Cram Courses

Lou Ann Vlahovic’s telephone skills are not her only gift to the College. Her homemade candy is the kind that makes people stash a few pieces in a paper napkin and sneak them out of faculty receptions.

You can learn the techniques of candy-making right from Lou Ann in one of a half-dozen courses in the “Learning at Leisure” program. These non-credit courses are new to the campus this semester but not to colleges in general, where the “open university” has been around a long time. Ours will be held after hours, mostly in October, and at no charge (except supplies) to faculty, staff, and students. Check these out:

• House of cards. When some of us were in college, every campus had a 24/7 bridge game in the lounge of a dorm. But these days the daily bridge column in the newspaper is so much Esperanto. So Dick Claussen, coordinator of academic camps, is willing to explain the mysteries of bridge and teach elementary strategies in four easy lessons: Mondays, October 20 and 27, November 3 and 10.

• Sweets to the sweet. Lou Ann’s candy class includes molded chocolates and fillings for lollipops. Thursdays, November 6, 13, and 20.

• Food, glorious food. The Wood Co., our food service, will loan its executive chef for three sessions. (You can sign up for any or all.) Sushi is the subject on Thursday, October 16. Cake decoration will be offered Thursday, October 30. And “Death by Chocolate,” whether by ganache, truffles, mousse, bread pudding, or pecan pie, will be available to the suicidal on Thursday, November 20. Don’t know how to pick up that sushi, slice that cake, attack that ganache without getting chocolate all over yourself? There’s a course on dining etiquette Thursday, November 6.

• All that glitters. Shay Jaymes will teach the art of faux-stained glass, which you can use to create framed art or decorative window treatments. Wednesdays, October 1, 8, and 15.

• Sherbet lemon. No, this is not another candy class. It’s the password to the world of Harry Potter, whose magic is more than skin-deep. Judith Green will open books of lore long unused, and together we will discover why Knockturn Alley has no streetlights. Thursdays, October 2, 9, 16, and 23.

To register or ask questions: Ann Claussen, Ext. 1492. Register on-line at www.moravian.edu/current/TE.pdf.