Five architects will be explored for the homes and other buildings they designed in early Aurora.  Several interior and exterior photographs will be shown from each architect.  Details on both the architects and the homes will be discussed.

Co-organizer: Evelyn Porter

Registration Deadline: August 22, 2025

Join your fellow LLI members for an afternoon of theatre and learn more about the events of 9/11 outside ground zero. This musical at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora portrays the lives of passengers rerouted from the United States airspace to Newfoundland while the attacks occurred. During that historic time, 38 airplanes carrying 6,579 people from 100 countries spent days in the small town of Gander. This is a moving show that will remind us of the kindness of strangers. 

Please meet outside the Paramount at 1:00 on the day of the performance, Oct. 1, 2025, to pick up your ticket(s) from Carolyn Hopkins (630) 212-8211. 

Parking available on the street, in the Stolp Island Parking Garage ($3-$4), or Valet parking ($17-$22)

Doors open 1:00, Show starts 1:30. Activity level-Easy Going

Facilitator: Carl Hays

Participants will view and discuss Ken Burns' video of Leonardo da Vinci's soaring imagination. He created the most revered art works and real world inventions. Was da Vinci one of humankind's most curious and innovative minds?

Co-organizer: Betty Williams

Join us as we tour two of Rockford's premier attractions: The Anderson Japanese Gardens and Frank Lloyd Wright's Laurent house. The Anderson Gardens feature winding pathways, meandering streams, koi-filled ponds and plunging waterfalls. The Laurent House was the only home Frank Lloyd Wright built for a person with disabilities. He called it "my little gem" and it was one of his favorite projects.  Cost: $110. Lunch, admissions, motorcoach and driver gratuity is included. 

Enter at the north entrance of the Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove campus and head towards the red door on the Field House where you can park and meet our bus. Activity Level-On Your Feet  (Registration Deadline 9-23-25)

Co-organizer: Carolyn Hopkins

Participants will tour the exhibit "Eye to Eye" which will feature the work of over 30 different artists. Once a rare luxury, good portraits are now part of our everyday existence. What are the stories the artists tell when they capture one's likeness? A second exhibit, "Pokagon Potawatomi Black Ash Baskets: Our Storytellers" explores the artistry, tradition, and importance of basketmaking among the Pokagon band of the Potawatomi people. Activity Level - On your feet

Session 1 (Please register for just one session)

Co-organizer: Carolyn Hopkins

Participants will tour the exhibit "Eye to Eye" which will feature the work of over 30 different artists. Once a rare luxury, good portraits are now part of our everyday existence. What are the stories the artists tell when they capture one's likeness? A second exhibit, "Pokagon Potawatomi Black Ash Baskets: Our Storytellers" explores the artistry, tradition, and importance of basketmaking among the Pokagon band of the Potawatomi people. Activity Level - On your feet

Session 2 - (Please register for just one session)

Music and politics intersect in unexpected ways. Participants will spend the first half of the class reviewing the life and music of Johnny Cash, a music legend. We will then move into examining the politics of Cash regarding the Vietnam War and the letter Cash wrote in 1974 to President Gerald Ford supporting Ford's decision to grant a pardon to President Nixon and amnesty to Vietnam draft dodgers. The class will conclude with a discussion about Ford's decision to issue a pardon for President Nixon and an amnesty for draft dodgers. We will also discuss the concept of amnesty and pardons in today's political scene.

Fox Valley residents have long been enthusiastic patrons of the arts. In this one-day course, local arts events organizer and marketing specialist Marissa Amoni will share her knowledge and enthusiasm with us. She will highlight historical and contemporary resources through stories, interviews with artists, and photos. Participants will learn about art leagues, studios, theatrical productions, public art commissions, film festivals, and music programs. Participants will hear about the many outdoor fairs held each summer. Course participants will enhance their awareness of the multiple opportunities available to us because we live in a region that celebrates the arts.