BOLD VENTURES
April 2021
Blind Outdoor Leisure Development
BOLD welcomes persons 18 and older with all degrees of vision: blind, low vision, partially sighted and fully sighted.
PO Box 8114
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Editorial team: Veronique Schreurs, Nancy Leverett, Terri Winaught, Peggy Walsh
Email: boldwpa@gmail.com
Website: www.wpabold.blogspot.com
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
Admin note: we are keeping the dues for 2021 to $12. Mail your check to
Veronique Schreurs 2269 Tilbury Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15217. Thanks to those who paid!
Call Veronique 412-225-4038 if that is a hardship, and you would like to remain in Bold.
WE ARE CHANGING OUR CONFERENCE CALL SYSTEM! Please read!
The new number to call is (385)799-9487. There is no passcode for participants. To mute yourself, press *6, same to unmute. But there is a change: the host has the option to mute everybody and let them know that he/she is doing that.
This info will apply every time “conference call” is mentioned in the newsletter.
WE HAVE A NEW WAY FOR OUR CASETTE CUSTOMERS TO HEAR THE NEWSLETTER!
Instead of mailing out cassette recordings, people will have to dial (401) 252-0029 Access Code: 265365 (this stands for boldnl, i.e: Bold news letter). Anybody can use this service, not just cassette customers.
MARCH EVENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!
Monday March 22 at 7pm on the NEW conference line, learn how to use Zoom as a blind person on a computer, iPhone, or iPad. Presented by Mark Senk, Maggi Ostrowski and Nancy Leverett. The goal is to have everyone on the call in the zoom call and able to use the basic commands by the end of the session. Zoom is being used by our friends, families and so many organizations that to keep current we need to be able to use it.
APRIL CALENDAR
I am happy to report that YOGA KEEPS GOING! It is still free of charge to participate. Thank you to those who sent a contribution. Our teacher, Richard, does not think it is safe for us to resume yoga at the Schoolhouse yoga studio. We will continue doing yoga, which is going very well, by the NEW conference call until further notice.
Every Thursday it starts at 2:45pm, call the NEW conference line at 2:42pm. It is a one-hour session. Don’t call too much before the starting time!
For people reading this by email, here is a link of our July 2 yoga session, which you can click on or paste into your browser to activate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Continuing our popular weekly chat session! Every Tuesday at 7pm, until further notice, we will have a one-hour chat session where our Bold members can tell each other how they are doing during this difficult time. This is also a time you can ask for help if you need it.
Call the NEW conference line. If you don’t have free long distance on your phone, call Joyce 412-521-4385 or Peggy 412-683-6070 at least one hour ahead, one of them can tap you in.
The conversation doesn’t have to be Bold related. We are trying to have only one person talk at a time after the initial 5 minutes. Note that the board meeting is now private because we have the chat sessions. The moderators are:
Veronique on March 16, 7pm Terri on March 23, 7pm
Joyce on March 30, 7pm
Peggy on April 6, 6:30pm, followed by the board meeting which is private.
Tammi on April 13, 7pm Nancy on April 20, 7pm
Penny on April 27, 7pm.
Monday April 5, 2021 07:00 PM, Western Pennsylvania BOLD meets Southeastern Wisconsin BOLD, Join in a conversation with the members of the only other BOLD organization that still exists from contact with Aspen BOLD. We will be using their zoom by internet on a computer or as a phone call.
Join Zoom Meeting with the ZOOM APP on your computer or smart device - One click and you are in
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
OR BY PHONE AT 929 205 6099 and Enter the Meeting ID: 814 6607 0331 followed by the pound sign. The hosts are Ray Tweedale and Nancy Leverett and we will follow our usual chat call procedure of calling in and giving your name. Then the hosts will take turns calling on their members to talk.
Monday April 19, 7:00 pm on the NEW conference line: BINGO, callers Bruce and Nancy Leverett, If you need a BINGO card in braille or large print contact Nancy at 412-561-3972 soon to allow time for mailing.
Looking ahead to Monday May 9, 7pm on the NEW conference line: Mother’s Day themed story/poem/recipe evening, facilitated by Terri Winaught. Please call Terri 412-263-2022 by May 2 so she can plan the evening.
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
PITTSBURGH OPERA
NOTE about Pittsburgh Opera’s 2020-2021 season:
Pittsburgh Opera plans to present two chamber operas at the opera headquarters at 2425 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Strip District during Spring 2021. Very strict safety protocols will be in place, including social distancing and mask wearing by all patrons, staff, artists, and orchestra members. Each of the operas will be shorter than 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Please note the new contact person to call for tickets: Mark Marston, Manager of Audience Services, extension 216.
Audio Commentary
Pittsburgh Opera will offer the Audio Commentary service at the opera headquarters for each opera on the second Tuesday performance at 7:00 pm. Limited numbers of $12 tickets are available; call Mark Marston at 412-281-0912 extension 216.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 Charlie Parker’s Yardbird
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 (NEW DATE) Semele
Each opera will also be livestreamed free of charge on both Pittsburgh Opera’s YouTube channel and Facebook page at the Friday 7:30 pm performance, which is four days before the Audio Commentary performance.
Sensory Workshops
Pittsburgh Opera will offer a Sensory Workshop for each opera via Zoom on Sundays from 4:00–5:00 pm. Call Marilyn Egan at 724-612-1661 to register and get the Zoom dial-in phone numbers.
Sunday, April 18, 2021 Charlie Parker’s Yardbird
Sunday, May 16, 2021 (NEW DATE) Semele
Pittsburgh Opera will continue to offer emailed Study Guides and Audio Study Guides for each opera. To access the Audio Study Guide, dial 412-281-0912 extension 266.
Brown bag workshops: TBA
Library events:
Third Thursday of the month, Book Club by Library for the Blind, led by Katie Jackson and Angela Woodard on zoom or phone. Reserve by calling 800-242-0586 or email them at lbph@carnegielibrary.org
They will contact you by phone or email with the Zoom invite information or phone number a few days before the book club date. In the meantime, please let them know if you need a copy of a book so they can mail it to you as soon as possible. Upcoming books are:
- March 18th: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (DB 89743)
- April 15th: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (DB 100531)
- May 20th: An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma (DB 93757)
- June 17th: Deacon King Kong by James McBride (DB 98819)
BOLD BITS
Get well wishes to JR Wilson!
Ceinwen would like to express her thanks to Bold for get well wishes written by Peggy on behalf of everybody in Bold, in her words: “I would like to thank everyone for the braille letter I received as a get well wish for my recent bout with covid. I was truly touched and surprised by such a heart-felt expression of kindness. Now I have only a few lingering headaches as a souvenir of the ordeal, and a sore arm from my first dose of covid vaccine.”
Happy Birthday to Carrie Fisher, Ray Jablonowski, Jim Wiseman, Larry Wiseman, and anyone else with an April birthday.
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE about Joyce’s BOLD history by Terri Winaught
When long time board member Joyce Driben gave a thorough presentation on February 22, 2021, she told us that the BOLD board was formed in 1974 to teach blind people to ski. The club became incorporated as a nonprofit in 1977 and has significantly expanded since then. Joyce said: "What really helped me on this call was talking to long-time Bold members who were also some of our founders". Just as Bold has transformed and thrived for 47 years, here's hoping that Bold will thrive for 47 and more.
THE END