OLLI at UC Berkeley

What a place, what a tour! 🎭✨

On Tuesday, members explored the Art Deco masterpiece that is Oakland’s Paramount Theatre. Many thanks to Laine, our wonderful guide, and to the entire Paramount team for opening their grand doors to us. And a big thank-you to OLLI’s hard-working Member Engagement Committee for making it happen. 👏

If you haven’t been to the Paramount — or have only experienced it when it’s packed with people — we highly recommend taking a tour. Check out their calendar for deets.

This was the 20th — and final — field trip of our 2025-26 academic year. What a ride it’s been! Hundreds of members have joined us on these excursions, which have been educational (of course!) and, just as key, have fostered a deep sense of community, connection and belonging.

Here’s to many more adventures ahead!

Last night's second annual Midsummer Potluck was a smash! Thank you to everyone who came. The place rocked with great noshes (so. much. food.) and good cheer.

A special tip of the hat to the members of OLLI's Member Engagement Committee for being such a welcoming squad.

(And Stella and Hugh, the salmon and smoked trout... delish!)

What a trip! ☮️

This afternoon we joined guide extraordinaire Rodney Paul for a lively tour of Berkeley in the '60s — a vivid, brought-to-life look at the Free Speech Movement, from Mario Savio to Clark Kerr, People's Park to the cigar-smoking Moe Moskowitz (of Moe's Books fame).

Thank you to all the members who came out to learn and share, bringing personal stories and know-how to the afternoon. What a powerhouse group you are! ✌️

We opened fall registration on Monday, and let's just say we've been bowled over by the response. What a proactive group you are! 💪🔥

Because of the speediness of the signups, several of our small, hands-on writing workshops are nearly full.

If you're interested in honing your voice and story in a supportive environment, now's the time to sign up! We'll be shifting over to waitlist mode soon.

Link below ...

Today’s field trip was a biggie as we trekked just a tiny slice of San Francisco’s Big Art Loop, marveling at the monumental sculptures along the way. (Burning Man was well represented.)

Huge thanks to SFMOMA docent — and OLLI member — Laurie Sanchez for leading the way, and to San Francisco for creating the largest urban sculpture trail in the world!

Fall registration is open! ✨🍁

Learn alongside people who share your curiosity about the world in dozens of courses taught by Berkeley faculty and other top scholars. Plus enjoy speaker events, field trips, socials and more.

Come feed your mind and find your people. Join us!

👉 https://olli.berkeley.edu/courses

📣 Our fall brochure is here! Registration opens July 13.

🔗https://bit.ly/3RgiT5p

From an OLLI blog post...to a powerful new mural in San Francisco.✨

When member Linda Wing shared her family’s story on our blog last year — of her grandmother losing birthright citizenship — it struck a chord far beyond our community. Now, that story lives on in a stunning mural honoring Wong Kim Ark and the fight for justice.

Proof that stories matter — and can shape the world around us.

We're thrilled to share this update. Story link in the comments.

Last week, OLLI helped save the Bay — by helping Save The Bay! About two dozen amazing members rolled up their sleeves to clean up the shoreline (oh, the trash), "hack out" (technical term) invasive, non-native plants, and pot 500 seedlings 🌱 in the nursery.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out, got their hands dirty, and made a difference! 💪

And heaps of thanks, too, to Charlie and Reed of Save The Bay (San Francisco) who were wonderful in every way! You guys rock.