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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 GroupsFor Group Convenor Contact InformationPlease Log into the Website as a MemberYou must then use the Member-Only Tab to find the ”Group Convenors Contact Info” |
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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 . |
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Gallery Group (Fee) The Gallery Group meets on the last Wednesday of each month to visit local galleries, art venues and all things art. Open to members who are National Gallery of Canada members, also there will be a fee of $40 each. Unfortunately we cannot add guests. Last Wednesday (except December) 11:00 a.m. Literature Study Groups
This group meets on the third Tuesday evening of the month at 7:00 pm at various women’s homes. It is intended for members who live east of Bronson Ave. We read an eclectic mix of books including classic titles, prize winners, non-fiction and ones recommended by friends. We start our meetings with refreshments and time to socialize, then a member reviews the chosen book followed by a group discussion. Books for the following year are chosen at a potluck dinner in June and we also enjoy a purely social holiday gathering in December.
Books for 2024-2025
3rd Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
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.
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. 3rd Saturday, 6:30 p.m. (or Sunday if preferred by a group) Please contact interestgroups@cfuw-ottawa.org if you are interested in being a convenor of this group
Supper Club
The Supper Club is a casual dining experience organized by rotating members of the group. Meet new people and enjoy good conversation. 4th Wednesday at supper time, 6:30 p.m. The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm 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. 1st Wednesday, 6:30pm Our group meets on the first Wednesday evening of each month. We will plan the year at the October meeting and each month a team will prepare a themed dinner - perhaps a country, a region, or a chef. A fee is collected at the first meeting to cover the costs of the the food and wine. New members are welcome! 1st Wednesday, evening We meet in person at members’ homes on the 1st Wednesday of the month for lunch. The planning meeting in October will set the theme for the year, which is usually based on food from different countries or regions. A convenor for each month plans the menu, and 2 or 3 volunteers will cook. Costs are shared. 1st Wednesday 12:30 pm No meeting in January. The lunching out group meets every third Tuesday of the month all through the year at different restaurants in different parts of the city. We choose different flavours every month, and try to sample as many different foods/restaurants as possible. 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. (LEARN 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. We communicate and collaborate with other environmental organizations in Ottawa and we contact and correspond with local decision makers. Some voluntary team-building, networking and planning activities are included in our program. Please visit our website for more detail: https://sites.google.com/view/environmentaction/events Write to environment@cfuw-ottawa.org for more information Mostly Zoom meetings; some outdoor activities and other in-person gatherings also take place. Meetings are usually the 3rd Monday of the month, from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
The Gatineau Trails group offers members weekly outdoor activities including hiking in the fall, cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. Cycling outings also occur in the spring. We have social events, such as potlucks and outdoor parties throughout the season. In addition, members have the opportunity (at an additional cost) to participate in fitness classes and ski lessons, led by Olympian Sue Holloway. You can join in some or all of the activities with no obligation to attend any. All levels of experience are welcome. Weekly emails are sent out on Sundays with the time, location and description of the Tuesday outings. There is a $7 activity fee to become a member of Gatineau Trails. Members are responsible for getting their own Gatineau Park Ski Passes. Please see Members Only “Group Convenor Contact Info” and click on Gatineau Trails for registration and payment instructions. New members are always welcome! Join us for fun, fitness, and friendship in the great outdoors! For more details about the group, please read here Weekly, Tuesdays Adventure With Friends is a **new** interest group with its first adventure in October 2024. Members can participate in a different activity each month, such as mountain biking; paddling (kayak, canoe or SUP); winter fat biking; skating in the forest; backcountry skiing; rock climbing indoors; bowling; mini-golf; nature journaling. In order to help the Convenors establish a calendar of events, members will be invited to identify their preferred activities at the beginning of the CFUW-Ottawa season. Outings will take place on the third Thursday of the month and will run October to June (except December). Members will be asked to volunteer to organize various monthly activities. Join us for fun, friendship and adventure! For more information, please click here
Skiing-Downhill
We are a very small informal group of about 20 to 25 members who meet every Thursday 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.
It is recommended that members have a week day season pass to Camp Fortune January to March, Thursday mornings Snowshoes + Energy + Love of the Outdoors & the Wild = Fun Adventures! Bring your snowshoes for a two hour walk on trails around Ottawa and Gatineau. This year we hope to get to Gatineau Park more often. Snowshoeing Passes are recommended. Every snowy Saturday morning, 10am to 1:00pm4th Monday, 10am
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 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. Currently not meeting. Please contact interestgroups@cfuw-ottawa.org if you are interested in being a convenor of this group 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! The group is now meeting in person in members’ homes. 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 contact the convenor 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 Gardening Club is currently in need of convenors. Please contact interestgroups@cfuw-ottawa.org if you are interested in being a convenor of this group 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)
The History Studies group has chosen Turning Points in History as its theme for the 2024-25 year. A turning point can be an event, an invention, or a discovery which had a major impact on subsequent history. Examples would be the invention of the printing press, the Norman Conquest, the Fall of Constantinople, etc. etc. Many, many choices are possible. At each meeting a member will present the result of her research on the topic she has selected in the form of a Powerpoint presentation. This is followed by a group discussion. Members do not have to make presentations to be part of the group. Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon at the New Edinburgh Square Residence, 420 Mackay St. The first meeting of the year will be on Wednesday, October 23rd. 4th Wednesday, 1-3 pm Are you interested in watching movies that inspire, educate, and make you think? Once a month, a movie is selected for Movie Club members to watch. The selection includes foreign films, documentaries, hidden gems and others. The movie may be selected from an online site (usually Netflix, but also CBC Gems and NFB) or one playing at the Bytowne or Mayfair Theatre. The choice will be dependent on the Bytowne's or Mayfair's selection ... and the weather! How does it work? The season begins October 2024.
Even if you don’t watch the films every month (it's not mandatory), 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.
We are looking for interested members to join this group and possibly be a co-convenor. Contact interestgroups@cfuw-ottawa.org Visit the Ottawa Little Theatre website for the upcoming plays
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)
We meet at St. Timothy's Church each Wednesday morning Wednesdays, 9:30 am Members of the Music Appreciation Interest Group are classical music lovers who want to learn about and enjoy great music. The group meets in members' homes or (hopefully) in a retirement home. We also use ZOOM, with the intent of using a hybrid approach of being in person and on ZOOM. A general theme is chosen at the beginning of the year and this year we have decided to focus on orchestras and their conductors. Members sign up to make presentations from October - May (except January) on topics relevant to the overall theme. Presentations are typically a combination of some background information and music from CDs and/or YouTube videos, all of which make for lively and informative sessions. We look forward to some wonderful orchestral music. We welcome new members and new ideas for enhancing the enjoyment of classical music. 3rd Thursday 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 with other club members. 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. We meet via zoom on the 3rd Monday of the month, 7 - 9 pm. We are continuing to use zoom as it allows us to more easily invite guest speakers. In person photo shoots are scheduled on an on-going basis. Our first meeting is Monday, October 21, 2024. 3rd Monday of the month, 7-9 pm, First meeting is Oct 21, 2023. This is a conversational Spanish group for people who have learned or are learning Spanish and want some practice. All levels of Spanish are welcome. The group will be capped at 10 members. We will meet in homes from 1:30 -3:30 p.m. Our first meeting will be on October 12th, following that we meet on the 1st Thursday of each month. 1st Thursday 1:30 -3:30 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 contact the convenor 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. 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 Wednesday, 3 p.m. University Women Helping Afghan Women (UWHAW)For the 2024-25 season, UWHAW will be supporting education for Afghan women in Afghanistan by providing female university students in Afghanistan with laptops and internet access. Following the ban on girls attending university by the Taliban in December 2022, online learning is the only way for these girls to get an education, but many have lacked the resources to be able to do so. Our support program will allow them to re-start their education and provide them with hope for their future. In their monthly meetings, UWHAW members will continue to educate themselves about Afghanistan and the evolving situation. We will keep informed and knowledgable about life in Afghanistan, particularly the many challenges faced by women and girls. We will also continue to raise awareness in our community and beyond, and advocate for their human rights. Learn More Email: universitywomenhelpingafghanwomen@cfuw-ottawa.org 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. 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 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Our plan is for this group to meet in person. 2nd Thursday, 4pm Members learn through a variety of mechanisms such as hands on workshops, in person tours and virtual meetings the basics of repairing, replacing, upgrading, installing and creating a variety of things in and for their home. This includes learning about the materials, tools, processes and skills required which permits them to either do-it-themselves (and earn bragging rights) and/or hire a qualified person to do or assist them. 2nd Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m. to noon Email: womenwithhammers@cfuw-ottawa.org 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: 1st Thursday , 7:15pm Email: writersworkshop@cfuw-ottawa.orgFor Group Convenor Contact Information, Please Log into the Website as a MemberYou must then use the Members-Only Tab to find the ”Group Convenors Contact Info” Monthly Schedule of CFUW-Ottawa Interest Groups
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