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Activity Sections     

 Check out  Membership page for information on how to join.

| Adventure | Berkeley Art Museum | Birding | Bon Appetit* | Book Discussion | | Drama* | French |

|German | Italian | Music | Photography | Sew & So | Spanish | Tennis | Walking |

| Writer's Workshop | New: The Omnivore's* |

*Sections that meet in the evening

SECTION CALENDAR

ADVENTURE offers a monthly bus or car-pool trip to stimulating points of interest in the Bay Area and surrounding counties, attracting a wide following from both returning members and newcomers. This section is open to husbands and guests to help fill a bus to meet expenses. Top

Third Wednesday, all day. Occasionally a trip is scheduled on a different day or week, not every place is open or available on the third Wednesday.

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM meets six times a year for guided tours of current and permanent exhibitions led by the staff of the Museum. One presentation is by the Pacific Film Archives.  Top

Second Friday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

BIRDING section members enjoy visiting a variety of habitats from shoreline to hills, to observe birds as well as whatever else is of interest in nearby sites (many in East Bay Regional Parks).  Top

Ruth Tobey and Ann Kadyk

(December 2009 Report)

In October we visited the Blake Garden in Kensington.  It was interesting to tour the grounds in search of the avian diversity, rather than attending a meeting or visiting the garden.  We found almost two dozen bird species, including Red-breasted Sapsucker and Brown Creeper and had great looks at a perfectly perched Northern Flicker.

              In November we visited Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland during a particularly high tide.  Some naturalists from the Fish and Wildlife Service were banding Rails and the Rails and Sora were fleeing the naturalists in all directions.  In all we found 44 species, but not the Burrowing Owl, which was seen earlier in the day by another birder.  In December our group braved quite a frigid wind-chill factor at Berkeley’s Aquatic Park.  That area is a wonderful refuge for shorebirds and ducks and we were able to see quite a respectable number despite the wind.

              Our Winter/Spring trips will take us to Las Gallinas in Marin in February where we hope to find White Pelicans and Wilson’s Snipe again this year.  In March we will visit Point Isabel and the Richmond Marina, which always provides a wonderful diversity of shorebirds and some stunning views of the Bay.  In April we will visit Upper San Leandro Reservoir where we will search for Wood Ducks and Western Bluebirds.  We will end our year in May with a potluck lunch at Garin Regional Park in Hayward.  We should encounter Black-headed Grosbeaks, Barn Swallows and some spring migrant species on that trip.

              We welcome to our section anyone who is interested in nature and the environment. We love helping beginners learn more about birds.  If you do not have binoculars, we have spare pairs for you to borrow for the day.  We hope that you can join us this spring or next year to explore the Bay Area environment. 

First Wednesday, 9:00 AM

*BON APPÉTIT, formerly Gourmet, welcomes couples and singles for dinner parties with a theme in groups of 6-10. Some all-member events are also planned. Come and meet others in the University community in a convivial social setting. Members rotate hosting and planning of dinners.  Top

Weekend evenings decided by hosts.

BOOK DISCUSSION members discuss a mutually agreed upon book. A volunteer, who also presents pertinent background information, leads the session. All members are encouraged to read the book in advance but this is not necessary for the enjoyment of the stimulating discussion. Top

First Friday, 1:00 PM

CHORUS  please see Music

Tuesdays 9:30 am - 11:30 am

*DRAMA welcomes all: actors, audiences, producers. We are especially looking for members to join our audience.  Plays are enjoyed in the homes of members, and the informal staging/reading is a lively mix of seriousness and spontaneity. Top

Fourth Monday, 8:00 PM during Sept., Oct., Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr.

FRENCH provides, for those who comprehend French and have an interest in French culture, a variety of interesting speakers and programs on many aspects of French life and culture, plus the opportunity for lively conversation. Top

If you like French culture and French language, you should join the French Section and meet members who come together once a month to speak French, to listen in French and to make small conversation in French around a cup of tea or coffee.  Before the social hour, you would hear members of the community, professors, consulate members talk about their specialty or their hobby  in French.  You could ask them questions or converse with them in French or in English, if it is easier.

              Lately, the Section heard an expose on modern architecture.  At a different occasion, an epidemiologist, Claudine Torfs, talked about vaccines, at a time when the subject was on everybody’s mind.  Occasionally, Ellie Hahn gives the group a concert!  Others will report on a place or country that provoked  their enthusiasm.  In December members did something new:  they read together a famous French short story.  The possibilities are endless.

              Come, you will be welcome!                                   

              The Section meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 1:30 PM at one of the member’s homes.     

  Jacqueline Eberhard

First Tuesday, 1:30 PM

GERMAN gives us an opportunity to share programs about different aspects of contemporary life and cultural heritage in the German speaking courntries. Both German and English are spoken.  One member says that she always has a wonderful time with this friendly group. Top

German Section seems relatively young as we started in 1993, but our membership has continued to increase and our programs are varied and interesting.  In October, Claudia Deering presented an interesting talk about Father Sebastian Kneipp, who was the successful founder of the homeopathic medicine movement in Germany.  In the late 1800’s he was famous for the “Kneipp cure” form of hydrotherapy.  In November Dr. Monica Clyde, a retired teacher at St. Mary’s and Mills Colleges, spoke on her research of “German Immigrants to the Bay Area” during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Most were fleeing Germany due to a failed 1848 revolution.  Many who settled here were influential in the development of San Francisco, such as the Spreckels and Levi-Strauss families.

              In December we had our annual German Christmas party at the home of member, Martha Boccalini, who decorates with lovely German artifacts and antiques, collected over the years from family and while living in Germany.  If you have any interest in all things German or want to hear or converse in the language, please come and visit.

Dorothy Kaplan

Third Tuesday, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

ITALIAN meetings begin with a cultural program consisting of a lecture on different aspects of Italian life (art, literature, science, politics, etc.), followed by a lunch of mainly Italian cuisine. We all enjoy the warm friendship and congeniality characterizing our meetings.Top

The Sezione Italiana brings together an enthusiastic group of Italy lovers, who gather on the second  Thursday of each month to celebrate Italian customs and culture.  Whether natives of Italy or citizens of other countries, all our socie enjoy sharing the beauties of friendship and intercultural enrichments.  At each meeting, the Sezione Italiana hosts a specialized guest speaker, who focuses on the unique historical and cultural elements that characterize Italy.  The Section’s mission and identity can be summed up in the words of Nancy Leitmann, one of its most long standing members: “I love the Italian language, the Italian people and Italy itself.”

              During the month of December, Teresa De Luca Schooler welcomed the Sezione Italiana to her home for a celebration, led by author, Carol Field, who discussed enchanting tales linked to the Italian culinary tradition entitled, Rites of Passage in Italy:  From Homemade Pigeon Broth to Chocolate Confetti.   The festivities continued in a purely practical fashion as we enjoyed delicious specialties prepared by our socie, including oven-baked pasta al forno, ravioli di zucca, zucchini alla griglia con menta and fagiolini ai semi sesamo, followed by mouth watering desserts.  We ended the meeting on a festive note when Ellie Hahn and Rita Biasin  led us in a chorus of traditional Christmas carols, along with special guests, Julia Wenk and Mary-Ellis Adams.  It was a great way to welcome the holidays and ring in the New Year.

              The upcoming months are already packed with many interesting lectures designed to spotlight the Italian heritage.  Intellectually stimulating and personally enriching, our meetings strengthen old friendships and foster new ones by cultivating one of Italy’s mot worthy legacies:  hospitality.                                             Lucia Falcone, Co-Chair

Second Thursday, 11:00 AM

MUSIC welcomes performers and appreciative listeners. The section provides opportunities for soloists as well as chamber groups. Concerts are held in members' homes, followed by tea.Top

First Thursday, 1:00 PM

12/2/09 Chorus

The Music Section supports a lively chorus which rehearses Tuesdays 9:30 am - 11:30 am with director, Tina Harrington.

PHOTOGRAPHY includes a program of learning strategies and techniques to make a photographer proud of his/her creative accomplishments. The group hosts visits by local photographers, we also plan field trips to points of interest.  We had a show from September 1 to October 30, 2009 at the YWCA on Bancroft.  See below for more details.

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First Tuesday, 10:00 AM

October 2007 meeting with our mentor and photographer, Don Melandry. 

Picture taken by Marianne Haller with her new computer.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY ACTIVITY SECTION

INVITES ALL MEMBERS TO

SEW AND SO provides an opportunity to be creative in a social setting. Bring your project and let us mend, sew, embroider, knit, or crochet together. Top

Second Friday, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM .

SPANISH SPANISH meets monthly for dessert and coffee, sometimes lunch in a restaurant or a visit to a museum. Those who need practice speaking Spanish love getting together with the native speaking international members. Top

Fourth Thursday, 1:00 PM

TENNIS is open to all members of the Section Club. Channing Courts.  Top

Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

WALKING is a great way for newcomers and visitors to make new friends and enjoy the mid-week solitude of nearby parks, hillsides, shorelines and cityscapes. We meet to car-pool to the trail head. Bring lunch and water.Top

Second Wednesday, 9:00 AM

WRITERS' WORKSHOP meets in members' homes for a bag lunch and dessert. Members receive feedback on poems, novels, short stories, essays and memoirs from their colleagues.  Several subsections for those writing novels and memoirs, as well as those interested in self-publishing, have formed.  We celebrate when someone publishes.  Everyone has a narrative in her/his life! Top

First Monday, 12:30 PM

EXTRA!  EXTRA!  The Writers’ Workshop has self-published a collection of its works:  poems, essays, short stories and excerpts from memoirs and novels.  Most members have contributed a piece of writing.  Now our volunteer editors and designers have put it all together for the printer.  Phyllis Smith will provided illustrations.

              Our group is about to spawn a second sub-sub-group of non-fiction writers.  There is also a small faction that focuses on novel writing.  These groups meet once a month separately from our main troupe that has taken on four new members since the Fall Reception.  

NEW:*THE OMNIVORE'S SECTION members with spouses/partmers will enjoy dinner monthly, except December at The Faculty Club Kerr Dining Room.  We will meet starting September 14th.  Come and join fellow Section Club Members and spouses or guests. You may order the early bird menu  or a la carte. Early arrivals meet in the dining room anytime after 5pm. Faculty Club membership is not required.  Please make a reservation (and request seating at the Section Club table) at (510) 540-5678, Ext. 0

A reminder will be sent to those on our list.  To all Section Club members, just email usectionclub@berkeley.edu to request to join this section and be included in the reminder list. There is a nominal charge if you want a snail mail reminder. Top

Second Wednesday, 6:00 PM  Early arrivals meet in the dining room anytime after 5 pm.

DO YOU WANT TO FORM A NEW SECTION?

Any member of Section Club may start a new Section consistent with the purposes of Section Club by notifying the President, in writing, prior to the Annual Meeting, indicating the nature of the Section, including the signatures of four (4) additional persons who will be active members. Top

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