In Brief

Registration has begun
for Community School

Registration has begun for the summer semester at the NIU Community School of the Arts.

The community school is offering a variety of classes and private lessons in art, music, and theatre for students ages 1 through adult. Classes vary from world music and dance to steel band to beginning hand weaving. For a registration booklet or more information, call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or visit online at www.niu.edu/extprograms.

Three Elderhostel available
in June, July, August

NIU and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will offer three one week Elderhostels this summer for people 55 and older: Contemporary Issues, Understanding Textiles and the Mississippi River.

To register or for more information, call (815) 753-5200, e-mail LASEP@niu.edu or go online at http://www.niu.edu/CLASEP. Elderhostellers can choose to stay on campus in NIU’s Holmes Student Center hotel guest rooms or register as commuters.

Contemporary Issues, June 6-11. Treat yourself to a week of discussing the scientific, practical and philosophical issues surrounding medicine and biotechnology. Learn the advances in biological research/medical technology, discuss the definition of life’s beginning and end and public policy issues on reproductive biotechnology. In the “Virtue and Vice” class, discuss how moral character affects love and friendship. Special focus on “Mansfield Park” and film adaptations of Jane Austen’s work.

Understanding Textiles: Types, Uses and Conservation, July 18-23. The service Elderhostel is a participatory work project and a learning experience. NIU’s experts in weaving techniques and symbolic meaning in design elements share their knowledge. Participants are trained to adhere to good conservation and curatorial standards, and
assist in recoding textiles and their conditions in the collection of the NIU’s Anthropology Museum.

The Mississippi River, Aug. 1-6. Join NIU’s most popular Elderhostel on a Mississippi full-day cruise and explore the river’s exciting and transforming history. Experience the geological and the cultural aspects of the Mississippi River Valley. Study the physical aspects of the river from prehistoric to modern times. Feel the vibes of the valley through the music that originated there, from jazz to blues to rock. Rediscover Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

Art show to grace
courthouse lawn

The annual Northern Illinois Art Show will be held at the DeKalb County Courthouse Lawn in Sycamore. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 5, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 6.

The Art Attack School of Art of Sycamore will have fun again at the annual Kishwaukee Valley Art League’s art show with many fine arts and craft projects for the kids (and kids at heart), including their signature face painting. For more information about this event contact Susan Edwards at (815) 899-9440 or visit online at www.sycamoreartattack.com.

NIU plans trip to Vienna
over New Year’s Eve

Imagine yourself in Vienna – the “city of dreams” – this New Year’s Eve.

Join the “NIU Travel with a Professor” group leaving Dec. 27 and returning Jan. 5 in its third repeat of this popular trip to historic Vienna. An information session is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 6, at the Holmes Student Center.

On New Year’s Eve, participants will be at the Imperial Ball at Hofburg Palace, the most elegant New Year’s Eve celebration in the world. The group prepares with a waltz lesson the day before at Vienna’s traditional Elmayer dance school. On Sunday, Jan. 2, the group attends Mass with the Vienna Boys Choir.

NIU Professor Elaine Spencer, Department of History, is preparing a reading list for all participants. Please sign up early as space is limited. To register, call NIU at (815) 753-5200 or send e-mail to LASEP@niu.edu, or visit the Web site at www.niu.edu/CLASEP for more information.

‘Sophisticated Ladies’
returns for encore

The “Sophisticated Ladies of Song” are back at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 13, with a benefit big band show for the rebuilding project for St. Johns Lutheran Church of Sycamore. Denny Ferrell hosts the big band show at the Egyptian Theatre of DeKalb.

John Smith and the Shananigan’s Swing Band will play your big band favorites from the 1940s and ’50s. Barb McCaskey, Cecelia Kafer and Nancy Killeen will grace the stage of the Egyptian Theatre for an encore presentation of the “Sophisticated Ladies of Song.”

Tickets are $20 per person with net proceeds going directly to St. Johns Lutheran Church. For more information please contact John Smith at (815) 758-1093 or send e-mail to jdmusicpros@webtv.net.

Tickets also are available through Joe Bussone at (815) 895-3064, the Hillside Restaurant of DeKalb, and through the St. Johns Lutheran Church of Sycamore.

Kishwaukee Symphony
hosts golf outing

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s sixth annual benefit golf outing is scheduled for Friday, July 16, 2004 at the Sycamore Golf Club, 940 E. State St.

All proceeds raised from this annual event, which also features dinner, a silent auction, raffle prizes and more, benefit the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. For more information, contact Denny Pickett at (815) 758-2777 or via e-mail at DekPickett@niu.edu.

NIU sponsors trip
to Stratford Festival

NIU and the Department of English will sponsor its annual trip to the Stratford Festival, July 26-30.

This popular trip has been an annual event since 1987. This year the group enjoys productions of “Timon of Athens,” “Cymbeline,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Triumph of Love,” plus optional selections of “Guys and Dolls” and “Anything Goes.”

The faculty member for this popular “NIU Travel with the Professor” is Alexandra G. Bennett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the NIU Department of English. Bennett is a native Canadian and a specialist in theater history and performance theory. She conducts a pre-trip orientation Saturday, July 17, in the Holmes Student Center.

The group size is limited to 50, and a few spots remain. Make reservations by calling NIU at (815) 753-5200 or by e-mail at LASEP@niu.edu. The fee of $995 covers housing, tickets to five performances, three meals, backstage tour of the festival theater and transportation from DeKalb. A private motorcoach will take the group from DeKalb to Stratford with a stop in Chicago to pick up Chicago participants.

6-1-04