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.

How To Resist End Times Fascism
Cost: $10
Min: 10
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

The far right is rising at an alarming rate – and it’s different from anything we’ve seen before. Billionaire tech barons, ethno-nationalists and religious fundamentalists are uniting in their belief that some kind of cleansing cataclysm is coming. They welcome a future of catastrophe, and they are convinced they’ll be among the saved on the other side. But Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor reveal that these new survivalists are far from impregnable.

Guardian journalist and host of Today in Focus podcast Nosheen Iqbal hosts them to discuss their blistering and hopeful new book, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World. They’ll take us deep into this man-made Armageddon complex and show us how to resist it. This is your chance to hear firsthand from Klein and Taylor on how we can help each other counter this apocalyptic narrative with a far better story. A story not of end times, but of better times; not of separation and supremacy, but of belonging and interdependence. This is a livestream event from London, England. Feel free to bring your lunch.

Instructor: Naomi Klein, Astra Taylor

Naomi Klein, Astra Taylor

Naomi Klein is a Guardian US columnist and contributing writer. She is the professor of climate justice and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice at UBC. Her latest book End Times Fascism – and the Fight for the Living World, co-written with Astra Taylor, will be published this month.

Location: Parkview Community Centre
Dates:
Monday September 28, 2026 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Art and Conversation: In the Rearview Mirror
Cost: $0
Min: 5
Max: 15

Single Session

Multi Session

After 25 years of providing space for aspiring artists of this region to study at home alongside peers from across the country and around the world, Thompson Rivers University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program officially closed this spring. In recognition, this exhibition celebrates a few of the many artists who graduated from this program and continue to create and exhibit work on regional, national, and international stages.

Instructor: Kristen Gardner

Kristen Gardner

Kristen is the Educator and Public Program Director for the Kamloops Art Gallery. Prior to holding this role, she served as the School and Youth Programs Coordinator for 4 years. Kristen holds a Bachelor’s Fine Arts degree from TRU (2002) and a Diploma in Digital Arts and New Media from Selkirk College (2017). Passionate about arts education, she believes in the power of art to build meaningful connection and create transformative spaces for engagement in learning.

Location: Kamloops Art Gallery, 465 Victoria Street
Dates:
Tuesday September 29, 2026 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Kamloops Cattle Auction
Cost: $10
Min: 5
Max: 15

Single Session

Multi Session

Since 1943, BC Livestock has been selling cattle throughout the province.  Kamloops is one of 4 auction sites run by rancher-owned and operated businesses.  All sales are open to the public, but KALS has an opportunity to meet the auctioneer and have a brief tour before the auction begins.

Instructor: Russell Allison

Russell Allison

Russell is an award winning, professional auctioneer from Clinton, BC. He graduated from the Western College of Auctioneering in Billings, Montana before the age of 20. In 2025 he won Rookie of the Year at the Canadian Livestock Auctioneering Championship in Manitoba. He also does many charity and fundraising auctions.

Location: 10145 Dallas Drive
Dates:
Tuesday September 29, 2026 8:30 am – 10:00 am
Additional Comments:
Take the Lafarge exit (#390) off Hwy 1 and turn left on Dallas Drive. Stockyards are about 1.5 km along, on the right. The auction is indoors and runs until noon. Participants can leave when they want. Please arrive 5-10 minutes early as the auctioneer must begin work promptly at 9.
Ukranian Lessons: Art in a Time of War.
Cost: $10
Min: 10
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

Charlotte Higgins never imagined she would report on a war. But in the autumn of 2022, seven months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she travelled there to cover a literary festival. The experience would change her life. In her searing new book, Ukranian Lessons: Art in a Time of War, she details her first-hand account of art, survival and resistance in wartime Ukraine. Drawing on two decades of cultural journalism at the Guardian, three years of reporting trips to Ukraine and her training as a classicist, she explores what artists are prepared to risk – and why culture remains worth fighting for. She will be in conversation with three exceptional Ukrainian writers, Olia Hercules, Sasha Dovzhyk and Olesya Khromeychuk. Chaired by Shaun Walker, the Guardian’s central and eastern European correspondent, join them as they reflect on how art and literature give voice to the often unspoken truths, horrors and emotions of the conflict. This is a livestream event from London, England. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

Instructor: Charlotte Higgins, Olia Hercules, Sasha Dovzhyk, Olesya Khromeychuk

Charlotte Higgins, Olia Hercules, Sasha Dovzhyk, Olesya Khromeychuk

Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian’s chief culture writer. As an author, most of her books touch on the aspects of the ancient world. She is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a past winner of the UK’s Classical Association Prize.

Location: Parkview Community Centre, 500 McDonald Ave.
Dates:
Wednesday September 30, 2026 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Models of Community Wealth Building
Cost: $10.00
Min: 8
Max: 30

Single Session

Multi Session

What would the Kamloops region look like if we took a people-centred approach to economic development, affordable housing, and community ownership? Through interactive discussion and workshop activities, we’ll explore examples of community wealth building in the Kamloops region and opportunities to further grow our community wealth building strategies

Instructor: Lindsay Harris

Lindsay Harris

Lindsay Harris is a community developer and researcher living in Kamloops, BC. She has a PhD from UBCO and a background in agriculture and food systems, affordable housing, community economic development, rural and small city resilience and grassroots community decision making. She is a co-owner of Tapestry Collective Co-op and the Executive Director of the Propolis Cooperative Housing Society, which aims to build affordable, sustainable housing in the Kamloops region.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Dr.
Dates:
Thursday October 1, 2026 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Jackson Pollock
Cost: $10
Min: 8
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is universally famous for his Abstract Expressionist drip paintings. Two women in his life made major contributions to his success in the Ab Ex movement. The CIA also played a role in promoting Abstract Expressionism. This presentation will consider his well known Ab Ex works as well as the paintings of Janet Sobel and Lee Krasner, and other women of the Ab Ex movement.

Instructor: Ila Crawford

Ila Crawford

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Location: Parkview Activity Centre, 500 McDonald Ave.
Dates:
Friday October 2, 2026 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Planet Bee Honey Farm & Meadery
Cost: $15.00
Min: 10
Max: 20

Single Session

Multi Session

Listen and learn about bees and the variety of honeys in a presentation at this farm near Vernon. Watch the bees make honeycombs. Experience working bees up close. Taste the honey and mead, honey wine made from the farm’s honey. Take a bee friendly garden walk suitable for all abilities. Davidson Orchard is nearby and has a cafe and two gazebos for a lunch break. Bring $3 if you would like to participate in the mead tasting. Meet at Shopper’s Drug Mart in the Valleyview Parking lot to carpool. Departure at 10:00 am.

Instructor: Martin, Honey Farm Manager

Martin, Honey Farm Manager

The Nowek Family has run the business since 1997. Ed Nowek founded his dream business “Bee World”. It later became known as Planet Bee. Ed wanted people to discover “the amazing world of Honey bees”.

Location: 5011 Bella Vista Road, Vernon
Dates:
Monday October 5, 2026 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Tour of Catloops Cat Cafe
Cost: $10
Min: 5
Max: 14

Single Session

Multi Session

This class is an opportunity to tour, learn the history of, and enjoy a visit with the cats who have been rescued by Sammy’s Forgotten Felines, and who are awaiting adoption through the Catloops Cat Cafe.

Instructor: Julie Ondang

Julie Ondang

Julie is the Co-founder and Director of Sammy’s Forgotten Felines Rescue Society, founded in 2010. She is, as well, the Owner/Operator of the Catloops Cat Cafe.

Location: #2 – 970 Laval Cres
Dates:
Tuesday October 6, 2026 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Protecting our Rivers: Why and How to Xeriscape, and What’s in it for You?
Cost: $10
Min: 10
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

We will look at the benefits of reducing, but not eliminating altogether, the amount of water we use in our gardens.  We will discuss principles and tips for doing this.  We will also look at issues around the use of mulch while considering the FireSmart principles.

Instructor: Fearon Blair

Fearon Blair

Fearon Blair is a Master Gardener with many years of gardening experience. She is very concerned about our changing climate, and especially about keeping our rivers healthy and available to support us as well as all the other living things that depend on the rivers.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council, #101-1550 Island Parkway, Kamloops
Dates:
Tuesday October 6, 2026 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
The Odyssey: title without a movie
Cost: $10.00
Min: 8
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

WELL?  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT?

After all the hype about the casting, about the I-MAX cinematography, about the screenplay and script, and other features . . . . .WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT?

Join  this KALS discussion group for a brief but intense examination of some of the film’s many features that may have shaped your own reactions.  Discussion topics may include items such as this — should this film be judged as a treatment of a revered Homeric screenplay, or as just another entertaining summer adventure movie?

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

Instructor: Rod Michell

Rod Michell

Rod Michell is a long time resident of Kamloops. With a Masters Degree in English Language and literature from Oxford, Rod taught in the TRU English Department for over 35 years. On retirement, Rod has continued to teach, this time for KALS, and since 2008 has taught as many as 20 courses in literature, especially the Classics. Rod’s love of music led him to offer to write the programme notes for the Kamloops Symphony concerts. It is out of his research for the Symphony Notes that the classes of “Come to the Concert” have evolved to become a regular item in the KALS calendar.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Drive
Dates:
Wednesday October 7, 2026 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
3D Printing
Cost: $15
Min: 5
Max: 16

Single Session

Multi Session

The course will cover the ins and outs of printing on a 3D printer, where to find already made 3D files to print and will also introduce how to design your own 3D item to print.  You will be able to print a small item on the day.

Instructor: Gord Stewart

Gord Stewart

Gord Stewart is the Executive Director of the BIG Little Science Centre. He has been tinkering with 3D printing and 3D modelling for many years.

Location: BIG Little Science Centre, 458 Seymour St., Kamloops
Dates:
Thursday October 8, 2026 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Understanding Today’s Middle East
Cost: $10.00
Min: 10
Max: 40

Single Session

Multi Session

The History of the Middle East helps explain its current situation, and provides a foundation for thinking about how it may develop. This lecture proposes a framework for understanding today’s region, by reviewing geography, colonial legacies, oil wealth, individual leaders, and other factors. It identifies recurring regional patterns that play out differently across individual countries. Particular topics include a discussion of why democracy has proven weaker in the Middle East than the state of economic development might suggest, and how the various waves of colonisers have contributed to the mosaic of ethnicities and religions. The lecture concludes by using Iran as an illustrative case study of how all these factors can play out at a local level, inviting discussion of how the same factors have played out differently in other countries. This is a Zoom class, so you may enjoy it along with others in the Sports Council classroom, or in the comfort of your home if you wish.

Instructor: Jo Whitehead

Jo Whitehead

Dr. Whitehead is a graduate of Cambridge University in England with a BA in Engineering, has an MBA from Harvard Business School, was a Fulbright Scholar and has a Ph. D from London Business School After a long, varied and successful career as a consultant, teacher and researcher on business strategies and management issues in large companies, Dr. Whitehead is now an adjunct lecturer for the Hult International Business School. In addition, he lectures at the University of the Third Age, Cambridge, on a range of topics including the Cold War, Empire. the Middle East, and on Progress and the Science of Happiness.

Location: Kamloops Sports Council – 1550 Island Parkway Drive
Dates:
Tuesday October 13, 2026 9:00 am – 11:00 am
KALS Fall 2026 Calendar Available on Website – August 21st, 2026 REGISTRATION WILL OPEN – August 2026 @ 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