When someone says “education,” most of us immediately think of school-age children, or perhaps young collegiates. It’s easy to forget or ignore the many opportunities we have to improve our own education, and the benefits we gain from doing so:

Modeling a lifestyle of lifelong learning can influence our children and grandchildren to become lifelong learners themselves.

• We get a chance to meet new people and make new friends who have similar interests.
• We feel the satisfaction of learning a new skill, or mastering a new concept.
• Research shows that adults who are “active learners” suffer less from cognitive decline or age-related memory loss as they get older.

If these benefits sound appealing to you, you’ll be glad to know that Olympic College in Shelton regularly offers non-credit classes on a variety of topics (computer, business, development, personal growth, and “just for fun”) to residents of Kitsap and Mason Counties.

Here are some of the classes that are still available, according to their online catalog:

• How to start your business (5/16)
• Fun with Drawing (5/10)
• Anyone Can Write (5/7-5/28)
• Write in the Woods Writers Conference (5/17)
• Adventures in Boating (5/31-6/7)
• Coastal Navigation for Boaters (5/10, 5/24)
• Wines of the World (5/10)
• Goal Setting (6/7)

You can read course descriptions and find more details at Olympic College’s website. Some classes tend to fill up quickly, while others may be canceled due to low enrollment, so if you’re interested in any of these classes, I suggest you call soon to register (for Shelton CE classes, call 360-432-5400). You can pay the small fee involved by credit card, check or money order.

Check it out, and start enjoying the many benefits of becoming a lifelong learner! (As always, we welcome you to share your experiences in our comments section.)

Music lovers have a great resource right here on the Olympic Peninsula: The Mason County Concert Association. Established in Shelton in 1949, the Mason County Concert Association is part of the national community concert organization whose purpose is to bring quality music and performers to small towns. This non-profit organization finances 4-6 concerts a year and operates on a membership system. You pay a small fee ($60 for adults, $15 for students, $125 for families) for access to all the concerts in that season, and since they have reciprocity agreements with neighboring communities (like Bremerton and Centralia), you can enjoy other performances in those communities as well for no extra charge.

The concerts feature a wide variety of high caliber music, dance, theater, musicals, acrobatics, all performed by musicians touring the US and abroad. If you’re interested in becoming a subscriber to the Mason County Concert Association, you can see the concerts scheduled for the 2008-2009 year on their website. If you subscribe right away, you can enjoy a bonus concert as well: the last concert of their 2007-2008 season, which takes place this Saturday, April 26th at 7:30 p.m. and features Misty River, an all-female band with tight vocals and a folksy style. You can see a promotional video of Misty River on YouTube.

Oliver Wendell Holmes (a US author and physician) once said, “Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body.” The Mason County Concert Association sounds like a good way to start testing Holmes’ theory.

If you’ve attended any of the Mason County Concert Association’s past concerts, we’d love to hear from you. Leave your comments below …

The people in charge of Earth Day suggest that one way we can help make a difference in our environment is to replace our incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs.

As more and more people make this switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, one problem is emerging: how to dispose of them.

Why is this an issue? Because each compact fluorescent light bulb contains a small amount of mercury, a toxic element which must be handled carefully. You can’t just throw these light bulbs into the garbage can when they burn out.

Thankfully, here on the Olympic Peninsula, Public Utility District #3 (PUD 3) is proactively setting up a recycling program for its customers with burned out compact fluorescent light bulbs. PUD 3 has arranged for proper disposal at recycling stations in Shelton and Belfair; in fact, PUD 3 is among the first in the nation to offer this service to its customers.

PUD 3 does ask that people carefully place their burned out compact fluorescent light bulbs carefully in the correct slot, because damaged and broken bulbs cannot be accepted.

Celebrate Earth Day by properly recycling your old, burned-out compact fluorescent bulbs, and you can rest easy, knowing that this toxic waste will be properly handled and disposed of.

Something interesting has begun at Hood Canal School (grades K-8) right here on the peninsula. After more than a decade without a music program, they are now offering an extracurricular children’s choir which rehearses Monday-Thursday mornings from 7:30–8:30 a.m. Response from the kids (and parents) has been overwhelming, with over 10% of the school participating. In fact, so many kids have signed up that they’ve had to split the group into two different choirs: one for grades K-3, and one for grades 4-8.

How did this happen? Matthew Blegen, the director of the Annas Bay choir, presented the idea to the school district, offering to direct and teach the program. He has been joined by about 10 dedicated choir members who have been helping every day and sharing their love for music with the kids. They plan to have the children’s choirs collaborate with the Shelton High School choral group and stage production, as well as the Annas Bay choir later in the school year. They may also plan a concert at the end of the school year if possible.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” It seems that the director and members of the Annas Bay Choir understand this concept and have taken steps to put it into practice. In doing this, they have encouraged me (and hopefully, you!) to find a way to give something back to my community. Suddenly the phrase, “Get a life!” takes on a whole new meaning.

What about you? Is there something you could do to serve the community in which you live? Share your ideas and dreams in our comments section.

According to a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, “Literary reading is in dramatic decline, with fewer than half of American adults now reading literature.”

Some people believe that books are “old technology” and will soon grow obsolete. To a book-lover like me, that sounds like a really bad idea. And I’m in good company, judging by the following quotes:

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become. - C.S. Lewis

You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. – Ray Bradbury

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. – W. Somerset Maugham

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. – Mark Twain

In the highest civilization, the book is still the highest delight. He who has once known its satisfactions is provided with a resource against calamity. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If these quotes inspire you to read more, then you might want to join the members of the Page Turners Book Club, sponsored by the North Mason Timberland Library in Belfair. This group meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month from 10 am to noon. The next meeting of this group is on April 16th (tomorrow). You can get information on upcoming book selections by calling the library at 275-3232.

And if you have any good book recommendations (I’m always looking for them), leave a comment and share them with us!

If you’re going to be out and about on the Olympic Peninsula this weekend, you might be interested in some of these activities going on in the community:

Families with youngsters (or those who are just young at heart) will enjoy the production, “If You Give a Pig a Party” at the Admiral Theater in Bremerton. This show, based on one of the books in the best-selling “If You Give” series by author Laura Numeroff, begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 11th. You can get more information about the show at the website for Admiral Theatre.

Those interested in art and/or community issues will want to support this weekend’s Benefit Art Show & Auction for Turning Pointe, a non-profit organization in Mason County dedicated to providing help to victims of domestic violence and their families. This is Turning Pointe’s only major fundraiser this year and proceeds will go toward the domestic violence center which is under construction. Contact Turning Pointe for more information if you’re interested in supporting this event.

On Saturday, April 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Kitsap County Historical Society will be sponsoring its own version of “Antiques Roadshow” with an Antique Appraisal Fair held at the Silverdale Community Center. If you want to find out whether any of your old stuff has more than sentimental value, this is the place to be! Only verbal appraisals will be given, and there is a small per-item fee. You can contact the Kitsap County Historical Society for more information.

If you know of other fun events going on in the greater Olympic Peninsula area this weekend, leave a comment and let us know!

Ballroom dancing seems to be making a comeback, if the popularity of the TV show “Dancing with the Stars” is any indication. To tell the truth, I’ve felt a little intimidated the few times I’ve watched that show. Those tricky dance moves, those judges, those skimpy costumes … YIKES!

Some years ago, my husband and I decided to step out of our comfort zone and take some ballroom dance classes for beginners. Soon we were waltzing, foxtrotting and tango-ing our hearts out. It was good exercise, and the dancing … well, let’s just say we wouldn’t win any prizes, but we had a lot of fun!

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to waltz or foxtrot, then you’ll be interested in the Ballroom Dance Classes for beginners being held at the Kitsap Dance Center Facility. The lessons will be Tuesday evenings, from 6:30 – 7:30 pm beginning April 8th (tonight!) and running through April 29th. The fee is just $32 per person, and you can reserve your spot or get more information by calling 360-877-5181. Both singles and couples are welcome to attend.

Because this is a class for beginners, the tricky steps will be kept to a minimum, there won’t be any judges to worry about, and the skimpy costumes are strictly optional! (grin)

Washington’s largest fiddling festival is held each April right here in Shelton, Washington, and it starts this Friday, April 4th.

The Shelton Old Time Fiddlers Fest is a three-day music festival produced by the Washington Old Time Fiddlers Association (WOTFA), and features the best fiddlers from Washington State and around the nation. WOFTA carefully selects the musicians and participation is by invitation only.

If you’re interested in attending, you can buy discounted tickets in advance at the following locations:

Shelton: Sage Bookstore, The Office Supply Store, SOCK Youth Center
Belfair: Theler Center
Hoodsport: Laurie’s at Home
Olympia: Music 6000, Yenneys Music
Union: Alderbrook Country Store, Cameo Boutique

Here’s the schedule of events:

Friday, April 4
7-9 p.m. Performance at Shelton High School Auditorium
 

Saturday, April 5
2-4 p.m. Performance at Shelton High School Auditorium
4:30-6:30 p.m. Spaghetti Dinner at Shelton High School Cafeteria
7-9 p.m. Performance at Shelton High School Auditorium
 

Sunday, April 6
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Fiddlecake Breakfast at The Shelton Armory (601 W. Franklin)
1 p.m.  Fiddle Jam, Dance & Talent Search

Sunday’s events are presented by (and benefit) the SOCK (Save Our County’s Kids) Youth Center.

You can get more information by calling 432-0815 or at the SOCK website. You can also order tickets via email at sock@sock.org

If you’re a fan of fiddling, or just want to support the SOCK Youth Center, you won’t want to miss these events!

The Men’s Club of the Alderbrook Golf & Yacht Club will hold its first meeting tomorrow, April 2nd, followed by 18 holes of golf. The following Saturday (4/5), they will hold their annual Ball Buster Tournament, which is open to members, guests and outside players.

The Ball Buster Tournament is a two-man best ball format. It’s fun and challenging because the tee boxes and course are set up to make each hole difficult to play. As one member put it, “It takes extremely lucky shots to even get close.”

The AGYC Men’s Club plays every Wednesday and Saturday. Wednesday play is organized so that players have an opportunity to meet new people. On Saturdays, the men choose their own groups and tee times. There are about 70 men who play regularly, and 150 who play occasionally.

In addition, the Men’s Club is planning four Home and Home tournaments. In May, the Alderbrook men will play Lakeland Village; in June, they will play Dungeness; in July, they will play Kitsap and McChord.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Alderbrook’s Men’s Club or any of the above events, you can contact Alderbrook’s Head Golf  Professional Justin Gravatt at 360-898-2560.