Wildflowers, St. Louis and bootleggin' highlight RLC Lifelong Learning Spring classes, tours | Arts & Culture

INA, IL (KFVS) - Rend Lake College Institute of Lifelong Learning announced classes and day tours for Spring 2013.

The Institute of Lifelong Learning is an organization of retirement-age people who share a common interest in lifelong learning and cultural enrichment. The only requirement is a desire to learn. No grades are given.

Lifelong Learning Class

Spring time in Southern Illinois is ripe with colorful, beautiful wildflowers. RLC Botany professor, Abel Kinser, created a class specifically for Lifelong Learners. This class will be held in an RLC Biology lab. Participants will learn how to identify wildflower specimens and view them under an RLC microscope. There are no tests, no quizzes, no grades - just interesting facts and information. Wildflowers of Southern Illinois will be held from 1 - 3 p.m., Saturday, April 13 in Room 116 of the Science Building on the RLC Main Campus. The registration fee is $10.

Day Trips

The first bus tour on the spring RLC schedule is a foods tour of St. Louis. Savor St. Louis will be held on Thursday, March 21. Participants will tour local St. Louis restaurants and ethnic food shops. Stops on this tour will include Anthonino’s (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for its Toasted Raviolis); Sweetie Pie’s (made famous by the Oprah Winfrey Network for its soul food); the newly opened Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Factory; Urzi’s Italian Market; and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. The registration fee is $89 and includes transportation, lunch, gratuity, and food sampling fees. The RLC bus will depart from the Main Campus in Ina at 7:30 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m. and will depart from the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon at 8 a.m. and return at 5 p.m.

During the next tour, participants will learn about the historical significance and impact the 1904 World’s Fair had on St. Louis. The St. Louis 1904 World’s Fair Tour will be held on Friday, April 12. The tour includes a historical re-enactment of a small boy who attended the fair and the exhibit at the Missouri History Museum. Hot dogs, iced tea and ice cream cones were all popularized at the 1904 World’s Fair. Staying in theme of the day at the fair, lunch will be a gourmet hot dog from Steve’s Hot Dogs and the last stop of the day will be for ice cream. The registration fee is $79 and includes transportation, lunch, ice cream, tour fees and gratuities. The RLC bus will depart from the Main Campus in Ina at 7 a.m. and return at 6 p.m., and will depart from the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon at 7:30 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m.

St. Louis Victorian Home Tour will be held on Thursday, April 25. This tour features exclusive tours of two private Victorian homes on Lafayette Square and a tour of the Campbell House Museum. This museum recently received a $3 million restoration. It is considered one of the top 10 most accurately restored 19th Century buildings in America. Lunch will be at 1111 Mississippi, a restaurant featuring rustic Tuscan cuisine with New World influence. The registration fee is $69 and includes tour fees, gratuity, lunch and transportation. The RLC bus will depart from the Main Campus in Ina at 8 a.m. and return at 6 p.m. and will depart from the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon at 8:30 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m.

Local historian and author Jon Musgrave will be guiding the last tour of the spring semester. Musgrave will be sharing interesting facts about the Klan War between the bootleggers and the Ku Klux Klan and the subsequent Gang War between the Charlie Birger gang and the Shelton Brothers. Participants will see historical sites and local museums associated with these infamous characters, as well as other Prohibition-era events and landmarks. Roaring 20s in Southern Illinois will be held on Friday, May 3. The registration fee is $59 and includes transportation, tour fees, lunch and gratuities. The RLC bus will depart from the Main Campus in Ina at 9 a.m. and will return at 3 p.m.

For more information, or to register, call the RLC Institute of Lifelong Learning at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1267 or 1714 or toll-free 800-369-5321, Ext. 1267 or 1714.

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