Happy April to all of you! 

Hello, HCAA members!  Did you know that our HCAA chapter is 30 years old this year?  Some of you have been active members for almost that long --- and we appreciate you!  We appreciate all of you, whether you've been a member for 30 years or 30 days, and we hope to reconnect with you at an event or gathering this year.

One of the events where you'll see a number of fellow HCAA members at is Harper's HEART Day retiree reunion in the Wojcik Dining room on April 18th, from 1:30 to 3:30. (Call 847-925-6468, or email kmeyer@harpercollege.edu to RSVP).  HCAA has donated to the Harper Educational Foundation for a number of years now, and just like last year, we're challenging our fellow retirees to make a donation as well. We're hoping to be able to raise enough to match our $500 donation.  The link to donate is here . . .Harper College Giving Day 
  

But whether you make a donation or not, we hope to see you at the retiree reunion!

Thank you!  Here's to our 30 years, and to 30 more!
Kathy

Happy 30th Anniversary HCAA!
 

HCAA SOCIAL EVENTS

New and exciting events to attend this spring season. 
Mark your calendar to meet fellow Harper friends and
enjoy catching up on news plus enjoying the activity!
-- Jaci

RAVINIA

We are still waiting to hear from Ravinia about tickets!
The lineup was recently released so we should be hearing from them soon.
When we know, you'll know! 

 

HCAA BOOK CLUB

  April 3, 2024 at 3:00pm on ZOOM
  The book is Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea.
 

Please contact Jaci Carroll (jaci6820@yahoo.com) if you are new to the book club and  interested in attending. A ZOOM link will be sent to you a day or two before the discussion.

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 12:00pm.   

Located at 740 Wiley Farm Court, Schaumburg 60173

"Feed My Starving Children is a leading anti-hunger non-profit organization delivering food and other critical resources to children and families. Our mission is to provide hope and resources for those without life's essentials." 
This is a very rewarding plus fun event to attend. Participation requires a 2 hour commitment. 

We still have several openings for volunteers!
Please let Jaci (jaci6820@yahoo.com) know if you can attend by  April 7.

HCAA BREAKFAST OUTING:

May 8th 10:30a.m. at Gerry’s Café in Arlington Heights
1802 N. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS ROAD, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS

"Changing lives one cup at a time." 
All work is done by employees twenty-two and older, with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 
Please let Jaci (jaci6820@yahoo.com) know if you can attend. 

Harper Happenings

  I've included several of the Harper Happenings events here but there is so much more available! 
Just click on the Harper Happenings text above for a complete list. 

 Harper Author Series Book Reading 

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 

12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. 

Library Performance Space, Building F, Room F226 

• Sandra Marchetti, Assistant Manager, Academic Support Center, will read from Aisle 228, her book of poems about the Chicago Cubs, listening to baseball on the radio, and attending games with her father. The book also highlights milestones across baseball in the past 70 years and culminates in the Cubs 2016 World Series win.
   
• Jim Edstrom, Professor, Resources for Learning, will read from his award winning book, Avenues of Transformation: Illinois’s Path from Territory to State, which tells the story of the Prairie State’s admission to the Union in 1818, as guided and conducted by territorial leaders such as Daniel Pope Cook, Nathaniel Pope, and Elias Kent Kane. Avenues of Transformation is the recipient of the Russell P. Strange Memorial Book Award from the Illinois State Historical Society as 2023’s “Book of the Year.”

Eclipse at Harper

Monday, April 8, 2024 

Austrian filmmaker Thomas Antonic will screen and answer questions about One More Step West Is the Sea, his award-winning film about ruth weiss (lower-cased on purpose), a legendary poet born into an Austrian Jewish family who fled the Nazis and emigrated to the United States in 1939. In the late 1940s and early ’50s she performed her poems in Chicago’s “Art Circle” and in New Orleans’ French Quarter. After hitchhiking across the USA, she ended up in San Francisco’s bohemian quarter of North Beach, and in her 70s finally received the recognition she deserved. Click here for official trailer and more information about the film.

Musical Performances
 Multiple dates and times

Ndere Cultural Experience

Thursday, April 11 2024 

6 p.m. 

Building J Theatre, J143 

The Ndere Troupe is the premier Ugandan cultural organization for universal unity through music, dance and drama. Experience this unique opportunity as The Ndere Troupe prides itself in emphasising commonalities and celebrating cultural rich differences. Free admission!

Click here to enjoy highlights of the 2020 Ndere Troupe visit to Harper College.

This event is sponsored by the Harper College Cultural Arts Committee, the Office of International Education, and the Center for Global Studies at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, through support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI NRC Program.

Masterpiece Mysteries: History Unraveled with Jennifer Scavone – Virtual Event 

Thursday, April 11, 2024 

7 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

There is more to art than what the eye can see. Learn about the role conservation work has played in discovering the underlying secrets behind the showpieces. This program will definitely have you looking at things differently.  Click here and scroll down to attend this virtual event via a WebEx link.

• Dazed and Confused: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., Building E, Room E108 

Student Juried Exhibition 

Artists' Reception: Wednesday, April 24 at 11:30 a.m., in and near the Art Exhibition Space

This annual exhibition will include works in various media and styles by students who have taken art courses throughout the year. Each year a professional artist is invited to jury the student’s submissions and select the work for the show. Awards are provided by the Harper Educational Foundation. Click here for more information or contact Jason Peot, Gallery Director, jpeot@harpercollege.edu.

 

 

 

Student Appreciation Day and Food Truck Festival 
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Harper Quad 

We appreciate you! Student Engagement invites all Harper students to gather in the the Harper Quad for an afternoon of fun, food trucks, and entertainment! Everyone is invited to attend and purchase lunch from a variety of local vendors selling delicious options (cash, credit, and debit cards accepted).
Note: The Cockrell Dining Hall (cafeteria) on the first floor of Building A will be closed on this day.
 

Connect with History: 
Owls as Icons in History
from the Ancient Near East
to the present

 

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 

1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Building J Theater, J143 

 

Through a millennia of nightfalls, many cultures have been looking over their shoulders for owls. In some societies, owls are symbols of wisdom and fertility. In other cultures, their hoots are harbingers of death and doom. Join award-winning naturalist Mark Spreyer as he surveys centuries of contradictory traits assigned to these nocturnal hunters. Emphasis on the cultural symbolism of owls will also be presented. 

Live owls will illustrate just who's who!

For additional information contact Michael Harkins, Associate Professor, Business and Social Sciences mharkins@harpercollege.edu

Click here for expanded information about presenter Mark Spreyer. 

Office of International Education Film Screening: Joyland

 

 

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 

 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.,

Building E, Room E108 

 

Joyland, the 2022 debut film from Saim Sadiq received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. “The debut feature from writer-director Saim Sadiq, Joyland, explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his father, and his elder brother’s family in Lahore, Pakistan. Following a long spell of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque, telling his family he is a theater manager, when in actuality he is a backup dancer. The unusual position shakes up the steadfast traditional dynamics of his household and enables Haider to break out of his shell. As he acclimates to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba (Alina Khan) who runs the show—an unforeseen partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate.” — Oscilloscope Films  

 

Coming in May
Wednesday, May 1, 2024: Ajji 

In Ajji, the 2017 film from Devashish Makhija “A furious Granny battles her horribly failing health, debilitating poverty and the heartbreaking apathy around her, to hunt down, seduce and punish the brutal, powerful rapist of her little granddaughter.” — Makhija Film

Wednesday, May 8, 2024:Blue Sunshine 

Blue Sunshine, is the 2023 debut film from Samyukatha Vijayan (who will be present for the screenings). “Aravind, a high school teacher, wants to transition from male to female while working for a school in a small town in South India. Aravind’s parents do not know that Aravind is already taking hormone treatments for the transition. When his parents force a marriage upon him due to their financial situation, Aravind gains courage under pressure. He starts to live as a woman named Bhanu.” — Film Freeway

 

 

Kathy Hanahan, HCAA President              kathyhanahan@yahoo.com
Jaci Carroll, HCAA Social Event               jaci6820@yahoo.com
Michele Ukleja, HCAA Communications   micheleukleja@gmail.com