There are lots of opportunities for seniors to SOAR this fall

POTSDAM — Registration for fall courses is under way at SOAR, Stimulating Opportunities After Retirement.

This fall, more than 50 courses are being offered by volunteer SOAR presenters, with at least one new course starting each week of the fall, 10-week semester. Skills-building courses and activities include: an art workshop, painting, contract bridge, dominoes, Mah Jongg, Rummikub, Scrabble, basketry, knitting, silk fusion, knot tying, model airplane, Tai-Chi, indoor rock climbing, memoir writing, tax planning and French.

Courses on north country topics include local mushrooms and mosses (field trip), North Country Public Radio (tour), border warfare along the St. Lawrence, ships of the St. Lawrence River, and nature in the north country.

Rounding out the fall semester program are other courses on a wide variety of topics: current events, biodiesel fuel, musical tunes, African music, economics of energy, current energy issues, dragonflies, butterflies, Ancient Greece and Rome, Tunisian films, Woody Allen films, environmental impact of roads, Lincoln's early years, Queen Victoria, Richard Wagner, autumn sky, archaeology, travelogues, reproductive science, the sky in motion, time, Christmas customs, fiction of Pu Songling, elderly abuse, Gettysburg 1863, Middle East, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Besides attending classes, members also have the opportunity, at extra cost, to participate in trips and special events. There will be a fall excursion to South Colton to meet the chef and have dinner at South of the Rock Inn. Also planned is a bus trip to Syracuse for lunch, a matinee play performance at Syracuse Stage, followed by a dinner.

The semester ends on Nov. 20 with a luncheon at SUNY Potsdam for SOAR members and guests.

In December, SOAR members are invited to enjoy a seasonal luncheon at the Brigadoon Restaurant in Oxford Mills, Canada. Weekly Tuesday informal lunch gatherings at Tardelli's in Potsdam will also continue this fall.

SOAR is a lifelong learning group in the north country sponsored by SUNY Potsdam and affiliated with the Elderhostel Institute Network. It is a member-directed organization which relies on many volunteers: board and committee members, course presenters, classroom ambassadors, office helpers, and others. The yearly membership fee of $65 is due at the time of fall registration and allows members to take as many courses as they want in the fall and following spring semester. Interested people may join SOAR at any time.

Generally, SOAR courses are one-to-eight class sessions long, with each class session meeting once a week for one to two hours. This fall semester, about half of the SOAR classes are held on the SUNY Potsdam campus (a parking pass is provided with registration), and the rest are located at public lands and places — in Massena (Library), Potsdam (Mayfield Apartments, Civic Center, Museum, United Methodist Church), Canton ( Partridge Knoll, Silas Wright House, Veterans of Foreign Wars, NCPR, St. Lawrence University); and near Pierrepont (Glenmeal State Forest). All classes are held during daylight hours.

To find out more about SOAR, its courses, trips and events, visit the SOAR Web site: www.potsdam.edu/soar.

Request more information and membership forms by contacting the SOAR office directly: e-mail soar@potsdam.edu or call 267-2690.