Please be aware that program activities and scheduled times could change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
WELCOME RECEPTION: Join us for coffee and snacks from 3:30-5:00pm and begin getting to know your fellow participants and the program staff.Dinner: Dinner is at 6:00pm in the lodge, buffet style with an eclectic flair, offering a variety of selections with healthy choices including a vegetarian option plus coffee, tea, and dessert.Evening: ORIENTATION: 7:15pm. We will begin with introductions, then review the updated schedule and any changes, cover responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer any questions you may have.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW: We begin our examination of ancient and modern Chinese history, culture, and arts with a discussion of "I Ching" as the organizing principle for the week. What is the "I Ching"? Also known as “The Book of Changes,” it is one of the oldest classic Chinese texts, dating to before 1,000 B.C. The “I Ching” is essentially a book of wisdom that contains a system for predicting the future. It is centered on ideas such as the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change.
Weather permitting during the program, there will be free time opportunities, usually in the afternoons, for boat rides, swimming in the lake, canoeing, hiking.Lodging: Pilgrim PinesMeals Included: Dinner
Our morning break will include coffee, tea, water, fruit, and homemade Danish to renew your energy.
WORKSHOP: Collage Pages. The “I Ching” text is a set of statements represented by 64 sets of six lines, each called hexagrams. Each hexagram is a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines, with each line either or Yin (broken, an open line with a gap in the center) or Yang (an unbroken, or solid line). There are 64 possible combinations. The hexagram diagram consists two three-line arrangements called trigrams. There are eight possible trigrams. Using the structure of and the eight trigrams, an expert will lead a workshop on making collage pages to be bound in a book at the conclusion of the week.Lunch: Lunch is an inviting buffet in the Mayflower Dining Room with choices of a full salad bar, soup of the day and taco salad and or sandwich, brownies or cookies, and drinks of your choosing. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Afternoon: WORKSHOP: Led by a Chinese calligrapher, participants will have the opportunity to build their brush skills each day. Appropriately, we begin this day with basic strokes.Dinner: Dinner is at 6:00pm in the Mayflower Dining Room. After announcements and a blessing, a full dinner buffet awaits to please your palate with a salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, dessert, and beverages. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Evening: EVENING PROGRAM & ACTIVITIES: You will have an opportunity to view a Chinese or other Asian movie such as "Kuraswa's Dreams.” The evening will conclude with a light snacks in the Dining Room along with opportunities to converse, build a puzzle, watch TV, read, or join in a table game.Lodging: Pilgrim PinesMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
COLLAGE WORKSHOP: Under expert guidance, make a collage page on Early and Later Heaven maps. Early Heaven relates to the model of the Universe in its perfect, ideal state where everything and every element is balanced in perfect harmony. Later Heaven realizes that change is the only constant in life and the Universe.Lunch: Lunch is an inviting buffet in the Mayflower Dining Room with choices of a full salad bar, soup of the day and taco salad and or sandwich, brownies or cookies, and drinks of your choosing. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Afternoon: Under the tutelage of a Chinese calligrapher, enjoy this opportunity to "do" words and poetry.Dinner: Dinner is at 6:00pm in the Mayflower Dining Room. After announcements and a blessing, a full dinner buffet awaits to please your palate with a salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, dessert, and beverages. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Evening: 7:15pm - Entertainment TBA. You may also tak time to work on your personal collage pages.Lodging: Pilgrim PinesMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The morning break will include coffee, tea, water, fruit and muffins to help renew your energy.
COLLAGE WORKSHOP: Under expert guidance, make a collage page, 64 hexagrams and consulting the I Ching.Lunch: 12:30-1:15pm - Lunch is a buffet the Mayflower Dining Room with delicious choices from the salad bar, homemade soup, choice of cold cuts for sandwiches, dessert, and choice of drinks. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Afternoon: EXCURSION: Cathedral of the Pines. We will hop aboard our maxi-vans for a guided exploration of this beautiful, open-air place of meditation and worship for people of all faiths, situated on a hilltop with a panoramic view of the Grand Monadnock. It was the vision of the founders — who created it as a memorial to their son and others who lost their lives in World War II — that a spirit of interfaith unity, mutual respect, and understanding would help bring world peace. Monuments honor the service of American men and women, both military and civilian.Dinner: Dinner is at 6:00pm in the Mayflower Dining Room. After announcements and a blessing, a full dinner buffet awaits to please your palate with a salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, dessert, and beverages. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Evening: CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY Our Chinese Calligrapher will instruct participants in the exercise, Painting the Gentlemen. The “gentlemen” of Chinese brush painting are the plum blossom, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and orchid.
The day closes with a light snack in the dining room along with opportunities for conversation, games, etc.Lodging: Pilgrim PinesMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A coffee break features homemade donuts.
COLLAGE WORKSHOP: Under expert leadership, make a collage page, commentaries, mandalas, and begin the process of binding your book.Lunch: 12:30-1:15pm - Lunch is a buffet the Mayflower Dining Room with delicious choices from the salad bar, homemade soup, choice of cold cuts for sandwiches, dessert, and choice of drinks. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.)Afternoon: COMPOSITION WORKSHOP: Our Chinese Calligrapher will lead a session on composition. Studio time will be focused on the process of binding your book.Dinner: Dinner is at 6:00pm in the Mayflower Dining Room. After announcements and a blessing, a full dinner buffet awaits to please your palate with a salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, and beverages. (Gluten free or special vegetarian options are available upon advance request in your Personal Information Form.) No dessert on the menu this evening as we will be making our own sundaes following the Homespun program.Evening: EXTRACURRICULAR: Delight in an Art Show presented by the watercolor artists in another Road Scholar program on campus. Then, come back to the Studio to share your books, experiences, and close the evening with “Homespun” where participants share a song, story, joke, writing, etc., with one another.
We close the evening making our own ice cream sundaes.Lodging: Pilgrim PinesMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Participants will be invited for coffee and a final session with a calligrapher to make a "chop."
Check-out will be mid-morning in order for the housekeeping staff to prepare for weekend guests.Lunch: Our farewell lunch at 12:15 pm will again feature our full buffet with box lunches available upon request. The program concludes with lunch.
We hope you have enjoyed this immersion into ancient and modern Chinese history, culture, and arts, and hope you will join us for other rewarding Road Scholar learning adventures in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch