SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Winter celebration and songs to bring the light

Wed, January 31, 2024, at 1pm
Dane Stauffer and Dan Chouinard
Music, hors d'oeuvres and fellowship
Singing, accordion, piano, fun

Location
Midland Hills Country Club
$35 early / $38 after Jan 5

 
 

Longing for more daylight and fun? Join UMRA members January 31 at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville for an afternoon of comradery, food, and entertainment. After an hour of mingling and nosh, the highlight of this mid-winter event will be an hour of song and stories by Twin Cities musicians Dane Stauffer and Dan Chouinard.

Winter won’t be over yet, but we’ll be over the hump. The shortest days will be behind us. We’ll have nearly 10 hours of daylight and a sun-filled room where we can enjoy a mid-winter mingle.

Appetizers, desserts, and coffee will be provided buffet style. There will also be a cash bar. High-top tables will encourage socializing. Dining tables and chairs will provide comfort for enjoying the entertainment.

Stauffer and Chouinard will brighten the mid-winter with song, banter, piano, and accordion. They have been performing nationally and locally together since 1989. One reviewer said, “Stauffer is a highly entertaining performer, as his infectious enthusiasm draws the audience in. Chouinard is a remarkable entertainer in his own right—a pianist, accordionist, and storyteller.”

The price of our Winter Celebration is $35 for those making reservations by January 5.  After that date reservations are $38. The reservation deadline is January 21.

Why delay? Make your reservation and pay online today!

—Will Craig, UMRA Special Social Events Committee member



Upcoming Events

Event Date: June 23, 2025, at 8am

Learn about writing memoirs, technology for seniors, campus architecture, and more at the fourth annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held in the McNamara Alumni Center on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Monday, June 23.


Event Date: June 25, 2025, at 8:30am

Professor Kathryn Pearson will be a special guest at the UMRA breakfast in June. This will be an opportunity to hear Professor Pearson’s perspective on President Trumps’s first 100 days, and to engage in discussion about what we, as individual citizens, can do in these challenging times for democracy.


Event Date: June 25, 2025, at 11am

Catch up with friends and former colleagues, meet new UMRA members, enjoy delicious food, and participate in the third annual UMRA Summer Social Quiz at the Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul on Wednesday, June 25.


Event Date: June 27, 2025, at 2pm

H is for Hawk: A Memoir on Grief and Falconry by Helen Macdonald, published 2016.


Event Date: July 7, 2025, at 9:30am

The UMRA Hiking Club will hike two wonderful county parks in Monticello, MN on Monday, July 7. Lynn Anderson will lead the hikes and we will meet at her home at 9:30 a.m. and carpool from there.  


Event Date: July 14, 2025, at 9:15am

Our July 14 "hike" is a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles led by Barb Friedman and Bev Moe. 


Event Date: July 18, 2025, at 2pm

The UMRA Book Club will discuss Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid when it meets via Zoom on July 18.


Event Date: July 24, 2025, at 1 - 2:30pm

Bill Doherty's April Living Well Workshop, Dealing with differences in a polarized world, inspired many UMRA members.  He has very graciously agreed to hold a Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop for us in July.   You will learn about the values and concerns of the other political side and practice skills for communicating more effectively in the presence of disagreement.


Event Date: July 25, 2025, at 2pm

Still Life by Louise Penny.


Event Date: August 4, 2025, at 9:30am

Join hike leader Nanette Hanks on August 4th for a “Trail in Two Cities” hike.


Event Date: August 15, 2025, at 2pm

The UMRA Book Club will discuss Blue Ribbon by Karal Ann Marling when it meets via Zoom on August 15.  


Event Date: August 18, 2025, at 9:30am

Join Larry Micek, hike leader, on August 18th for a hike at Lake Elmo Park Reserve, located at 1515 Keats Avenue North, Lake Elmo, MN. 


Event Date: August 20, 2025, at 11am - 1:30pm

You are invited–join other UMRA members and friends for a late summer river cruise, this year on the Saint Croix River, departing from Stillwater Riverboat Company dock. Our lovely 2.5 hour private charter cruise on the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway includes lunch, a cash bar, and the excellent company of friends and colleagues. 

Daytrip Stillwater in the afternoon with friends!  Make a day of it.


Event Date: August 22, 2025, at 2pm

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.