Class is in at the Longboat Key Education Center

Susan Goldfarb spends a lot of time thinking about what classes and programs to offer at the Longboat Key Education Center.

With about 175 programs ready for the upcoming year, Goldfarb, director of the education center, said about two-thirds of those are new.

“It’s a fun season,” she said. “I get all excited about it. I basically spend every breathing moment thinking about what kind of courses we could have at this school that would be exciting.”

The fall season begins Oct. 16. From culinary aromatherapy to the great outdoors, there is a wide variety of classes. Even classes previously offered feature new components. The movie classes, for example, will feature new titles that haven’t been discussed before. Classic favorites such as yoga and bridge are still offered, but Goldfarb says she tries to stay fresh from season to season and not repeat lesson plans and teaching approaches.

“Everyone’s pretty much on board that lifelong learning, as our motto says, keeps the spirit young and the mind 

active, so these people love that [they] are learning, because they are in company with other people.”

 

— Susan Goldfarb

“I try not to do that because I have so many people who come back year after year that it’s not going to be fun for them to be seeing the same old stuff,” she said.

Inspiration for new classes comes from various places. Take for example the workshop entitled “De-Stressing for the Holidays: Spa For the Spirit.”

While walking around the Ca’ d’Zan one day, Goldfarb heard a woman speaking French. Goldfarb speaks French, so she struck up a conversation with the woman to practice her conversational skills. It turns out the woman meditates, and Goldfarb insisted the woman teach a fall retreat to help people get through the stress of the holidays.

And new classes aim to reach new audiences.

To fill the void left by the summer closing of the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, “Drawing: Make your Mark in this World,” will take the first steps in teaching students how to draw. Through hands-on drawing and discussions, students will discover the concepts and techniques of artists.

Other new fall classes and workshops include “Brown Bag Bijou: Hidden Gems,” “Enjoying the Great Outdoors: An Insider’s Guide to Longboat Key and Nearby Recreational Areas,” “Culinary Aromatherapy,” “Yoga for Bone Health & Yoga Nidra — Two Back-to-Back Workshops,” “De-Stressing for the Holidays: Spa For the Spirit,” “Basic Buddhism” and “Fun and Easy Entertaining for the Holidays.”

Although the fall is a slower season than the winter, the crowd that the education center draws holds a similar belief no matter the time of year, Goldfarb said.

“Everyone’s pretty much on board that lifelong learning, as our motto says, keeps the spirit young and the mind active, so these people love that [they] are learning, because they are in company with other people,” she said. “They learn things from other people.”

All workshops and classes are held at the Longboat Key Education Center in the Centre Shops of Longboat Key, 5370 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite 212. For information and class schedules, visit lbkeducationcenter.org.