Community organizations preparing for spring activities
As Latin music pulsed inside Lost River Elementary School’s gym, several ladies hopped back and forth, doing knee lifts and arm stretches, clapping their hands and incorporating shakes and hip twists – all at Lori Massey’s instruction.
“I like this,” she said.
When thinking of spring, Massey said new beginnings come to mind, a time of year when people tend to get new energy that was lost between Jan. 1 and the beginning of spring. And with spring in the air – and literally around the corner Saturday – many community organizations are blooming with new activities, such as Introduction to Zumba Fitness.
Massey, a fifth-grade teacher at the elementary school, also is a Zumba instructor for Bowling Green Athletic Club. On Mondays, she teaches the ladies inside the elementary school gym to twist their hips for Community Education.
“I love Zumba. It’s fun. It’s what we call exercise in disguise, and it’s the music that drives the class,” she said.
After teaching the class for Community Education in the winter, Massey is again the instructor for the spring term.
“A lot of people … looking for things to do, and Community Education opens eyes to various activities they can do,” she said. “(The classes) are economical and offer a lot of diversity.”
When spring rolls around, Community Education often is busy gearing up for summer programs for kids, the spring term classes and volunteer appreciation.
“We are kicking it into high gear,” said Anne Grubbs, enrichment and volunteer coordinator for Community Education.
From computer classes to home and garden to needlework to recreation and health, Community Education provides adult enrichment classes that appeal to a wide range of people.
“There’s something there for everybody,” she said.
Outdoor classes, such as photography, get people motivated, Grubbs said. New this spring season is the Latin Culture Through Music, Dance and Food, which begins April 22. The three-session class will look at dance techniques from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and some Latin food recipes. Latin cultures also will be discussed, Grubbs said.
Wedding 101, a class that hasn’t been offered recently, is also returning, Grubbs said.
“A wedding planner will do a one-time seminar on wedding planning,” she said. “Not so much a how-to, but the things you should and shouldn’t do.”
Grubbs said there will be new sewing classes and a class on herbs and the immune system, which will begin May 4 and be taught by Mary Hammond, an herbologist new to the area.
“Those who stay active, stay young,” Grubbs said. “People are realizing these are things they can do at a low cost for entertainment and it’s reliable … this is a nonthreatening atmosphere, it’s an easy way to go in and continue learning.”
Some popular classes, such as Zumba, draw people in, then they might find another class or two to take, she said. That rang true for Western Kentucky University grad student Ashley Herndon, 26.
“I’ll definitely do a class again,” said Herndon, who is taking the Zumba class – her first Community Education class. “I always thought Community Ed was something after school for kids. I didn’t know they offered adult classes like this.
“This is great for the community and a great way to meet the community.”
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Jordan, Natalie (2010, March). Getting a Fresh Start this Spring. Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.bgdailynews.com/features/getting-a-fresh-start-this-spring/article_e2fd9ccb-3f99-5353-880a-e43b13c66ad5.html