Since 1946, the Vassar Brothers Institute has presented personally narrated Travel and Adventure Films each week, usually screened in the Poughkeepsie High School Auditorium at 70 Forbus Street. The fall/winter lineup has been announced, and it’s a diverse and fascinating listing of geographical, cultural, thought-provoking delights. What better way is there to see the world, without leaving town?
On Wednesday, November 4, Fran and Brooke Reidelberger will open the season with Best of Bavaria, in which south German food, festivals, magnificent mountain scenery, castles and storybook towns are featured. The film includes archival footage showing a post-World War II rebirth of Munich, advancing into a modern city with the world-renowned beer bash: Oktoberfest!
The following Wednesday, November 11, brings us back to the US of A with Gray Warriner highlighting America’s Parklands, Part II. On a continuing trip from coast to coast, Warriner brings the most spectacular scenery and fascinating historic places in America into view. Sit back and visit Indian ruins in the Southwest, see the fall colors of New England and the wide-open tundra of Alaska and experience the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail at Fort Clatsop National Monument near Astoria, Oregon.
On Wednesday, November 18, Rick Ray presents the Soul of Morocco. Imagine the eternal Sahara with its windswept mountains of orange-gold sand, the labyrinthine medinas of Fez and Marrakech. Colorful markets – fairly bulging with fruits, tapestries and mint tea – set the stage where rug merchants and artisans specializing in tile mosaics or brass metalwork offer their wares.
Founded 128 years ago, the Vassar Brothers Institute is dedicated to bringing programs in science, literature and art to the public. The ever-philanthropic John Guy Vassar and Matthew Vassar, Jr. sought to enrich the lives of genteel Po- Townies, and the tradition stuck – to our present-day benefit. These and a winter-full of Wednesday evening adventures are in store for intrepid armchair travelers. For a complete schedule, see www.VassarBrothersInstitute.org. Travel and Adventure Films begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Poughkeepsie High School Auditorium, and admission is $5.