Join Chesapeake Forum on August 19th for the 2025 Fall Preview Part at the Academy Art Museum in Easton from 3:30-5:30.  Enjoy light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres while getting a first-hand look at new courses.  Tickets are $16.00 and registration is required at https://chesapeakeforum.org

There are nearly 30 classes to choose from and many new presenters.  Courses range from the practical to the philosophical, plus local history, current events, field trips, literature and cooking to name a few. To see a full list of Fall classes, please visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.  Registration begins on August 20th. 

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].

Spend a few hours learning how to jam with others and pick up a lifetime of music and joy. 

Whether you are a backroom strummer or a lapsed high school musician, Jamming for Everyone starting on Monday, May 6th at Chesapeake Forum, is, well, for everyone!  

Join musician and teacher Jonathan Williams in a supportive, learning environment geared towards having fun!  Learn a few basic songs.  Understand how to play with others  – even if you don’t know the tune – and leave with the confidence to start your jam group or to fearlessly join one.  

By the end of this three-session course, you will be able to use a lead sheet to accompany a simple vernacular tune.  You will learn how to use YouTube to find popular recordings in suitable keys to play along with, and be able to jam with a guitar or piano player playing a simple song like “You are my Sunshine,” “Chain of Fools” or “Hallelujah.”  You may also be able to play solos using a combination of lead sheet, knowledge of jamming practices and notation, and be able to modify lead sheet keys to better suit your instrument or the requirements of other musicians.

Jamming for Everyone is three sessions, Monday, May 6th, 13th, 20th from 1 – 3 PM. In person at the Easton Family YMCA.  $40.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  Chesapeake Forum is a part of the YMCA of the Chesapeake.   To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected]

Chesapeake Forum kicks off its Spring 2024 lineup with birds, bulbs and investment opportunities for seniors.  Registration opens on April 4th at https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Join Wayne Bell, Ph.D., for Birds & Birding Part 2 when he follows the spring songbird and shorebird migration, starting Tuesday, April 11th.  There will be two classroom sessions on April 11th and June 6th from 2:30 – 4 PM (HYBRID) plus 7 FIELD trips.  $70.

The following week, on Wednesday, April 17th, join Dodie Theune, Ph.D. on another journey — this one towards financial independence in Navigating Investment Opportunities for Seniors.  Four sessions, Wednesday, April 17th, 24th, May 1st and 8th from 10-11:30.  In person at the Easton Family YMCA.  $50.  

Also, on the 17th,  Dominick “Mickey” Terrone uncovers the complicated history of the Confederate Government from creation to collapse in Inside the Confederate Government.  Three sessions, Wednesday, April 17th, 24th and May 1st from 1-2:30 PM.  HYBRID.  $40

More about the Civil War continues with the riveting story of the Judge Carmichael Affair.   Learn why Talbot County Judge Carmichael was beaten and jailed during the Civil War as Federal Troops surrounded the court house.  One session, Thursday, April 18th from 1- 12:30 PM HYBRID.  $20.

Another more recent, and also largely forgotten story, is Operation Skyshield, the national defense test that shut down all commercial and private flights across the U.S. three different times in the decades before 9-11.  Find out the purpose of Operation Skyshield, whether it worked and why it was forgotten.  One session, Thursday, April 18th from 10-11:30 AM. HYBRID.  $20.

Wrap up the week with a visit it to the Spring Bulbs of Delaware Botanic Gardens hosted by head gardener Stephen Pryce Lea.  Experience the magic of spring with a huge variety of bulbs and wildflowers in bloom throughout the breathtaking Piet Oudolf Meadow.  One session, Friday, April 18th from 10-11:30 AM.  FIELD TRIP.  $35

To register for these or any other Chesapeake Forum classes, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

 

 

Find out what’s happening at Talbot County Schools on March 26th when Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sharon Pepukayi holds a public conversation hosted by the Chesapeake Forum from 5:30 – 7 PM.   If you have questions, this is an opportunity to get answers.  The presentation will be held on ZOOM and is FREE and open to the public.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Dr. Pepukayi has been at the helm of Talbot County School District for the past year and half.  She says her mission has been to keep students at the forefront of all education decision.  Come find out about the challenges and successes the school district has faced during that time.  Please send your questions for Dr. Pepukayi in advance to [email protected].

“I’m a big proponent of ‘student voice’ and having current students at the table to help the adults make the decisions that affect their education,” she shares.  “I am talking to students to find out what’s good, what’s bad, and what they feel indifferent about concerning their education and school experience. I want kids to feel comfortable talking about their educational journey and what we can do to help them discover opportunities and take advantage of all that TCPS has to offer.”

Come and hear Pepukayi’s views on how primary and secondary students are doing in the Talbot County Public Schools and how she and her staff are working to affect positive change.  

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your information to: [email protected]

 

Mark your calendar for Chesapeake Forum’s Preview Party April 3rd when its Spring 2024 class line up will be unveiled at the Academy Art Museum in Easton from 3:30 – 5 PM.  The festive, catered event offers guests a chance to hear from Chesapeake Forum instructors, learn what’s new and find out more about the program.  The event is free but registration is required at https://chesapeakeforum.org.

There are more than 30 classes on tap this spring from birding to car maintenance. Wayne Bell is back with his popular birding class, this time concentrating on the spring songbird migration.  Several veteran teachers are also returning with new classes including investment opportunities for seniors, more about the Civil War in Maryland,  edible flowers, ancient Greek dramas, basic car maintenance, and much more.  Classes are usually 1-3 sessions and in most cases, can be attended in person at the Easton Family YMCA, on ZOOM or watched on a recording.  Registration begins April 4th.  Classes start on the 11th.

In addition to classes, Lectures on the Shore, Chesapeake Forum’s speaker series, returns on May 9th with Lights, Camera, Action, the story of the extraordinary Fine family – two generations of award-winning filmmakers.  Come along as the Fines take you on a journey through more than 40 years of documentary filmmaking, including the Oscar-winning Inocente.  

The mission of the Chesapeake Forum is to provide lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  The organization recently merged with the YMCA of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your contact information to [email protected]

If you’ve ever wanted to put pen to paper to record your experiences, ideas, or stories, It’s Your Story is the class for you.  Starting Thursday March 7th, join Adrienne Lasker and Chesapeake Forum from 1-2:30 PM for a memoir writing class that will help you develop your voice. The small intimate class will cover writing techniques, tips, organization, and creativity and is geared to all writing levels. 

For each of the four sessions, participants will write a one- or two-page piece about some event in their past or something else that they would like to record. While most will take the customary form of a memoir, some might wish to use verse, song, speech, or even a playlet as their medium of choice. Each person furnishes copies for everyone and then reads it aloud. After that, class members make comments, pointing out what works well and how it might be improved. This is all done in an atmosphere of warmth and support, where we all try to help each other. 

This small group of storytellers form a safe and comfortable place to gain knowledge about how others hear your voice through your writing. Our aim is to build confidence, develop skills, and encourage everyone to tell their story.  

It’s Your Story is four sessions, Thursday March 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th from 1-2:30 PM.  $40. In person at the Easton Family YMCA.  To register, visit https:chesapeakeforum.org

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected]

 

March is Women’s History Month and a big part of women’s stories all across the world is healthcare – often inadequate, sometimes dangerous and frequently indifferent.  From Ukraine to Sudan to the Americas, violence, poverty, new infectious diseases, forced migration, and discrimination have created communities of women with limited access to health services.

Join Chesapeake Forum on March 5th from 10 -11:30 AM  for Global Women’s Healthcare: Gains and Losses as two global healthcare professionals – Katherine Marconi, Ph.D., and Mary Jordan – give us a world tour of recent challenges and accomplishments in improving women’s health in a variety of countries .

Both women have had projects in Malawi, Ethiopia, and South Africa and will also talk about issues and concerns in Afghanistan. In their focus on these three countries, they will describe recent health trends, underlying social determinants of health in each country, and their journeys to form public-private partnerships to improve health in each country.

Katherine will show a video from an African physician she teaches with, who is currently providing care for women, children, and adolescents in several countries. Through her you will be exposed to the experiences of working with communities of women who have limited access to health care.

You will learn about and discuss unique approaches to improving women’s health, and be part of a dialogue about what it might be like living in a country under these health conditions.

Global Women’s Health: Gains and Losses is one session, Tuesday, March 5th from 10-11:30 AM.  $20.  To register visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, send your name and contact information to [email protected]

Grab a unique chance to see history unfold on paper in “Six Centuries of Headlines” with Chesapeake Forum veteran Steve Goldman on March 12th and 19th from 4:30 – 6:00 PM.  Goldman travels back through six centuries of newspapers, books and pamphlets back to explore some of history’s most important famous and infamous events.

Goldman’s extensive newspaper archives offer a chance to look at original, first drafts of history.  Read the original story and see if it holds up over time.  If not, was it deliberately fake? Steve promises to read any type that is too small as many of the documents are very old.

Six Centuries of Headlines is two sessions, Tuesday, March 12th and 19th rom 4:30 – 6 PM. HYBRID (in person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording). $30. To register visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, send your name and contact information to [email protected]

Divorce, retirement, the loss of a spouse, an empty nest are all things that Life Reimagined tackles on March 6th with Chesapeake Forum veteran Dodie Theune, Ph.D.

You’re never too old and it’s never too late!  People change over their lifespan and their dreams and goals and visions change as well! Join a fun group of adult learners in finding their way toward a life of purpose and personal fulfillment after retirement.

This workshop is primarily about discovery and empowering life change.  Through an interactive exploration you will see how living a more purposeful life can positively impact your overall well-being and life satisfaction. Everyone will participate in guided self-reflection and journaling exercises to help you identify your values, passions, and strengths as a way to uncover your ‘true self.’

You will discover much more about how your values, needs and strengths have changed over time. The object of the course is to design a Personal Life Plan as a guide for a future life of purpose, fulfillment, growth and contribution.

This is your chance to try out new ideas in a safe environment; to ask “what if” and “why not?”.  Three sessions, March 6th, 13th and 20th from 10-11:30 AM.  $40.  In person at the Easton Family YMCA or Zoom. No recording. To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].

Chesapeake Forum has made some changes to its leadership team following its official merger with the YMCA of the Chesapeake last month.  In its first official post-merger meeting, the Board shifted former Chesapeake Forum President Lynn Randle to the role of Executive Director while Vice President Claudia Dziobek takes over the reins as President, Board of Directors.  Dziobek is joined by Bruce Purdy, vice president, and Doug Holly, curriculum chair.

Dziobek recently retired from the International Monetary Fund, where she advised governments on macroeconomic issues, financial stability, and global economic statistics.  She leveraged that experience for several fascinating Chesapeake Forum classes on international economics and cryptocurrency (available at no charge:  https://chesapeakeforum.org/course/) She says she is looking forward to helping Chesapeake Forum pursue its mission of lifelong learning on the eastern shore.

Purdy also works in the international arena as a development consultant and has leveraged his experience to create several classes on what it takes to build sustainable cities as well as his experience. He brings a lifelong passion for learning and education to the Board, along with creativity, adaptability, visionary leadership, and a whole lot of perseverance.  Plus, a really nice art collection which he has also leveraged for a Chesapeake Forum class.

Dziobek and Purdy are joined by Doug Holly who is now helming the organization’s core curriculum.  Holly is responsible for developing and managing all of the courses for Chesapeake Forum, with a little help from friends (and with the number of lifelong learners and courses growing each semester, he needs all the help he can get!)

Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents on the Eastern Show. The 2024 Winter Semester is currently underway (there’s still time to sign up!).  The preview party for Spring Semester will be March 20th at the Art Academy of Easton.  To sign up for Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to [email protected].