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Interest Groups
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Welcome to the CFUW-Ottawa Interest Groups!
CFUW-Ottawa has a number of groups and activities happening throughout the month. They cover a wide range of interests including outdoor activities, indoor games, cuisine, book clubs, art, public affairs, music, and much more. All are opportunities for fun, friendship, learning.
Interest Groups
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Browse the monthly schedule of activities. If members or non-members have any questions, please contact the Interest Groups Convenor at interestgroups@cfuw-ottawa.org. Members can contact Group Convenors directly by going to the Member-Only Section and selecting Group Convenors Contact Info. |
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National Gallery Study Group (Fee)
From October to April, two tours of the National Gallery will be held on the last Wednesday, one at 10:00 a.m. and one at 11:00 a.m. Friends of the Gallery - $40, non-friends- $100. Update: Our meetings will continue to be the last Wednesday of the month. These meetings will be conducted by Zoom until the new year or when the Gallery re-opens with a viable option. These meetings will be focused on active group participation to encourage making new friends while discovering new aspects of art. In January, in consultation with participating members, the program will be re-assessed. There will be no charge for members until we resume actual Gallery Tours.Last Wednesday (except December), 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Literature Study Groups
Zoom Meetings initially, adjusting with members' approval to in person meetings using OPH guidelines
This group meets to learn about a broad range of Canadian topics from antiques to art, from social history to contemporary issues. Like the topics, the format varies but usually it includes a guest speaker or an interactive project lead by a member of the group, followed by tea and discussion.
If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines and with member agreement. 3rd Monday, 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. This is a couples' and singles dinner group that meets for dinner at members' homes six or seven times a year, usually on the third Saturday of the month. Hosts meet to decide on the menu and assign the recipes to those who are to dine. They vary from gourmet to pot luck dinners. Hostesses need not cook. All expenses are shared equally. The season begins with a Cocktail Party and ends with a BBQ or Cocktail Party. Join our festive and fun group. If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines and with member agreement. 3rd Saturday, evening (or Sunday if preferred by a group) Dining Out This group enjoys fine dining at Ottawa area restaurants. Reservations are arranged by rotating members of the group. We try out new and trendy restaurants as well as old favourites. 2nd Wednesday of the month, evening 6:30 p.m.
Supper Club
The Supper Club is a casual dining experience organized by rotating members of the group. Meet new people and enjoy good conversation. If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines and with member agreement. 4th Wednesday at supper time, 6:30 p.m. The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 from October to June. A rotating subset of the group meet and plan and then prepare and serve each meal. A fee is collected at the beginning of the season to cover the cost of food and wine. Meals are served at members homes. For this reason, membership numbers are limited. If Public Health guidelines advise against meeting in person, the group will meet via Zoom, as we did last season, sharing ideas for menus, cooking methods and tools, etc and engaging presenters. 1st Wednesday, 5:30pm
If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. Until the time when it is safe to lunch together in restaurants, there will be “lunch and chat” meetings via zoom so members can socialize virtually.
3rd Tuesday, 12:00 noon
Sunday Brunch
On the 1st Sunday of the month from October to June (excluding December) a very social group of CFUW members meet to chat and try out the brunch at local restaurants both new and old favourites. Reservations are arranged by the convenor or by members of the group. We meet at 11:00 a.m. and depending on whether it is a buffet or a served meal, we usually finish by 1:30 to 2:00.
1st Sunday of the month, 11:00 a.m. The Diplomatic Hospitality Group (DHG) promotes Canada to foreign diplomatic guests in a spirit of fun and friendship. For over fifty years, DHG has organized outings and events, in cooperation with cultural, educational, social and artistic communities to demonstrate Canadian life and showcase Canadian history and culture in the National Capital Region. (More)
This is a group with a positive attitude. Our mission is to educate ourselves and others about environmental issues and to take action. We host a series of online public meetings to which expert guest speakers are invited. We learn how and why our environment is changing, and about projects near and far that promise to counteract global warming, reduce environmental pollution or mitigate the loss of biodiversity. We share ideas, both within and beyond this group, on how to advocate for change and act in specific, practical ways. Some voluntary team-building, networking and planning activities are included in our program. Write to environment@cfuw-ottawa.org for more information Zoom meetings initially, adjusting, with members’ approval, in person meetings using OPH guidelines. 2nd or 3rd Monday of the month, from 1:30 - 3:00 PM
Statistics and news reports seem to indicate that our current educational systems are failing many indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Metis) students. The challenges indigenous students face are many and complex, yet there are also stories of achievement and accomplishment. In its information-gathering stage, this external outreach group will meet monthly to report on research members have undertaken and to hear from a variety of speakers – Indigenous community members, educators, government representatives – to help us understand the current educational environment for indigenous students and possible pathways for enhancing opportunities for these young people so that they may realize their potential and make a contribution to their communities and country. With this foundation, our medium-term objective will be to identify a specific education project in Ontario that we may support in partnership with local educators and indigenous leaders.
If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines and with member agreement. 4th Friday, 12:30-2:30 pm
The Gatineau Trails group offers members weekly outdoor activities including hiking in the fall and spring and cross country skiing in the winter. Informal cycling outings also occur in the summer. Members can join in some or all of the activities with no obligation to attend any. All levels of experience are welcome. Information about the hike or cross-country ski outing will be sent to all members of Gatineau Trails via an email message. Weekly emails are sent out on Sundays announcing the time and location of the Tuesday outing. There is a $7 activity fee to become a member of Gatineau Trails. Members are responsible for getting their own Gatineau Park Ski Passes.New members are always welcome! Join us for fun, fitness, and friendship in the great outdoors! For more information click here. For the 2020-2021 season, all members will be asked to maintain the 2 meter physical distancing requirements on all outings. Weekly, Tuesdays
Skiing-Downhill
We are a very small informal group of about 20 to 25 members who meet every Friday during the winter to ski at Camp Fortune. Our group includes intermediate to expert skiers and is committed to a healthy use of winter and good conversation on the lift.
Weekly, Friday mornings Snowshoes + Energy + Love of the Outdoors & the Wild = Fun Adventures! Bring your snowshoes for a two hour walk on ungroomed trails around Ottawa and Gatineau. Following this, enjoy a well-earned coffee or lunch together.Every snowy Saturday morning, 10am to 1:00pm 
Graduate Women International (GWI), our international arm, advocates for women's rights, equality and empowerment through access to quality secondary and tertiary education. GWI works toward a world where 100% of girls and women achieve education beyond primary school. Members are able to design the group’s activities for the year. We work to understand the reality of education for girls and women in other countries and at the broad international level. Members strive to keep up to date on issues that deserve our attention and understanding and then lead a discussion. We share this knowledge with our membership through the Capital Carillon ‘Do You Know Who We Are’ articles and on this website.
GWI Advocacy and Projects: Reports and Information GWI UN representatives - Full report on meetings held online: click here. To watch a video of a Flashmob initiated by one of our GWI representatives as a side event to the International Day of the Girl Child 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland, click here. GWI's Bina Roy Partners in Development Projects PowerPoint presentation: click here. Members will meet by ZOOM or in the home of a member at various times when issues arise. A monthly meeting to converse en français. A topic (e.g. favourite trip, recipe, tradition) will be selected for each meeting, directing conversation and expanding vocabulary. All levels of French welcome; the group will be capped at 10 members. 1st Tuesday, 7-9pm
Mah-Jong Mahjong is a game played with tiles, typically with four players around a table. The goal is to complete your hand before other players. There is no universal version of the game, but once the basic procedure is understood, players find no difficulty in adapting their game to another set of rules. In the CFUW group, we play a version of mahjong that originated in Hong Kong and while it is different from the American mahjong that many are familiar with, our rules will be easy to pick up. It is a game that can be challenging and mentally stimulating, but it is the chance to be social and enjoy each others' company that makes mahjong particularly fun. Whether you've played before or not, all levels of experience are welcome! If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines, facility availability and with member agreement. Tuesdays, 12:30 p.m. Anyone tired of Monopoly or Clue, cribbage or backgammon? Join the new Modern Board Games group. The purpose of this group is to learn and play the newer games on the market, to challenge our minds, and of course, to have fun! Some examples of games we will play are Settlers of Catan, Castles of Burgundy and Ticket to Ride. Any game that you would like to bring and teach us to play would also be welcome. If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines, with member agreement.1st Wednesday of the month, 1-4 pm The CFUW Gardening Group aims to bring together members to promote the joy of gardening. In this setting, members will share their passion for gardening, learn from the experiences of others and develop friendships. Whether you are an experienced gardener, or one that is just starting down that path, this group will welcome you. The only prerequisite is the desire to enjoy garden spaces, in all their shapes and sizes. No matter what your gardening interests may be—from pollinator gardens to putting your garden to bed in the fall—here you'll find fertile ground to explore them and people to share them with. If this group appeals to you, please join us as we explore the wonderful world of gardening. 4th Monday, 2pm, Sept., Oct., March - August CFUW-Ottawa made it a strategic priority to become involved in a project that would promote lifelong learning and improve the lives of women and children in our community. The project selected was HIPPY Ottawa.
The HIPPY program focuses on helping low-income parents in Ottawa, usually immigrants, prepare their three- to five-year-olds for school. Numerous benefits include better preparing children for entry to the Ontario school system; empowering parents to prepare their children for school; breaking down barriers to the integration of recent immigrants to Canadian life; and mentoring those parents and program workers interested in pursuing learning or career plans. (more)
History
Each year, members of the History Study Group select a theme and this year, we have opted to investigate the role of Spies and Spying in the course of history. Individual members of the group may volunteer to speak on a subject related to the spy theme. Some of the choices already committed to this season reflect several kinds of spying activity: in war, “Agent ZigZag”; through message code-breaking, “Bletchley Park and the Enigma Machine”; in top-secret scientific research, “Julius & Ethel Rosenberg”; and in fiction inspired by spying, John Le Carre “George Smiley”. Members research the subject of their presentations, illustrating it on Powerpoint and occasional videos. The group meets the first Thursday of each month from 1 – 3 p.m. New and returning members are all welcome and, if they so wish, may present some other spy story or aspect of the topic. 1st Thursday, 1-3 pm
We meet in a member's home on the fourth Thursday of the month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Each member brings a treasure or tale to share. We have a delightful time looking at and talking about the treasures or listening to and discussing the tales. Following the presentations afternoon tea is provided by our host and co-host.
If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines and with member agreement. 4th Thursday, 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Are you interested in watching movies that inspire, educate, and make you think? And can be viewed from the comfort of your home? Once a month, an online movie is selected for Movie Club members to watch. The selection includes foreign films, documentaries, hidden gems and others. These films are chosen from online platforms, such as Netflix, National Film Board (NFB), CBC Gems or other online sites. How does it work? The season begins in October 2021. An email is sent to members at the beginning of the month to let them know the choice of film. Members can then watch it at their leisure at home. Those who wish to share their thoughts about the movie with the group can email their review/feedback. Later in the month (4th Thursday, 7:30pm), a Zoom discussion takes place for those who wish to discuss the movie with others. Even if you don’t watch the films every month, you will have a list of “curated” films to add to your watch lists for a later time! Film choice sent at the beginning of each month. Optional Zoom discussion on 4th Thursday at 7:30pm.
This group seeks to attend plays at the Ottawa Little Theatre together. As the theatre is currently dark, the group is suspended. If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted if and when the theatre reopens.
A group of CFUW-Ottawa members meet weekly to sing together in 3 part harmony. They perform at a number of Seniors residences around the city ....... (More)
Zoom meetings initially, adjusting, with members’ approval, to in person meetings using OPH guidelines. Wednesdays 9:45 to 11:00 am The group meets in members' homes or on ZOOM. A general theme is chosen at the beginning of the year (eg. The Sound of a Country or a Composer or Performer). Members sign up to make presentations from October - May (except January) on topics relevant to the overall theme. This year we will continue with favourite composers or performers. Presentations are typically illustrated with videos, YouTube clips and CDs, all of which make for lively and informative sessions. We welcome new members and new ideas for enhancing the enjoyment of music in all forms. Zoom meetings initially, adjusting, with members’ approval, to in person meetings using OPH guidelines. 1st Tuesday afternoon, 1:00 p.m.
Hocus Phocus Digital Photography Live Life . Take Pictures . Relive Memories . Repeat (Anonymous). Come discover the art of taking photographs with an amateur group of fun loving women. Let’s learn together, grow skills and take pictures to savour life’s precious moments. Creative digital photography is not about about “depth of field but depth of feeling.” Learning will take place in a supportive environment with a monthly meeting format that will offer thematic topics and photo shoot opportunities. No expertise or specialized equipment is required to join. Members may use a complete range of equipment, including basic point and shoot digital cameras, tablets and cell phones. Please bring to all meetings. Zoom meetings initially, adjusting, with members’ approval, to in person meetings using OPH guidelines. 3rd Monday of the month, 7-9 pm 2nd and 4th Monday 2pm The CFUW Travel Group aims to bring together fellow travellers (and interested non-travellers) who are looking to share travel experiences and ideas about cities or countries to visit: hidden gems in locations familiar or unfamiliar, a tiny but brilliant art gallery in Lisbon, a wine tour near Cape Town, a cruise not to be missed or a country to be avoided. Looking to go on a theatre trip to London or a weekend of wine-tasting, but prefer not to travel alone? Perhaps you will find like-minded travel companion/s who wish to join you. Please join us as we explore the world of travel. 4th Thursday, 1 pm
University Women Helping Afghan Women (UWHAW)
For the past 11 years, UWHAW members have been learning about life in Afghanistan, particularly the many challenges faced by women and girls, and have been raising awareness in our community and beyond, and advocating for their rights. Most importantly, UWHAW has been fundraising and providing scholarships to young Afghan women to attend Gawharshad University in Kabul, a highly respected institution in Afghanistan. To date, our scholarships have provided funds for 42 women who have graduated and 60 who are enrolled. However, in August 2021, all of this changed. With the overthrow of the government by the Taliban, the future of the university, and the future of Afghan women and girls is currently unknown. For the 2021-22 season, UWHAW’s energy will turn toward seeking support for Afghans in this crisis. We will monitor the developments in Afghanistan and help where we are able - through advocacy, financial aid, resettlement support or any other means. If the university is able to continue, we will resume our financial support of the students. UWHAW members will continue to educate themselves about Afghanistan and the evolving situation in their monthly meetings so that we keep informed and are prepared to assist as needed. We are looking forward to resuming Afghan luncheons and cultural events when we can resume meeting in person. Zoom meetings initially. 1st Thursday, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Email: universitywomenhelpingafghanwomen@cfuw-ottawa.org
This group is interested in outdoor walks to explore neighbourhoods and interesting areas of Ottawa – everything and anything from the locks by the Chateau Laurier to the gracious old historic houses of Sandy Hill. Perhaps a walk will take us along the river or along the canal. Every month there will be a volunteer convenor who chooses the location of the walk and sends out the notice to the group. We will meet at 10:00 am on the fourth Monday of every month, weather permitting, and walk for about 90 minutes. However, the convenor would be free to opt for a weekend walk to accommodate those with busy weekday schedules.
Writing4th Monday, 10am Have you ever been curious about the difference between a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec, or the difference between Cava and Prosecco? This group is interested in learning about – and tasting - different wines and spirits, and perhaps learning a little about cocktails too. If these are topics that might pique your interest, we’d love for you to join us on the second Thursday of each month from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Our plan is for this group to meet in person. 2nd Thursday, 5pm Learning about basic home repairs and maintenance and acquiring skills for do-it-yourself projects. Specific topics will be chosen each year to reflect the interests of the group's members. Zoom initially, adjusting to in person using OPH guidelines and with member agreement. 2nd Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m. to noon World Religions members are curious about other religions. Similarities between the many disparate religions of the world and our own religion are noted. Insights both historical and religious of other religions often offers a new perspective about our own faith. Presentations and discussions often take place at a place of worship, but can be at a member's home. Members of this group have been Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, and more. Women of all faiths are welcome to join and learn about the hundreds of different religions and belief systems that we have in our shared earth. If interested, kindly sign up and you will be contacted when the group is making plans to meet. We plan to meet in person using OPH guidelines, and with member agreement. 3rd Thursday, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Writers’ Workshop Our group meets once a month in fall and winter to write, to learn, to hear, to tell stories, and to critique, usually the written work of one or two members each time. We give each other information on various readings, workshops and organizations (e.g. Canadian Authors' Association, book fairs, the publishing industry) for writers. Several of us have published books while participating in the Writers' Workshop Group and some distributed worldwide (see list). Others are just beginning their writing journey, and some are midway.
Time: 4th Monday, 7:15pm Email: writersworkshop@cfuw-ottawa.org
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