Programs

Kamloops Adult Learners Society (KALS) is a community of actively engaged learners who are interested in exploring and understanding a broad range of topics, sharing ideas, and meeting others who have similar interests. Classes are usually two hours in length and are single-session or multi-session of two to ten weeks duration.

Membership is required to register. For more information about membership, click here.

How To Register for Courses

On-line by clicking the online registration button:

In person on McArthur Island at 1550 Island Parkway Dr. through-out the semester during office hours Monday-Friday 9am-4pm (Closed from 12pm-1pm). Credit, cash or cheque

Register by Phone by Calling 1-250-376-1525

*Single session courses are non-refundable. Multi session courses are refundable with a $10 cancellation fee.

Western Canada Theatre is 50: A Short, Exciting History
Cost: $0
Min: 8
Max: 30

Single Session

Multi Session

This presentation will provide an overview of WCT over 50 years. Find out how we started. Learn about big players, grand performances, accolades, our education program, and our Indigenous productions. You will even learn about where we are headed. As a follow up to this class, we suggest enrolling in Ginny Ratsoy’s class, Great Canadian Plays You May Have Seen, which begins Tuesday, October 14.

Instructor: Terri Runnalls

Terri Runnalls

Terri Runnalls has been Education and Outreach Director at Western Canada Theatre for many years. She has also been an actor for WCT and other companies.

Location: Kelson Hall
Dates:
Tuesday October 7, 2025 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Maintaining Momentum after Stumbling into Children’s Book Publishing
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 30

Single Session

Multi Session

Braden Hallett wrote and illustrated not one, not two, but THREE middle grade books about living with clinical anxiety while dealing with an invasion of brain-eating hamsters. They have been published. They have won awards. They have sent him on book tours. And the publisher has asked Braden to keep writing for them. Braden is understandably confused about all this, but he is very happy to share how it happened. Braden will share his method for writing and illustrating, and of getting a book series published from start to finish. He will also give a quick primer on the conventions and requirements of publishing books for children.

Instructor: Braden Hallett

Braden Hallett

Braden Hallett is a writer and illustrator. He enjoys drawing, writing, playing pen and paper roleplaying games, and non-alcoholic hoppy malted barley-based beverages. He used to be a teacher, but much prefers drawing and writing things.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Tuesday October 14, 2025 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Great Canadian Plays You May Have Seen
Cost: $35
Min: 8
Max: 30

Single Session

Multi Session

In the spirit of community, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Western Canada Theatre by studying some past Canadian productions of the company. Expect a brief introduction to Canadian theatre history, along with in-depth looks at several short — and exciting — plays: Ernestine Shuswap gets her Trout, Women of the Fur Trade, Unity (1918), Serving Elizabeth. The instructor will provide you with details on how to purchase the plays closer to the start date of the course. As an ideal prelude to this course we suggest in enrolling in Terri Runnalls class, “Western Canada Theatre is 50: A Short, Exciting History”.

Instructor: Ginny Ratsoy

Ginny Ratsoy

Ginny Ratsoy, TRU Professor Emerita and longtime KALS instructor, has published scholarly articles on Canadian plays, and has edited and co-edited theatre anthologies. She also has written program notes for Western Canadian Theatre for several decades.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Tuesday October 14, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tuesday October 21, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tuesday October 28, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tuesday November 4, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Homelessness 101
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

The Mustard Seed is a nonprofit organization with a vision to eliminate homelessness in the communities it serves. Operating for 40 years in 7 cities in Western Canada, the Mustard Seed leads this vision by providing hope and well-being to the most vulnerable in our city. In this presentation, we discuss the complex causes of homelessness and why people in our community experience poverty. We also discuss what the Mustard Seed is doing and the programs we offer. This presentation is information-based, with a short experiential learning piece.

Instructor: Katie Hutchins

Katie Hutchins

Katie Hutchins is the Community & Volunteer Engagement Manager at the Mustard Seed in Kamloops. Katie has been with the Mustard Seed for 5 years in a variety of roles. Prior to working at the Mustard Seed, she volunteered with a variety of organizations in Southern Ontario.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Wednesday October 15, 2025 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
A Metallurgy Lab Tour – Recovering Metal from Rock
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 20

Single Session

Multi Session

We will provide a tour of the ALS Metallurgy Kamloops laboratory. We will demonstrate how we run testing programs to determine appropriate processes to recover metal out of rock, and provide engineering groups with data to determine if such processes would be economically feasible. We will also tour the comminution laboratory where we do tests that determine the amount of power required to break rock ahead of metal recovery, which is a key parameter to determine mine capital and operating costs. The tour will also include the mineralogy laboratory, where we use powerful microscopes to examine what mineral forms the metals are in, and how much breakage is required to physically separate the minerals of economic interest. We will also tour the sample preparation laboratory, where rocks and test products are prepared and then the assay laboratory where the content of metal in rock and test products is determined. Finally, we will visit the pilot plant where processes can be tested on a continuous basis. Wear closed-toe shoes, long sleeve shirts, and long pants. Please plan to arrive a few minutes before 10 to ensure we begin on time.

Instructor: Helen Coombs

Helen Coombs

Helen Coombs is a P. Eng. with over 10 years experience in mineral processing. She started out working in operations, primarily at Mt Isa Mines. She then joined the Xstrata Copper project development team, managing testing programs and plant design aspects of greenfield projects. Since then she’s worked in laboratories, managing projects that evaluate mineralization, develop flowsheets, estimate expected metallurgical performance and assess operating efficiency. Helen graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Mineral Process Engineering (honors). In her spare time, Helen enjoys hiking and camping, and playing music.

Location: 2951 Bowers Place
Dates:
Thursday October 16, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Solutions Journalism: What is it and Why is it Important?
Cost: $15
Min: 8
Max: 30

Single Session

Multi Session

Solutions journalism is considered a newer practice with a focus on solutions. “Solutions journalism investigates and explains, in a critical and clear-eyed way, how people try to solve widely shared problems,” the Solutions Journalism network states. In the class we will explore more about what it is and why it is important by examining various examples of ways of reporting and comparing and contrasting their differences with traditional media.

Instructor: Macarena Mantilla

Macarena Mantilla

Macarena Mantilla moved from Ecuador to pursue her degree in journalism at Thompson Rivers University. She seeks to amplify the stories of people in the Tk’emlúps (Kamloops) territory and currently works at the Wren News, an independent local news outlet. Growing up in Quito, Ecuador taught her about different cultures and helped her obtain a rounded knowledge. She is interested in reporting on social issues, mental health and human rights. She has covered stories that focus on minorities in the community.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Friday October 17, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Art & Conversation: Luminocity
Cost: $0
Min: 8
Max: 20

Single Session

Multi Session

Every two years, Luminocity presents a selection of artworks that respond to the current state of the world through diverse perspectives. With each iteration, the global context seems to be increasingly in flux with the entrenchment of power systems. At the same time, the environmental emergency becomes harder to ignore. Luminocity lets in the light, offering insight into the world around us through artworks that open up networks of cultural exchange and transport us to other realms. We will meet at Rotary Bandshell in Riverside Park. The tour will begin promptly at 7:00pm and will be approximately 90 minutes long. Comfortable walking shoes, weather appropriate clothing and water are recommended.

Instructor: Kristen Gardner

Kristen Gardner

Kristen Gardner is the interim Education and Public Programs Director for the Kamloops Art Gallery. Prior to this role, she served as the School and Youth Programs Coordinator for over three years. Kristen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from TRU (2022) and a Diploma in Digital Art and New Media from Selkirk College (2017). Passionate about arts education, she believes in the power of art to build meaningful connections and create transformative spaces for learning and engagement.

Location: Rotary Band Shell – Riverside Park
Dates:
Tuesday October 21, 2025 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Fire Centre Tour
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 12

Single Session

Multi Session

We will visit the Centre for Wildfire Research, Education, Training and Innovation – a hub dedicated to advancing knowledge and practices in wildfire management amid the growing challenges of extreme fire behaviour and its impacts.

Instructor: Jill Harvey

Jill Harvey

Dr. Harvey investigates wildfire and drought as processes driving ecosystem change to help inform forest and fire management practices and enhance resilience in Canada’s forests.

Location: 800 TRU Way (off McGill)
Dates:
Wednesday October 22, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
From Covid to the Common Cold: Understanding Viruses and the Diseases They Cause
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

There is much confusion and concern about viral infections, their origins, transmission, treatment and prevention.  With the recent increase in measles cases, avian flu, RSV, HPV, as well as Covid, understanding viruses is key to managing our health.

Instructor: Janice Joneja

Janice Joneja

Dr. Janice Joneja holds a PhD in medical microbiology (virology and bacteriology) and immunology. She has held faculty positions at several universities, including the University of British Columbia, and has taught at universities and colleges throughout Canada, the U.S.A., the U.K., and other English-speaking countries. For 13 years she was head of the Allergy Nutrition Clinic at the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre in British Columbia. Dr. Joneja is the author of ten books and practice manuals on immunology and food allergy, several distance education courses, and instructional videos. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals, as well as in popular magazines. She is an internationally recognised expert in the immunology of allergy and has regularly appeared on television and radio call-in shows.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Thursday October 23, 2025 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
The Wren: New Long Form Journalism
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 30

Single Session

Multi Session

My presentation will be on the  growing independent news ecosystem in B.C. and what we’re learning in Kamloops since launching The Wren in 2022. The Wren is an online publication devoted to intensive coverage of local issues.

Instructor: Brandi Schier

Brandi Schier

As the Publisher & CEO of Discourse Community Publishing, Brandi Schier leads a growing network of independent news outlets including The Wren Kamloops, Sun Peaks Independent News, The Revelstoke Mountaineer and The Discourse Cowichan, Nanaimo and Comox. Throughout her career in community news in B.C., Brandi has learned people want to see independent, impactful, solutions-focused local news. She is dedicated to working with her team to re-imagine journalism to better serve communities, including in her work as a sessional journalism instructor at Thompson Rivers University and as the co-chair of Press Forward, Canada’s national association representing independent media.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Thursday October 23, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 am
Political Populism
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

Understanding political populism helps us recognize how leaders appeal to “the people” instead of the elites, often using emotional language and simple solutions. It is useful for identifying potential threats to democracy, media manipulation, and polarization—making us more informed citizens in an age of political upheaval and misinformation. In this interactive seminar, we will watch, and discuss, a number of videos and other sources of information through which you will be introduced to the causes, characteristics, and consequences of political populism.

Instructor: Paul Clark

Paul Clark

Born in Oliver, BC, Paul grew up in Tsawwassen. He has worked both domestically and internationally. Domestically, his commercial experience includes working as a Sales Representative in the non-profit industry, and his own entrepreneurial activities. Internationally, he lived in Asia for over a decade, working in Greater China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. While living in Asia, he worked in both large multi-national companies and smaller entrepreneurial start-up ventures. Paul Clark received a B.A. in Military History from the University of Victoria, Diploma in Business Administration from B.C.I.T. and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. In 2014 he earned his Doctorate in Business Administration (D.B.A.) from the Swiss Management Centre. At Thompson Rivers University, he has been a faculty member in the School of Business and Economics, since 2007. At TRU, he has delivered courses in marketing, international business, and organizational strategy.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Friday October 24, 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Sustainability at TRU: From Run-of-the-Mill to Running the Mill
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 25

Single Session

Multi Session

This one-hour talk will cover a variety of topics that the TRU Sustainability Office is currently working on to retain its position as a sustainability leader in the post-secondary sector in Canada. Topics will include everything from energy, transportation, waste, and biodiversity initiatives to trying to influence everyday behaviours and decisions on academic programming and research to the biggest sustainability project the university has ever undertaken.

Instructor: James Gordon

James Gordon

James has been working at the Sustainability Office at Thompson Rivers University since 2013, initially coordinating research and the zero waste program, and over the last four years as the Manager of Sustainability Programs and now as the Sustainability Director. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree, he decided to devote his career to working in the sustainability realm and trying to make a difference to protect the earth’s natural ecosystems for future generations. He went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education and Communications from Royal Roads University (2011). James’ efforts in the community have ranged from organizing Kamloops’ Bike to Work Week to waste audits for several Kamloops businesses.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Monday October 27, 2025 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
KALS FALL 2025 Calendar Available on Website – August 22nd, 2025 REGISTRATION WILL OPEN – August 28th @ 9 am

How To Register for Membership

On-line by clicking the online registration button:

In person on McArthur Island at 1550 Island Parkway Dr. through-out the semester during office hours Monday-Friday 9am-4pm (Closed from 12pm-1pm). Credit, cash or cheque

Register by Phone by Calling 1-250-376-1525