WCW2-21

happening this month
Celebrates its
35 TH ANNIVERSARY
This not-for-profit, educational organization offers
more than 175 non-credit courses and programs
to adults. To mark its anniversary, celebrations
are set for February and March including the
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe who will celebrate
in a performance on March 12
FOR 35 YEARS, area visitors and
residents have cultivated their passion
for learning at the Longboat
Key Education Center. The Center
offers a rich range of programs, including
lecture series, performing arts series, film
festivals, book clubs, concerts, theatrical
performances, and more. It’s open from
mid-October to mid-April and features fall,
winter and spring terms.
These programs are presented by some
of the region’s most accomplished academics,
entrepreneurs, inventors, and authors
from nearly every field of interest.
“We tap the extraordinary expertise of
the residents who live in the area,” says
Susan Goldfarb, the center’s executive director.
“We’re surrounded by world-class talent
and many choose to share their knowledge
to enrich the lives of our students.”
Goldfarb has led the organization for
the last 25 years, growing it to 175 classes
taught by more than 135 teachers, performers,
and lecturers. More than 500 members
support the organization, and that
support has never been more essential
than during the yearlong pandemic.
“We had to move quickly, and we did,”
says Goldfarb. “We now offer 95 percent
of our classes online. It was an enormous
and expensive endeavor, but we made it
happen with the support of our membership
and funding from the CARES Act. Our
devoted students count on us every year—
and they were always our first priority.
While we miss the in-person camaraderie
(we would see 500 students a day in season
before the pandemic), we don’t let that
discourage us. We know these restrictions
are only temporary, and still plan to celebrate
our 35th anniversary in high style!”
Although the pandemic significantly
impacted The Center’s program delivery,
it didn’t diminish the longstanding quality
of its courses and events. Its 2021 winter
lecture series still features intellectually
compelling explorations of politics, sociological
phenomenon, history, culture,
religion, and philosophy. Winter offerings
include “The 2020s — The Most Disruptive
Decade in History,” “Presidential Abuse of
Power is Not New,” “Intelligence and the
Presidency,” and “Mark Twain’s Pandemics
and Politics.” Explorations into the
human condition include “How We Think:
Exploring the Mechanisms of the Mind,”
the Biblical Experience of Sickness and
Healing,” and “What Makes Us Human?”
“Friday at 5,” “ In the Spotlight,”
and “Theatre Showcase,” the
Center’s popular performing arts
series, showcases intimate performances
by regionally based
musicians, actors, playwrights, and
entertainers, including Thomas
Carabasi (“Samba Meets Jazz” on
February 19); and David Polansky
(“Fifty+ Years of Broadway” on
March 5) and Katherine Michelle
Tanner (“Shakespeare’s Lovers”
on February 5).
In celebration of its 35th anniversary,
the Center is presenting
two special performances. “Romance
on the Riviera,” on Friday, February
12, showcases soprano Joy Leitner and
tenor Robert Lischetti performing some of
the world’s most romantic music by Puccini,
Faure, Debussy, Verdi, and other great
composers. The Westcoast Black Theatre
Troupe (WBTT) will present a custom performance
written and directed by WBTT
founder and artistic director Nate Jacobs
on Friday, March 12. Tickets per event
range from $20 for members and $30 for
non-members. These programs will be
offered both via Zoom and in-person with
limited attendance and strict adherence
to pandemic protocol. Register online at
www.lbkeducationcenter.org; email info@
lbkeducationcenter.org; or
call (941) 383-8811.
The Center’s winter courses continue
through April and program registration
is ongoing.
The Longboat Key Education Center,
5370 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite 212 at The
Centre Shops in Longboat Key. For more
information, visit www.lbkeducationcenter.
org or call 941-383-8811.
MENTAL WORKOUTS:
The True
Fountain of Youth
Active aging means far more than physical
activity. You also need to exercise your
brain. “The dogma for the longest time
was that adult brains couldn’t generate
any new brain cells. You just use what
you were born with,” says Dr. Amar Sahay,
a neuroscientist with Harvard-affiliated
Massachusetts General Hospital, in a recent
The Science Times article. “But the
reality is that everyone has the capacity to
Susan
Goldfarb,
executive
director
develop new cells that can help enhance
cognitive functions.” The best way to do
that? “Anything that makes you focus your
attention,” said Dr. Sahay. “Having engaging
conversations or learning new topics promotes
neuronal growth.”
The importance of lifelong mental engagement
led Laura and Frank Taubes to
establish The Longboat Key Education
Center in 1985. The Taubes were part-time
residents of Longboat Key at the time.
According to Goldfarb, “Laura fervently
believed that ongoing education keeps the
mind active and the spirit young.” She adds
that the couple bought and renovated the
building that now houses The Longboat
Observer. “The Taubes moved to the Centre
Shops of Longboat Key in the early 1990s
because it offered more square footage,
parking and an elevator, which they wanted
to provide for handicapped students.”
In 1986, Goldfarb began part-time work
for The Center, and managed its marketing
and public relations activities. After
several years, she left to pursue full-time
employment as pr and marketing director
of the Sarasota Ballet and Michael Saunders
& Company, continuing to refine her
marketing expertise. In 1997, Laura Taubes
approached Goldfarb with the proposal
of appointing her executive director of
the Center. “I loved The Center with the
same passion that Laura and Frank had
when they founded it,” says Goldfarb. “It’s
been my distinct pleasure to steward and
grow the organization in a way that I hope
would make them proud.”
ABOUT
The Longboat Key
Education Center
The Longboat Key
Education Center provides
education and recreation
to residents of and winter visitors to
Longboat Key, and neighboring areas
in Sarasota and Manatee counties. It
offers more than 175 programs divided
into three terms: Fall (Oct/Nov/Dec),
Winter ( Jan/Feb), and Spring (March/
April). Classes meet once a week for
two, four or eight weeks, depending
on the course. There is also a lecture
series and a performing arts series that
can be attended on a one-time basis,
Saturday workshops and guided daylong
trips to points of interest throughout
Southwest Florida (popular field
trips and daytrips have been suspended
for 2021 due to the pandemic).
The center is in operation from
mid-October to mid-April. Its courses
and other programs appeal to many
diverse interests and range from yoga,
Qigong, and bridge to opera, foreign
affairs, film festivals and book clubs. All
courses are non-credit, and there are
no prerequisites for admission.
For more information, visit
www.lbkeducationcenter.org.
Pandemic protocol applies to all
in-person programs. Registrants will
be provided with information.
PAID ADVERTORIAL
14 WEST COAST WOMAN FEBRUARY 2021