“ This playhouse was designed so well for theater and music performances and lectures,” Heather said.“ It’ s a more intimate, friendly setting than a big hall, and people like the fact that they can meet the performers during intermission.”
Last December, El Toro hosted the T Sisters, a trio of songstress / musicians from Oakland who charmed the audience with a blend of country, folk and rock tunes.
According to attendee John Fletcher of Morgan Hill,“ We first saw the T Sisters at the Aromas Grange, and we love their lively, spirited performances. They write a lot of their own material and it’ s quite good.”
“ I thoroughly enjoyed this concert,” Jackie Gomes said.“ It was my first time seeing the T Sisters, but not my first El Toro event. Each sister held her own and their harmony and musicianship were very impressive.”
During intermission, the playhouse lobby was humming with conversations as attendees enjoyed champagne, compliments of Guglielmo Winery, along with coffee from Coffee Guys and gourmet treats from Lawson’ s Bakery— all served up by volunteers and city staffers.
Among the patrons was local resident, water district exec and amateur actor, John Varela.
“ My wife Vivian and I were invited to attend by Adam Escoto. He’ s over there pouring the wine! We’ re really enjoying this event and looking forward to seeing what this club has lined up for 2018. We’ ll definitely be telling friends about it.”
El Toro Social Club has Sunday concerts lined up between April and December 2018. Ideas for new programming and connections with entertainers are welcomed. Membership is free. Events often feature foods, wines and crafts from local vendors, and event tickets are reasonably priced.
South County Lifelong Learning
Scientists and medical experts tell us that being socially engaged and learning new things helps us keep our brains healthy. And besides that, it’ s fun.
As 2017 came to a close, South County Lifelong Learning wrapped up a great year of programming by treating attendees to a thought-provoking talk on Astronomy by Bill Hudson, a Gilroy resident, frequent presenter at Fremont Peak Observatory, and self-described“ astro geek.”
He kicked off his presentation by clearing up the ongoing confusion about Pluto( yes, it really is a planet). He took the audience back to the dark days of the Spanish Inquisition when Galileo was imprisoned as a heretic because he said the Earth was not, in fact, the center of the universe.
Morgan Hill resident Pat Ryll said,“ I’ ve been coming to these presentations for about four months, and I love learning. This talk was fantastic, and the hands-on demonstrations helped me better understand just how big the universe is.”
George Shamback agreed.“ There’ s so much we don’ t know. It’ s like peeling
an onion, there’ s always another layer, more to learn. Astronomy reminds us we can’ t discount the possibility of other life forms out there. All this isn’ t just an accident. There’ s a purpose, an architect of all this.”
Hudson helped attendees grasp the vastness of the Milky Way with a model he called“ the Birdseed Galaxy.” Hint: how many bird seeds does it take to fill a football stadium? He wrapped up by predicting that“ we’ ll probably see the first sign of extraterrestrial life in some microscopic form.”
Other 2017 programs touched on far-ranging subjects including: life in a remote Tibetan village, a history of underwear( you read that right), a remembrance of columnist Erma Bombeck, aging and the immune system, and a CSI’ s view of forensics.
Volunteer Donna Weisblatt has been instrumental in putting together the South County Lifelong Learning program.“ We run the program with support from the Morgan Hill Senior Center. It gets people out and encourages social interaction so they don’ t become isolated. We like to say the secret to life is to keep moving and keep learning.”
Weisblatt said the 2018 program will host a wildlife biologist in February, a woman engineer in April, and Morgan Hill’ s intrepid hiker and author Ron Erskine will showcase hiking trails and parks later in the year. Presentations are hosted at various venues provided by the City of Morgan Hill and are open to the public.
South County Lifelong Learning
Upcoming Classes
April 19“ Digital Media: Animation- How Do They Do That?” Instructor: Phil Williams
April 26
“ My Life as a Green Beret: Unconventional Warfare in Afghanistan’ s Pech Valley.” Instructor: Ron Fry
May 17“ Overview of FBI: How It Works in Our Communities.” Instructor: FBI Special Agents
May 24“ Cyber Security: So You Think You’ re Too Smart to be Scammed!” Instructor: FBI Special Agents
More information on additional classes: eltorosc. com
The T Sisters( Photo: Kirk Stauffer)
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN APRIL / MAY 2018 gmhtoday. com
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