Events and Activities
Our club holds four regularly scheduled activities. The business of the club is carried out at general meetings at which a speaker is featured. Our Outdoor Club group gets together weekly, the Coffee and Chat group bi-weekly and the Book Club monthly. Further details for each of these are set out below.
Monthly Meetings
We hold monthly general meetings September through May, excluding December. These are held at the Schubert Centre, 3505 30th Ave, Vernon, BC, on the third Monday of every month from 10:30 am until noon unless the date is a statutory holiday. In this case, the meeting will be re-scheduled.
Our monthly meetings provide an opportunity for members to socialize with other members, further their own learning through informative speakers, and participate in club business. Reasonable fees are charged for speaker/coffee/lunch, speaker and coffee only and coffee (and tea) only. The lunch is a simple buffet consisting of soup and sandwich, served at the end of the meeting.
This year’s speakers and topics are set out below. Future speakers and topics will be posted when the information becomes available.
May 27, 2024 – Cindy Masters, our scheduled speaker, was unable to attend on this date. We are working to reschedule her speaking engagement. Cindy Masters is the Executive Director of Okanagan Village Housing Society. Cindy was born and raised in Vernon and is excited to be speaking about the work of the Okanagan Village Housing Society. This Society is a registered charity whose mandate is to develop a permanent inventory of managed, safe and comfortable rental housing at below market rate for the “forgotten population” of lower income workers, families, pensioners, and people with diverse abilities who are in need of help along their way to becoming or remaining long-term contributing citizens.”
More information regarding the Society can be found at https://okvillage.ca/.
September 16, 2024 – Our featured speaker will be Martin Friedrich, Executive Director of Vernon and District Immigrant and Community Services Society.
Since 1989, VDICSS has offered many services for newcomers, immigrants, refugees, and naturalized citizens, helping with settlement and integration into Canada and Vernon, British Columbia. Among other services, it provides language and employment services. For more information visit Home | Vernon & District Immigrant & Community Services Society (vdicss.org)
Special Interest Groups
Book Club
Are you looking for good books; thoughtful, intelligent, stimulating discussion; fun and companionship? Our book club provides that and more!
CFUW Vernon’s Book Club meets regularly on the 4th Tuesday of the month and guests are welcome to attend up to 3 meetings before becoming members of CFUW Vernon.
Meetings are held at the homes of members and times may vary.
Book Club Members each choose a book for the month in which they are hosting. Books can be from any genre, and include fiction and non-fiction. Here is the current line-up.
Sept: Lessons from the Edge by Marie Yovanowich
Oct: Violin Conspiracy by B. Slocumb
Nov: The Book of Longing by Sue Monk Kidd
Dec: The Dictionary of Lost Words (at The Med restaurant) by Pip Williams
2024
Jan: Worn, A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser
Feb: The Small Things That End The World by Jeanette Lynes
Mar: Horse by G. Brooks
Apr: Wan by Dawn Promislow
May: The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth
Jun: The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Coffee and Chat
These sessions are held on alternate Fridays, 10:05 am until noon, currently in the Okanagan Room on the 2nd floor of the Okanagan Regional Library in Vernon. Get to know other members in an informal setting through self-moderated lively discussion of a topic decided in advance. Discussion topics are selected by a member who prepares a brief opening overview then discussion ensues.
Past topics include,
- Cell phones/smart phones and their impact on us and our society;
- Current scams, how to look out for them and how to protect yourself against them;
- Discuss a book you have read recently that you would like to recommend to others.
Outdoors Club
During the non-winter months, this group takes weekly hikes on various trails in and around Vernon, of which there are a significant number. There may also be a possibility of a swim. The activity starts at 10 am on Fridays at a location chosen by the group leader but suggestions for locations are always welcome.
With the arrival of snow, the Friday schedule is maintained but the group switches to snowshoeing. There are a number of snowshoe trails within Sovereign Provincial Park or Silver Star Mountain that the group frequents.
Whether hiking or snowshoeing, an effort is made to carpool to make getting to the chosen destination easier for the participants. Additionally, depending on schedules, at the conclusion of the activity, members stop somewhere for coffee.
