If you enjoy touring historical buildings and watching lighthearted musicals, then this trip is for you!  We need a few more registrations to ensure that this trip will happen, so please register as soon as possible if you are interested.

On this day-long trip to Aurora, we will dine at the historic Two Brothers Roundhouse, the oldest roundhouse in North America.  In the mid-1990s, Chicago Bears football star Walter Payton renovated the building, and it is now home to Two Brothers Brewing Company.

After lunch, we will head downtown to tour the Paramount Theatre, opened in 1931 and designed withe precise acoustics and sight lines to ensure there isn't a bad seat in the house.  Following our backstage tour, we will view the 1954 comedic musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which follows the playful story of a backwoodsman who brings his new wife back to his Oregon cabin, where she is surprised to find his six brothers who want to get married, too.  Nominated for Best Picture of 1954, it is known for its outstanding dance sequences.  At the film's conclusion, our discussion will be moderated by Tom Scanlon, Head of Audio for the Broadway Series at the theatre.

Register online by clicking here, or call Gwen at 309-677-3900 to register over the phone.

Chicago Nature Center with Rhonda Ferree (Activity Level 3)

To register, click here to utilize our online system, or call Gwen at 309-677-3900.

Running Central (Activity Level 1)

Register for these or any other trips online by clicking here, or call Gwen at 309-677-3900.

Cancer doctor and researcher D. Siddhartha Mukherjee has written a masterful book about the history of cancer.  Selected as a top ten book of 2010, The Emperor of all Maladies explains cancer from scientific, medical, and human perspectives in order to enhance understanding of the struggle mankind has faced with this disease over the centuries and to give hope to the future.  

Participants will read selections from the book, available from local or online retailers and libraries, and view video clips from the PBS series to prompt discussion of different aspects of the disease and medicine's attempt to conquer it.

Register online by clicking here, or call Bonnie at 309-677-3900 to register over the phone.

Would you risk being killed, beaten, arrested, fired, or having your home or church bombed or burnt, so that you could register to vote or help others register?  During a terrifying Mississippi summer in 1968, hundreds of committed activists took such risks to help African-Americans register to vote - a right granted in the U. S. Constitution, but blatantly denied in practice.

The story of that summer is clearly told in Stanley Nelson's documentary film, Freedom Summer.  We will view the film and then discuss voting access, opportunities, practicalities, and challenges.  

Register online by clicking here, or call Gwen at 309-677-3900 to register over the phone.