A JOURNEY THROUGH THE EARLY YEARS OF ROCK ‘N ROLL

Thursday, October 1
10:00 a.m. at GFL
Program #48249

Cost: $3

Presenter: Harvey Heyman

Harvey Heyman received his BA from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard. A passionate consumer of political, social, and technological events, he has created multiple courses for several area lifelong learning groups. 

Program

Travel through the early years of rock ‘n roll.  Learn how this music form came into being highlighted by video clips of some of the iconic performances of the 50’s and 60’s. Listen to the joyful and culturally impactful music that defined our generation.

SLEEPING GIANT STATE PARK: HOW THE GIANT WAS SAVED

Tuesday, October 6
10:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48250

Cost: $3

Presenter: Trina Learned

Trina Learned’s passion for Sleeping Giant State Park evolved from a graduate photography course at Wesleyan University.  She is the former executive director of Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, the past president of the New Haven Museum, and New Haven Preservation Trust, chairs the City of New Haven’s Historic District Commission, and serves on the board of the Sleeping Giant Park Association.

Program

This park in Hamden is more than 100 years old.  Creating it was neither easy nor quick.  What did it take to create this beautiful park by a group of people with conflicting priorities?

THE VENICE CARNIVALE

Thursday, October 8
10:00 a.m. at EW
Program #48251

Cost: $3

Presenter: Laura Parisi

Laura grew up in her family’s photography studio.  She is the president of the Italian American Historical Society of Connecticut and the vice president of the North Haven Camera Club.  She teaches photography and judges photographic competitions. 

Program

Come to the Venice Carnivale!  Take a photographic trip with professional photographer Laura Parisi. Witness the people dressed in full costumes, in grand ball rooms and on grand staircases as they celebrate in Venice and the nearby island of Burano.

WINSLOW HOMER’S AMERICA: THE ART OF A NEW NATION

Tuesday, October 13
10:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48252

Cost: $3

Presenter: Bob Potter

The speaker is a graduate of Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts.  He was an art director and marketing executive for leading media companies, created arts therapy programs, and was a corporate development officer for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  He later launched a career development program for art majors at the Lyme Academy of Art and is currently a docent at the Yale Center for British Art.

Program

Through Winslow Homer we see almost everything that defined the human spirit of America in the mid to late 19^th century. Through his battlefront  paintings of the Civil War, dramatic seascapes of Maine, and the changing lives of Americans from farms to cities, Winslow Homer captured the spirit of an evolving new nation as one of our greatest artists.

GREAT DECISIONS – SESSION ONE

Thursdays, October 15, October 29, November 5, November 19
10:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48253 A1

Facilitator: Tom Lee

Great Decisions is a world affairs discussion program produced by the Foreign Policy  Association. We will discuss four topics from the 2026 Briefing Book. Topics: 10/15, Ukraine and the Future of European Security; 10/29, Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order; 11/5, U.S. Engagement of Africa; 11/19, The Future of Human Rights and International Law.

Fee: $5.00 for the series if you already have the 2026 briefing book. $40.00 if you need the book.

GREAT DECISIONS – SESSION TWO

Thursdays, October 15, October 29, November 5, November 19
12:30 p.m. at GCC
Program #48253 A2

Facilitator: Tom Lee

Great Decisions is a world affairs discussion program produced by the Foreign Policy  Association. We will discuss four topics from the 2026 Briefing Book. Topics: 10/15, Ukraine and the Future of European Security; 10/29, Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order, 11/ 5, U.S. Engagement of Africa; 11/19, The Future of Human Rights and International Law.

Fee: $5.00 for the series if you already have the 2026 briefing book.  $40.00 if you need the book.

ON ONE FOOT: THE ESSENTIALS OF JUDAISM

Tuesday, October 20
10:00 a.m. GCC
Program #48254

Cost: $3

Presenter: Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Joshua Hammerman is a celebrated rabbi and award-winning journalist, author, and blogger. He received a master’s  degree in journalism from NYU and a BA, magna cum laude, from Brown University. His personal essays have appeared in numerous publications and his Substack newsletter has attracted over fifty thousand followers in all fifty states and sixty-two countries.  Rabbi Hammerman has authored several books that have received wide acclaim.

Program

What is this age-old religion all about? Is it a religion at all or more an ethnicity, or some complicated combination of the two? By the time the session is complete, the class will have a better understanding of Judaism’s basic concepts and values.

PRESERVING NATURE ON OUR PLANET

Thursday, October 22
10:00 a.m. SML
Program #48255

Cost: $3

Presenter: Florencia Montagnini, Ph.D.

Our speaker is a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment and the Director of the Program in Tropical Forestry and Agroforestry. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia. She has over thirty years of experience researching and teaching about the sustainability of ecosystems in the tropics.  She has written twelve books and over three hundred scientific articles.

Program

Biodiversity is critical to the restoration of our land. Our presenter will illustrate how combining agricultural and forestry practices (agroforestry) creates resilient land use systems that improve sustainability. Dr. Montagnini will describe her professional journey from Rosario, Argentina to Yale University.

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BOOK DISCUSSION: FRANKENSTEIN BY MARY SHELLEY

Monday, October 26
10:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48256

Cost: $3

Facilitator: Joanna Baymiller

Joanna Baymiller is a writer who has been publishing her critical and creative work in newspapers and magazines for four decades.

Program

This 1818 Gothic novel is considered a foundational work of science fiction. The novel explores themes of scientific responsibility, ambition, and the nature of humanity.

WALKING INTO THE FUTURE: ADVANCES IN HIP AND KNEE REPLACEMENT

Tuesday, October 27
10:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48257

Cost: $3

Presenters: Joshua Sanchez, Diego Garmendia, and Jonathan White

Our presenters are medical students at the Yale School of Medicine with clinical interest in orthopedic surgery and physical medicine and rehabilitation.  They have contributed significantly to orthopedic research focusing on outcomes following orthopedic surgery.

Program

Hear about all the new technologies, techniques, and materials being incorporated into the field of orthopedic surgery.

THE HAVEN STRING QUARTET

Wednesday, October 28
11:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48258

Coat: $3

The Haven String Quartet is more than a chamber ensemble: it is the unique resident quartet of Music Haven, an award-winning and nationally recognized non-profit organization in New Haven. The members of the HSQ are both accomplished professional musicians and dedicated teaching artists, embodying a model where artistic excellence and social mission are inseparable.

Program

Join the Haven String Quartet for a live 90-minute performance of Philip Glass’ soundtrack to the original 1931 film Dracula.  Follow the story as the Quartet plays the soundtrack alongside the screening of this legendary film.

GREAT DECISIONS

Thursday, October 29
10:00 a.m. at GCC
Program #48253

Facilitator: Tom Lee

Please refer to October 15