TRAVEL WITH OLLI Valden Tours, Inc. KANSAS CITY...Here we come! Join your OLLI friends in a week-long edu- cational and entertaining experience to August 5, 9:00—11:00 a.m. at NET explore baseball, jazz, and much more in Historian and educator Ben Rader will share a brief Lincoln and Kansas City history of the Kansas City Monarchs, a premier African-American baseball team. Author Kent Krause will explore The Royals and their August 3, 9:00—11:00 a.m. at NET predecessors in a history of pro-fessional baseball in Lincoln Musician Ed Love will share the development Kansas City. of Kansas City jazz and its special place in the popu- lar music culture of America with an emphasis on the bygone era that occurred near 12th and Vine. August 7—9 Enjoy Kansas City Travel to Kansas City to experience a fun-filled weekend with a variety of entertaining activities. Cheer on the Kansas City Royals on Husker Night as Alex Gordon and his teammates take on the White Sox Explore the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Visit the American Jazz Museum Enjoy the Broadway Musical The Addams Family at Overland Park’s New Theatre Restaurant Savor Kansas City Barbeque at Arthur Bryants Stroll through the exhibits of the National World War I Museum Observe the recovery process of the Steamship Arabia and its thousands of preserved objects Explore the extensive art collection at the Nelson-Atkin Museum and enjoy lunch in the museum’s courtyard or stroll Country Club Plaza and enjoy a casual brunch. Complete package cost: $443 per person double occupancy, $548 single occupancy KANSAS CITY...HERE WE COME! Remember the Fats Domino song….”I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come….I’m going to be stand- ing on the corner of 12th Street and Vine...Well, I might take a plane, I might take a train, but if I have to walk I’m going just the same...Kansas City here I come.” It’s not a plane, nor a train, but a motorcoach that will take us to Kansas City for a spectacular weekend of baseball...barbeque...museums...musical theatre...jazz….and art. The Kansas City excursion is the culmination of a week of special OLLI programming. We invite you to join us. Wednesday, August 5: 9:00—11:00 a.m. at NET. Join Ben Rader and Kent Krause for a short course on Kansas City baseball. BLACK BASEBALL IN KANSAS CITY is the focus of Ben Rader’s presentation. During the age of widespread legal racial segre- gation (about 1890 to the mid-1960’s), African Americans by necessity rather than choice constructed a universe of baseball mostly of their own. This presentation will examine specifically the history of a premier African-American baseball team of this era, the Kansas City Monarchs, from both an on-the-field and an off-the-field perspective. Ben Rader’s introduction to baseball was on the red-clay playground of a one-room school in the Missouri Ozarks where he later on became a fan of Harry Caray and the St. Louis Cardinals. Subsequently, he has become a fair weather fan of the Kansas City Royals as well. His book, Baseball: A History of America’s Game, is in its third edition. Kent Krause will present “THE ROYALS AND THEIR PREDECESSORS: THE HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL IN KANSAS CITY.” In 2014 the Royals clinched a wild card berth, ending the longest playoff drought of any major American sports franchise. The team’s subsequent drive to the pennant revived memories of a golden age when the Royals annually contended for rings in the 1970s and 1980s. But, professional baseball in KC did not begin with Ewing Kauffman’s successful expansion team. The city’s baseball lineage extends back nearly a century and a half with Char- ley O. Finley’s Athletics, the American Association Blues, the Federal League Packers, and three different major league teams in the 1880s. Kent Krause has been a baseball fan since attending his first Royals game in 1976. Today, he writes content for online high school history courses and social studies textbooks. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iowa State University, and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His latest book is titled "Ninety Feet Away: The Story of the 2014 Kansas City Royals." Monday, August 3: 9:00—11:00 a.m. at NET. Join Lincoln musician Ed Love for an exploration of KANSAS CITY JAZZ, a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City and the surrounding metropolitan area during the 1930s. It marked the transition from the structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy transition style is attributed to Count Basie, Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra and Kansas City native Charlie Parker. It has been said that while New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz, America’s music grew up in Kansas City which is known as one of the most popular “cradles of jazz.” Ed Love is a native of Omaha who first developed an interest in jazz at Central High School. He is a a graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Ed joined the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra as leader of the saxophone section in 1978. In 1979 he was named Music Director, and he is still serving in that capacity. He brings a wealth of musical experience to the Lincoln area, having performed with many local and regional bands and orchestras. more Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 9: Friday, August 7: 8:00 a.m. We will depart for Kansas City via chartered motorcoach with arrival in the Kansas City area by noon, just in time for some Kansas City barbeque at Arthur Bryants, THE home of great barbeque. Arthur Bryant, the legendary King of Ribs, is the most renowned barbequer in history. He created a sauce that has attracted the likes of former Presidents Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter to his restaurant . considered to be the best restaurant in the world by New Yorker columnist Calvin Trillin. Lunch will be on your own so you can order as much or as little as you wish. 1:00 p.m. This afternoon we will follow-up on the OLLI presentations about Kansas City baseball and jazz with visits to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and The Jazz Museum. Founded in 1990, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the rich history of African-American baseball. It features multi-media displays and artifacts dating from the late 1800s through the 1960s. The Jazz Museum, located next door showcases the sights and sounds of jazz through interactive exhibits and films. Its mission is to celebrate and exhibit the experience of jazz as an original American art form through the four pillars of research, exhibition, education and performance at one of the world’s greatest crossroads—18th & Vine. 4:00 p.m. Travel to our hotel, Hampton Inn at the crossroads of I-435 and Metcalf in Overland Park. Time to check into your room and refresh yourself for tonight’s show. 6:00 p.m. We have reserved seats at the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park for the included dinner and performance of the Broadway musical The Addams Family. This show features an original story, and it's every father's nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. A man her parents have never met. And if that weren't upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he's never done before - keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday's "normal" boyfriend and his parents. Saturday, August 8: Sleep in this morning for a little while, then enjoy the included breakfast at our hotel prior to our departure for the day. 10:00 a.m. This morning we will tour the national World War I Museum. Steeped in history, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial is America’s only museum dedicated to sharing the stories of the Great War through the eyes of those who lived it. Interactive displays, thought-provoking films and eyewitness testimonies help guide visitors through one of the largest collections of WWI artifacts in the world. From the first shots fired in 1914 to the last attempts at peace in 1919, this award-winning museum offers a global perspective of “The War to End All Wars,” and includes firsthand accounts from the battlefield and home front alike. Lunch will be on your own at the Farmers’ Market area next to our afternoon stop at the Steamship Arabia Museum. more 1:00 p.m. Our afternoon stop is at the Steamship Arabia Museum. When the mighty Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, she carried 200 tons of mystery cargo. Lost for 132 years, its recovery in 1988 was like finding the King Tut’s Tomb of the Missouri River. Remarkably preserved clothes, tools, guns, dishware and more. The discovery was truly a modern day treasure-hunting story at its best. Guided tours include a short movie and explanation of the excavation process. Guests will see the treasures recovered from the Arabia and have the chance to watch preservationists restoring artifacts in the museum’s lab 4:00 p.m.