This Week at Gulf Coast Symphony
All Posts
Next Post ››2024 Environmental Report Highlights Everglades Restoration Progress
| Hundreds of lectures. Knowledgeable instructors. Join us in-person at one of our 19 locations or participate online.  JANUARY – MAY 2024 PROGRAM REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE OR VIA PHONE Keep your mind active and engaged in the new year! Register for a lecture with FGCU Academy! Register for a Day Trip with FGCU Academy! Greetings, March has arrived! We still have so much going on for you! Take a look below and see the variety of offerings for this week ahead! CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2024 WINTER-SPRING PROGRAM GUIDE ONLINE! WINTER-SPRING REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN AVAILABLE ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE Call our offices anytime for assistance at 239.434.4737 NEW COURSE for Bridge Enthusiasts!  Slam Bidding April 10 | 10 – 12:30pm Naples Center How many slams do you miss at the bridge table? Join us as we tackle the most important systems and conventions you should know in order to find and make every biddable slam. Topics will include Italian Cue Bids, Kickback, 1430, Queen Ask, Exclusion Blackwood and more. Bring your partner so you can both hone your skills on all these powerful bridge conventions and start bidding more slams!  Week of March 4 – March 8 Click on any topic below to learn more. Featuring a DOUBLE HEADER MONDAY with Tom Eastwood  Civil War POW Camps – Andersonville, Elmira, Douglas March 4 | 10 – 11:30am, Monday Naples Center / Online via Zoom Neither the Union nor Confederacy was equipped to handle POWs. Camp conditions were horrid. We discuss the atrocities in the most notorious prisons on both sides and what led to them. Prisoner parole and exchange is also addressed. Join us for a frank and fascinating presentation.  Operation Werwolf – World War II Nazi Insurgency March 4 | 1:30 – 2pm, Monday Naples Center / Online via Zoom As World War II waned, the Nazis created a resistance force code named Operation Werwolf to oppose the Allies as they advanced and occupied Germany. Conceived in 1942, it was operational from October 1944 to 1947. Despite massive propaganda, it had minimal impact on the Allied occupation and inflicted increased hardship on the German people. Topics include: Himmler; SS death squads; Heydrich; Werwolf operations – assassinations, assaults and sabotage; Werwolf Radio; Goebbels; Hitler Youth; League of German Girls; German Bund; and Operation Blacklist – U.S. occupation of Japan.  Perceptual Illusions: Seeing (Is or Is Not) Believing March 6 | 10 – 11:30am, Wednesday Brooks Enrichment Center We discuss the perceptual process and look at how our beliefs and imagination influence our understanding of what we see. Our reality is constructed from our interpretation of sensory data (what we see, hear, etc.). However, this “interpretation” is influenced by numerous mental and social processes. We cover several concepts related to perceptual anomalies. This includes a fun sampling of optical illusions and other visual examples revealing how our eyes play tricks on us.  Science, Disinformation and the Covid Pandemic March 6 | 1:30 – 3pm, Wednesday Naples Center / Online via Zoom Taken from the speaker’s book, “Communicating Science and Managing the Corona- virus Pandemic,” this lecture addresses much of the disinformation and conspiracy theories about the Covid 19 virus. For many in our country, the lies and misinformation spread about the virus and its treatments were embraced wholeheartedly and taken as truth. Peer-reviewed, fact-based science, while not always perfect, offers conclusions, suggestions and solutions, but such information must be presented to the public in a strong and effective manner. This presentation addresses the nine stages of a pandemic, from the event to closure, a template for managing a pandemic, the process of developing a pandemic scenario, a pan- demic exercise, and much more.  CSI DNA Profiling to Genomes to Gene Editing and Therapies March 7 | 10 – 11:30pm, Thursday Naples Center / Online via Zoom This lecture, designed for the non-scientist, explores the fast-changing and ever interesting subject of 21st century DNA technologies. How perpetrators get caught or the innocent set free using DNA profiling. Reading our “genomes” to find increased chances of developing disease. Hopes of “editing” genes to correct flaws in our genetic messages. Join us as we explore these topics and more. DAY TRIPS  Miami Design District Art and Food Tour March 12 | 8:30 – 6:30 pm, Tuesday Miami Join us as we experience the cultural, artistic and culinary delights of Miami’s Design district. Embark on a delicious journey into the world of cutting-edge design, monumental art installations, and a diverse selection of cuisine that celebrates the Design District’s fusion of creativity and flavor. Enjoy mouth- watering dishes from some of the top restaurants in the neighborhood. Explore a large, modern chef-driven food hall that is considered a culinary mecca and savor a variety of global cuisines, with bites from Vietnam, Israel, the American South and more. Sample the unique fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine at one of Miami’s most celebrated sushi destinations and indulge in Chef Andrew G.’s famous cookie creations. Between food tastings, we make several stops to learn and admire public art installations, including the famous “Fly’s Eye Dome” by Buckminster Fuller. Departure information will be emailed 3 days prior to the trip. Itineraries are subject to change. No refunds within 10 business days of departure.  The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg March 28 | 8 – 6:30 pm, Thursday St. Petersburg Our private, docent-led tour takes us through the highlights of the permanent collection as well as a brand-new exhibition, The Shape of Dreams. The Shape of Dreams explores 500 years of dream-inspired paintings from the 16th to 20th century, demonstrating how artists throughout time have depicted a profound yet common phenomenon of human experience – the dream. The exhibition examines how Western artists have depicted dreams for different audiences throughout time, exploring the continuity and disconnections between the past and present. Our tour includes round-trip motor coach transportation, driver gratuity, entrance fees, a private docent-led tour and audio guides. Lunch is on your own. Departure information will be emailed 3 days prior to the trip. Itineraries are subject to change. No re- funds within 10 business days of departure. The Week Ahead Monday March 4 –Download, Save and Share Your Photos –Jordan – A Biblical Land in A Modern World –Digital Currencies: The Future of Money Tuesday March 5 –Financial Strategies for Estate Planning –From Pumpkin Papers to Pentagon Papers: Famous Trials of the Mid-Twentieth Century (4-part series) – The Alger Hiss Trial –Media Perspectives: The Future is Cloudy Wednesday March 6 –The Wives of Henry VIII (2-part series) –Art of the 19th Century French Salon and the Impressionist Movement –Beautiful, Flowering Orchids: How to Make Yours Thrive and Grow! –Florida Local Government Boot Camp: What Every Florida Resident Should Know –Stress and Anxiety Management (2-part series) Thursday March 7 –Introduction to Facebook and Instagram –Jim Newton and the Southwest Florida Legacy of Ethics –Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus –Climate Change – Sources and Solutions Friday March 8 Pirates of the Golden Age: 1630-1730 TAKE A LECTURE AT ONE OF OUR 19 LOCATIONS The Arlington, Naples (AR) Aston Gardens, North Naples (AG) Bentley Village, North Naples (BV) Bonita Bay Community Assoc., Bonita (BB) Brooks Enrichment Center, Bonita (BR) The Collaboratory, Ft. Myers (CO) Cypress Cove, Ft. Myers (CC) FGCU Main Campus, Ft. Myers (FG) Grey Oaks Country Club, Naples (GR) Hideaway Beach Club, Marco island (HB) The Island Country Club, Marco island (IC) Moorings Park Grande Lake, Naples (GL) Moorings Park at Grey Oaks, Naples (GO) Moorings Park Original Campus, Naples (MP) Naples Center, Naples (NC) Siena Lakes, North Naples (SL) The TwinEagles Club, North Naples (TE) United Church of Marco Island, Marco (UC) Wyndemere Country Club, Naples (WC) (see page 4 of the Winter-Spring 2024 Program Guide for location addresses) FGCU Academy  Click Below to View 2024 Travel Open House Presentation  Classic Safari: Kenya & Tanzania August 13-28, 2024 16 days for $11,196 View Brochure  Exploring Iceland August 15-25, 2024 11 days for $6,692 View Brochure  Southern Italy & Sicily September 4-18, 2024 15 days for $6,674 View Brochure  Scotland: Highlands & Islands September 9-20, 2024 12 days for $5,896 View Brochure  Sensations of Lyon & Provence 2024 River Cruise September 17 – 28, 2024 12 days from $5,469 View Brochure  Jewels of the Rhine 2024 River Cruise September 20 – 30, 2024 11 days from $4,925 View Brochure  Provincial French Countryside September 27-October 11, 2024 15 days for $6,297 View Brochure  New Zealand Adventure October 10-25, 2024 16 days for $8,124 View Brochure  Southeast Asia Odysseys October 31-November 18, 2024 19 days for $7,597 View Brochure  Travel Abroad with FGCU Academy Call our office 239.434.4737 for assistance with registration or Click to View our Website DONATE NOW FGCU Academy Needs Your Support Today to Ensure that Our Critical Mission of Adult Education and Enrichment Continues! FGCU Academy is ready to serve the SWFL community for the Winter-Spring 2024 Season— Learning, Growing, Sharing and Socializing. With nearly 700 programs at more than nineteen locations, there is something for everyone. If we have had the opportunity to meet in person or if you have heard me speak, I hope I was able to share with you my passion about FGCU Academy and its mission to provide lifelong learning and enrichment to the SWFL community. I believe it is critical to our well-being to keep exploring new avenues for growth to keep our minds engaged in our past, present and future. Since we are a non-credit programmatic offering, Florida Gulf Coast University can provide $0.00 of support to the Academy. We must be financially self-sustaining. The fact is that the revenue generated through memberships and program fees provides for only 50% of our annual operating costs. Additionally, our attendance has not yet returned to pre-pan- demic levels, so revenue is much lower than in the past. As an educator, I find myself slightly uncomfortable talking about the financial needs of the Academy beyond thanking everyone for their participation. But, this year and for the near future, it is important that I find the words to ask for additional support through philanthropic donations. Our passion keeps us moving forward and your donations will do the same. Please take a moment to consider a year-end donation to ensure our continued success. All amounts make a difference in strengthening the work we do in the community. Your gift will allow the Academy to offer more than 1,000 diverse and fascinating programs at more than twenty locations throughout SWFL. Through our mission we promise to enrich the lives, minds and social well-being of more than 10,000 SWFL adults and seniors that participate in our programs each year. CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW or mail your donation to FGCU Academy 704 Goodlette Frank Road North, Suite 330 Naples, FL 34102 I look forward to seeing you at a FGCU Academy program in 2024. Please contact me directly at [email protected] or 239.434.4838 with questions or to learn more. In gratitude, John J. Guerra Director of FGCU Academy     FGCU Academy FGCU ACADEMY NAPLES CENTER 704 Goodlette-Frank Rd N Suite 330 Naples, FL 34102 239.434.4737 [email protected] |