BOLD welcomes persons 18 and older with all degrees of vision: blind, low vision, partially sighted and fully sighted.
February 2015 newsletter
02-15 BOLD VENTURES
(Blind Outdoor Leisure Development) February, 2015
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
Terri Winaught, Editor
Email: boldwpa@gmail.com
Website: www.wpabold.blogspot.com
Yahoo Group: wpabold@yahoogroups.com (moderator must approve posts)
Update Line: 1-773-597-4222 (updates recorded each Friday)
FABULOUS FEBRUARY
February's Board meeting will be on Tuesday the 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30 PM (address in the calendar along with reservationists, deadlines, and contact info for all February events).
Other February activities are: Mall Walking on Wednesdays the 4th and 18th; Yoga every Thursday; Skiing on Sundays the 1st and 22nd; and a variety of cultural events.
An additional Yoga item is thanking Peggy Walsh, who took reservations briefly in January for Veronique.
A new activity being introduced is walking at Ross Park Mall in the North Hills the first Thursday of the month. The Sunday before by 9 PM is always the reservation deadline with Andrea Schwartz: 724-444-0064. When signing up, ask Andrea about the meeting place at Ross Park and the starting time. (This additional walk is a collaboration between BOLD and the Friendship Group.)
PAST EVENTS
Nancy Leverett reported that skiing, which includes the December 21st 2014 Downhill Clinic, has been going well. As always, we would love more blind skiers and more sighted guides. A member of the University of Pittsburgh Lions Club spoke at January's Board meeting and offered to try recruiting both skiers and guides.
LOOKING AHEAD
March's Board meeting will be on Tuesday the 3rd, and April's Board meeting will be on Tuesday the 7th.
The Sundays in March when skiing will be held are the 8th and the 22nd. The 22nd also ends the ski season.
On Sunday the 29th, Ray Jablonowski will bring fun and festivity to BOLD attendees and guests by hosting a party at his Greenfield home: 4551 Parade Street, Pittsburgh, 15207. With the reservationist and deadline yet to be determined, phone the Update Line closer to the date, 1-773-597-4222, and see March's newsletter.
The ever-popular Camp Kon-o-Kwee Weekend will be Friday, April 24th, to Sunday the 26th.
In addition to taking reservations, Joyce Driben will also be coordinating the transportation. As Reservationist, Joyce will need the following: whether you are a first-time camper; whether you have dietary needs, special mobility issues or both; and whether you take medication. If you take medicine, Kon-o-Kwee staff needs to know what you take, the dose, and number of times each day. If anyone forgets to give Joyce the above info, Peggy Walsh will be making follow-up calls. See March's BOLD Ventures and call the Update Line, 1-773-597-4222, closer to Kono-Kwee's date for the cost and sign-up deadline. One aspect of the cost that we do know is that the camp is charging a small increase, so our charge, though minimal, will reflect that.
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
It Was a Hearty Party
by Terri Winaught
When BOLD sponsored our annual Holiday Party on December 20th, 2014, there were 36 BOLD members and 4 guests, which was the best holiday event attendance we have had for years. (This Editor would be interested to know if hosting a party during the day made the positive difference.)
The people who helped by driving, guiding, serving, setting up, cleaning up, selling raffle tickets, or with many of those tasks were: Don Ciccone, Ethel Deiuliis (a guest), Devon Evans, Missy Folmer, Missy's sister (also a guest), Zacchary, Penny Fleckensteine's son, Susan Jeffreys (a guest), Ray Jablonowski, Veronique Schreurs, Tim (an AmeriCorps KEYS volunteer), Stu Weissmann, and Jim Winaught. (What would BOLD do without so many friendly, helpful arms?)
In addition to helping hands, friendly fellowship and food to please most any palate, there was also a successful raffle to be discussed in Fundraising Facts.
The way we BOLD members like to eat, laugh, get together, and have fun, here's hoping that December 20th 2014 will inspire many more "hearty parties."
To be interviewed for a Personal Perspective or to submit one you have written, phone 412-263-2022, or e-mail t.winaught@verizon.net.
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
On Tuesday February 10th, the Tuesday Music Club will perform at Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church: 5801 Hampton Street, in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood. Info: 412-682-0439, and www.tuesdaymusicalclub.org.
Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th will be part of a February weekend that will just clamor with the richness of culture, especially for Pittsburgh Opera lovers.
On Saturday the 14th, enjoy your favorite brown bag lunch to the trained voices of Pittsburgh Opera's rising stars with the time and address in the calendar.
On Sunday the 15th, the Pittsburgh Opera will host Opera Up Close, which costs $5, and a free sensory workshop for persons who are blind or have limited eyesight. When using the information in the calendar to mark your place with Marilyn Egan, let her know if you will attend Opera Up Close, the sensory workshop, or both. Also let Marilyn know if you will need the sighted guide assistance which will be provided upon request.
Also on Sunday, February 15th, the City Theatre will present Mr. Joy, a play for which audio description and Braille programs will be made available as needed.
Finally, the Opera Sumeida's Song will be presented at Pittsburgh Opera's Headquarters on Tuesday the 24th.
FUNDRAISING FACTS
With help from several Holiday partygoers mentioned in Personal Perspective, $114 worth of 50/50 raffle tickets were sold. Ethel Deiuliis, Penny Fleckenstein's guest, and a friend of this Editor, won $57, and the remaining $57 went to BOLD's Treasury.
Our next Fundraiser will be on Saturday, March 14th, from 1 to 5 PM. Held in the Liberty Room at One Smithfield Street, this event will be a Happy BOLD Day party and talent show, the cost of which will be a donation of $5, $10, or more per person according to affordability and willingness. Since Terry Lane from the Department of Human Services needs to know a week in advance how many people we will have, the sign-up deadline with Terri Winaught, 412-263-2022, will be Friday, March 6th by 3 PM.
When planning or signing up for the Talent Show, thank you in advance for following the guidelines listed below:
1. To have accompaniment to any singing, you will need to bring someone or an instrument on which you can accompany yourself. Other than what performers provide, no instruments are available at the Human Services Building.
2. BOLD has many talented performers, including pianists, keyboardists, accordion players, flutists, other instrumentalists, and singers. So that each of these diverse talents gets to be showcased and shine, we ask that each presenter limit his or her performance to 5 minutes. To keep acts from exceeding that limit, we will have a timekeeper.
BOLD BITS
In January's newsletter, this Editor gave the incorrect date for that month's Lutheran Center meal, for which she apologizes.
February's meal will be from 5 PM to 7 PM on Saturday the 28th. To attend, sign up with Sherri Crum, 412-682-1800, by 6 PM on Thursday the 26th.
BOLD member Pat McCloskey provides the following link to his blog and invites you to check it out: http://chroniclesofmccloskey.com. Fun stuff about skiing, cycling and other outdoor frivolities. Be a follower. (This blog site will be in this column each month.)
Congratulations to Penny Fleckenstein, who recently began writing a "how-to" column for Consumer Vision Magazine.
Terri Winaught's new cell phone number is 412-720-8261.
Happy Birthday to Sherri Crum, Kirsten Ervin, Maurice Johnston, Mitch, Missy Folmer's fiance, Aimee Yunt, and anyone else with a February birthday.
If you have a BOLD Bit, bring it to a Board meeting, phone 412-263-2022, or e-mail t.winaught@verizon.net. Also feel free to use this information to give the Editor newsletter feedback.
JANUARY CALENDAR
Note: To save space, reservationists and contact info will be given just once.
Tuesday the 27th: the Opera Rodelinda starting at 7 PM at CAPA: 111 9th Street, Downtown, 15222. For tickets, phone Randy Adams: 412-281-0912, x213, before the performance. Each ticket costs $10. Tuesday the 27th is also the 9 PM deadline for Downhill Skiing with Dom Ceresa and yoga with Veronique Schreurs. Dom's number is 724-527-1857, and Veronique's number is 412-225-4038.
Thursday the 29th: Yoga at Schoolhouse Studio, 2215-17 Murray Avenue, and Mall Walking sign-up deadline with Joyce Driben: 412-521-4385.
Saturday the 31st: Downhill Skiing cancellation deadline by 8 PM with Dom Ceresa.
FEBRUARY CALENDAR
Sunday the 1st: Skiing at Seven Springs from 9 AM to 3 PM. Sunday the 1st is also the 9 PM Ross Park Mall Walking deadline with Andrea Schwartz, 724-444-0064, and the 10 PM deadline to inform Tammi Swiantek if you will be at February's Board meeting: 412-488-6298.
Tuesday the 3rd: Board meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children: 201 North Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15213. Tuesday the 3rd is also the 9 PM deadline to sign up for Yoga with Veronique Schreurs.
Wednesday the 4th: Mall Walking at the Monroeville Mall, starting at 9 AM and meeting at the food court entrance.
Thursday the 5th: Mall Walking at the Ross Park Mall from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. This mall is on McKnight Road in the North Hills.
Thursday the 5th is also when Yoga will be taught at Schoolhouse Yoga: 2215-17 Murray Avenue, Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, 15217.
Tuesday the 10th: 12:30 PM Tuesday Music Club concert at Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church: 5801 Hampton Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Tuesday the 10th is also the 9 PM Yoga sign-up deadline with Veronique Schreurs.
Wednesday the 11th: 5 PM deadline to let Marilyn Egan know that you want to attend Opera Up Close, the sensory workshop for persons who are blind or have vision loss, or both Opera events. Phone 412-281-0912, x242.
Thursday the 12th: Yoga at Schoolhouse Studio, and 9 PM Mall Walking deadline with Joyce Driben.
Saturday the 14th: Brown Bag Lunch Series from noon to 1 PM at Pittsburgh Opera's Headquarters: 2425 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh's Strip District. (This recital is free.)
Sunday the 15th: Joy will be presented at the Pittsburgh City Theatre: 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, 15203. To order tickets and for more info, phone the Box Office at: 412-431-4900. The play starts at 2 PM and is preceded by a 1 PM sensory workshop for persons who are blind or partially sighted.
Sunday the 15th is also when the Pittsburgh Opera will present Opera Up Close at a cost of $5 per person, from 2 to 4 PM, followed by a free sensory workshop from 4 to 6. The sensory workshop is for the upcoming opera Sumeida.
Tuesday the 17th: 9 PM deadline with Veronique Schreurs to sign up for Yoga, and 9 PM deadline to sign up with Dom Ceresa for Downhill Skiing.
Wednesday the 18th: Mall Walking at the Monroeville Mall.
Thursday the 19th: Yoga at Schoolhouse Studio in Squirrel Hill.
Saturday the 211st: 8 PM Downhill Skiing cancellation deadline with Dom Ceresa.
Sunday the 22nd: Downhill Skiing at Seven Springs.
Tuesday the 24th: Summeida's Song will be performed at Pittsburgh Opera's Headquarters, starting at 7 PM. Tuesday the 24th is also the 9 PM deadline to mark your place with Veronique Schreurs for Yoga.
Thursday the 26th: Yoga at Squirrel Hill's Schoolhouse Studio, and the 9 PM deadline to sign up with Joyce Driben for Mall Walking.
Thank you for your hard work on BOLD newsletters to Maurice Johnston, Marty Mathews, Veronique Schreurs, and the Braille Outreach Team, which Tina Wassermann so capably leads.
THE END