Explore Your World

Written By: Lorna Alexander | Issue: 2016/09 - September

The arrival of Fall brings cool temperatures after a warmer than usual Summer and an abundance of classes and workshops to choose from at the Center for Life Enrichment for September.  

For Arts and Literature, in conjunction with corresponding exhibit at The Bascom, artist Susan Robert will explore the life and works of her friend, Expressionist artist Herbert Creecy. She will discuss Creecy’s work as well as the paintings of some of the iconic artists who were working during the same period.

You won’t want to miss our September Culinary offering, “Preparing and Savoring Thai Food” with Local Chef/Presenter Andrew Figel, proprietor and head chef of On the Verandah. The class includes a demonstration of the various dishes being prepared and of course, the opportunity to savor each dish and includes the accompaniment of select wines.

Our popular Current Affairs classes begin with a discussion of the Presidential Election of 2016, including its strategies and dynamics.  Included in the discussion, strategies to motivate voters to go to the polls, and the impact of voter registration laws. This presentation promises to enhance your ability to follow the 2016 elections on all levels.

CLE’s History offerings for September will certainly take you down memory lane, and the not-so-distant past at that.  William Rawlings, the author of “The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s,” will explore this dark chapter of American history. 

Equality for women in athletics passed in 1972 and was mandated in colleges and universities.  This drove the growth in women’s sports participation.  “The Effect of Title IX and Rise of Women’s Sports” will be presented by Clint Bryant.

We top off our popular History offerings with “SS Normandie: North America’s Greatest Goddess,” which will present the history of the transatlantic travel during the 19th Century.

Did you know that the St. John’s Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey since the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago? For this month’s Philosophy and Religion offering, CLE is pleased to announce this free community event, “The Saint John’s Bible: The Making of an Illuminated Bible with Contemporary Art on Saturday, September 10, at the CLE Lecture Hall.

Our September Science offering is not meant to invoke fear but educate civilians.  “Electromagnetic Pulse” will explore the nature and magnitude of potential high-altitude EMP threats to the United States.  Retired USMC Col. James Clark, will discuss the vulnerability of U.S. military and especially civilian systems to EMP attack. 

 Join us for a visit to Tiger Mountain Vineyards.  Located on a five-generation old farm in North Georgia, just 35 minutes from Highlands.  Tiger Mountain Vineyards has been cultivating its local wines and winning over 200 awards since it opened in 1999. 

Like flowers?  You’ll love dahlias!  Don’t pass up this day trip opportunity to see big and small, bright, beautiful dahlias in any color but blue or green.  The 2016 National Dahlia Show is coming to Asheville Saturday, September 17, and CLE is heading that way for the show. 

For more information on our courses, please call the Center for Life Enrichment at (828) 526-8811 or visit clehighlands.com.  We are located at 348 South Fifth Street in the Peggy Crosby Center in Highlands.