MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. -- Encore, the SUNY Orange program for senior learners in the Hudson Valley, announces 18 available classes that will be offered this Fall, covering such topics as history, literature, investing, outdoor activities, movies, fitness and relaxation. Courses meet at varying days and times throughout September, October and November.

Encore, a lifelong learning program established by SUNY Orange for community residents ages 50 and older, supports a variety of high-interest courses, most of which are generally short-run offerings (comprised of one to four class meetings) and held on the College’s Middletown campus. The first class begins Sept. 4.

Courses planned for the Fall include: “Mah Jongg,” “Life of Mark Twain (Ken Burns film),” “Qicong and Meditation,” “Key Inventors, Inventions and Path-Breaking Innovations,” “Investments: Perspectives on Investing,” “Basic Automotive Maintenance,” “Color Pencil Drawing,” “Hiking,” “Book Club,” “Thailand: The Land of the Birds,” “The Post-Revolutionary Generation: The War Hawks and the War of 1812,” Beginning/Continuing Yoga,” “The Columbian Exchange,” “Bridge: Supervised Bridge at the Intermediate Level,” “The Enlightenment and Human Rights,” “Films for Everyone,” and “Aquasize.”

Classes are taught by topical experts who have a professional background in the subject or have spent many years studying and/or teaching the topic. They are professors, professors emeriti, lawyers, businessmen, artists, musicians, bridge masters, and specialists in the various modes of spiritual and physical well-being. Class sizes are determined by available facilities, course content (lecture/hands-on) and effective learning strategy requirements.

Prospective participants in the two-session hiking class should be prepared and able to walk for at least two hours on sometimes rocky terrain. The “Book Club” class will discuss “A Heart in a Body in the World” by Deb Caletti and “Educated” by Tara Westover. The five-session “Films for Everyone” course will examine “Double Indemnity,” “Psycho,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Wall Street” and “Misery.”

Membership in Encore is required in order to register for the upcoming courses, and membership must be paid before registration for classes will be accepted. Membership dues are $45 per year and Encore has openings available for Fall 2019. For more information, contact Encore at (845) 341-4896 or visit the organization’s web site at www.sunyorange.edu/encore.