (Zoom)
  • 10:15AM QiGong Continuing Practice – Foundations  (Offsite)
  • 11:15AM QiGong Continuing Practice – Deepening (Offsite)
  • 1:00PM The British Invasion
  • 1:00PM Writers Group (Zoom)

RHODY OUTPOST – URI Fall Semester will be back in session soon! URI’s principal basic needs pantry, Rhody Outpost, is for students experiencing food insecurity. The Outpost provides fresh and non-perishable food and personal care items at no charge to students. Click Here to view the updated list of all urgently needed items. You can also purchase items directly from Amazon on the Rhody Outpost Wish List.  Reminder: Please no expired food!

URI FOOTBALL – CLICK HERE for OLLI discounted URI football* tickets as well as other Ryan Center events (John Mulaney: Mr. Whatever – Oct 24 & Derek Hough: Dance for the Holidays Dec 9) * 2026 URI Football Games will be played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, RI 

RHODY WORKATHONS ARE BACK! What exactly are workathons? URI rowers help provide general yard work, moving furniture, cleaning, painting, weeding, etc. a maximum of four to five hours at a time. You tell them the task, the number of rowers you need, and they schedule a time to help you out. The hourly rate for each rower is $25 for returning customers and $30 for new customers, with the entire sum going to the team to help fund race costs, equipment, buses, etc. to help keep the team prospering. Dates not available for workathons due to regattas are 10/3, 10/10, 10/24 and based on rower availability. For any questions or scheduling your next workathon, you can email Keara and Brady at rhodyworkathon@gmail.com. 

URI RETIRED FACULTY ASSOCIATION SPEAKER SERIES PRESENTATION – Newest Research on Medications for Dementia and Supplements for Healthy Brain Aging with Joseph Schrader and John Robinson. Bring any questions you have about the latest research on medications of dementia and nutraceuticals for maintaining brain health. This FREE presentation is open to all URI faculty, staff, students, OLLI members and the Rhode Island community. Parking is available behind the Welcome Center off Brian Lane. Letting them know you are attending is helpful but not required. Email Aging@uri.edu. Sponsored by the Provost’s Office and refreshments provided by Belmont Market. To view the flyer, click here.

URI FALL 2026 HONORS COLLOQUIUM Lecture Series – Interstellar Exploration: Journey Beyond Your Limits  From black holes and distant exoplanets to gravitational waves rippling through the universe, and aspiring to travel to Mars and back to the moon, the cosmos teems with mysteries that both inspire awe and demand answers. Lecture 3: Tues, Sept 29, 5:30PM Edwards Hall  Mars Direct: Humans to the Red Planet within a Decade with Robert Zubrin Click Here To Register All lectures will be livestreamed and registration is required to receive links. 

URI 2026 CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR LECTURE – A Conversation with Bob Woodruff: The award-winning correspondent for ABC News who has covered the world’s most influential stories over the last three decades Tues, Oct 6, at 4PM at Hope Room, Higgins Welcome Center. Click Here for more info and to register.

2026-27 SPEAKER SERIES, THE CENTER FOR HUMANITIES PRESENTS: Soul Value, performed by April H. Brown and Jessica T. Pearson, brings to life the stories of New England Black women—Elleanor Eldridge, Elizabeth Freemen, and Margaret Kinnicutt—and the men of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during and after the American Revolutionary War. Through a dynamic blend of monologue, dance, ritual, and song, Soul Value highlights the untold contributions of Black men and women in New England history, focusing on their advocacy, resilience, and survival. Oct 21, 4:00 PM, Hope Room, Higgins Welcome Center & Livestreamed  Click here for more information and to register.

WESTERLY LIBRARY PRESENTS – Rhode Islanders’ Revolutionary Acts Outside of RI (A Panel Discussion) During the Revolution Rhode Islanders contributed to victory on the land and sea, far from Rhode Island’s borders. We welcome visiting historians to share the history of Rhode Island’s rebels on various frontiers, literature and their migrations after Independence was secured. Westerly Library Auditorium 44 Broad Street, Westerly RI, Sat, Oct, 17, 1:00 PM Click Here for More Info & Tickets.

OCTOBERVETS 5K & GERMAN FESTIVAL – Community event that will bring together people of our community and veterans who have served our nation. Two great events wrapped up into one great day with fun for the whole family. The day begins with a 5K fun run through Wickford Village and finishes off with a festival with live music, a beer garden, assorted food items, vendors, and activities for family members. You can do both events or just one; a fun way to support our nation’s Veterans and local businesses. 100% of our proceeds will help fund veteran service programs and local community charities. Sat, Oct 17, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM Wickford Village Click Here for More Info & to register.

TABITHA’S CLOSET (Peacedale Congregational Church) – Now offering a complete selection of Fall & Winter Clothing gently used outerwear, sweaters, tops, pants, shoes, and boots, available for all ages—from infants to adults. Our goal is to provide quality seasonal essentials while protecting the dignity and self-worth of every person who walks through our doors. Shopping Days: Saturdays from 8:30AM- 12:30PM on the third Tues of each month from 4-7PM. If you have individuals or families in financial crisis, recovering from emergency hardships, or simply in need of seasonal wardrobe support, please direct them to reach out to us. Contact/Appointment Setup: email Tabitha@peacedalechurch.org or call 401-789-7313

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Primary Care for All Americans (PCFAA) is seeking a Local Work Group Coordinator (Part-time/Flexible $30/hour for up to 5 hrs/week) Click Here for job description.  Please contact Michael Fine at president@primarycareforallAmericans.org with your resume.

Facilities Manager for Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County. Part-time, 15 hours a week. For additional information, please contact mlepage@dvrcsc.org. A copy of the job description can be found by clicking here.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY – Looking to give back to your local public lands? The Rhode Island NWR Complex is recruiting volunteers to support visitor services programs. Click for all the details.

THE RHODE ISLAND GERIATRIC EDUCATION CENTER is seeking volunteers to participate in the Introduction to Interdisciplinary Geriatrics and Teamwork program during the Fall 2026 semester. In this program, students from nursing, pharmacy, communicative disorders, nutrition, public health, and human development work in interdisciplinary teams to develop a care plan for a “patient” following their initial assessments. Click here for all the details.Contact Allie Morelli for more information: alliemorelii@uri.edu or call 401-874-5311.

URI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH (in partnership with Hunter College and Cornell University) Seeking adults, ages 60 and older, to participate in a Family Study to understand how and why they support family members, especially adult children. Participants must meet the eligibility criteria below:

  • Age 60 and older
  • Living in the Northeast region of the US
  • Have an adult child in their 30s and 40s.

Interviews can be conducted via zoom or phone for 1.5-2 hrs. Each participant will receive a $50 gift card as a thank you for their time. See Flyer for details, Click Here to register.

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