Dear Friends:
Our early August Museletter for 2024 is from Kat Rettke. While not a regular performer of magic herself, Kat is an avid fan and student of magic. For many years, she has been an invaluable and much-loved member of our team at McBride’s Magic & Mystery School as our Executive Assistant. In this Museletter Kat shares her thoughts about a fundamental building block for a rich and varied life.
Learning for the Fun of Learning
by Katherine Rettke
Learning should be a joy and full of excitement. It is life’s greatest adventure; it is an illustrated excursion into the minds of the noble and the learned.
-Taylor Caldwell
I would like to share with you some of the classes I have taken over the past year. I hope sharing this list will encourage you to think about adding learning opportunities available to you.
Eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.com
Eventbrite is an event management and ticketing website where events can be searched by topic and location. It was through Eventbrite that I signed up for Fire Magic 2024 with Kevin Axtell with special guest instructor Jeff McBride. These yearly events are considered the country’s premier Fire Magic workshops with students attending from all over the world. Many students were performing artists who work with fire on stage. I am not in any way a fire performer but I got to face some fears and spend time with amazing people. Don’t let my expression in the above photo fool you – I was having a great time! If you would like a better idea of what the weekend was like, please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpR4KGwC3NE
Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) – https://www.osherfoundation.org/olli.html
Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes offers noncredit courses at universities and colleges in all fifty states and in the District of Columbia. Although most OLLI programs are intended for retired and semi-retired students, many have no age restrictions. Classes listed are both live and on Zoom. The classes I have taken through OLLI have been taught by Fred Peters on the topic of the Apollo program. Mr. Peters is an aeronautical engineer who spent the majority of his 40-year career with NASA’s Johnson Space Center working on its manned spacecraft program. It has been a privilege to learn about this program from an instructor who has firsthand knowledge.
Meetup – www.meetup.com
Meetup is a platform that can be searched by local area to find interest groups and classes. Meetup offers both live and virtual classes. The class I have signed up for through this platform is called “Practical Tarot” and it is taught by instructor Dane Clarke. Dane opens classes about the Major Arcana by recreating pictures from the Rider–Waite Tarot deck. Classes are educational, fun, and absolutely a highlight of my week. The level of expertise and entertainment value is so high that many students continue to attend this class for years.
McBride’s Magic & Mystery School – www.magicalwisdom.com
How could a list of my favorite classes be complete without mentioning McBride’s Magic & Mystery School? The Magic & Mystery School is considered the best school of magic in the world. This school offers both live and online classes with scholarships available. Personally, I enjoy the classes which include magical theory and philosophy. My favorite classes at the school are “Magic and Meaning” and also “Weekend of Wisdom.” My involvement with this school as student, and as staff, has been life changing, and I have met life-long friends. I feel so fortunate to attend these classes.
Other Opportunities
Finally, I would like to include information about a few other learning opportunities. Master Class is a streaming platform with video lessons taught by experts in a variety of fields. I have not yet experienced a class through this platform, but I plan to. Public Libraries, Community Centers and Senior Centers are always offering continuing education opportunities in a variety of interests and disciplines. Please consider researching your own community to see what classes are available.
Kat Rettke