Special programs and travel
All members are invited to attend The Commonwealth Society’s Book Group, Brown-bag Lunch Series and travel opportunities. Members may also receive notification about other lectures, seminars and performances taking place on the VCU campuses or sponsored by various VCU departments.
Download the registration form [PDF] to sign up for our special programs. Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The Commonwealth Society reserves the right to cancel any class or event if there is not sufficient enrollment.
Travel
- Taubman Museum, Poplar Forest and More
Oct. 16 and 17, 2009
Departing in midafternoon on Friday, Oct. 16, we will travel to Roanoke, Va., for an overnight stay at the beautiful Hotel Roanoke. Early risers can enjoy a brief stroll to the Farmers Market; after breakfast the group will travel together to the Taubman Museum for a self-guided tour. We will depart Roanoke for Poplar Forest — Thomas Jefferson’s country home — before traveling back to Richmond. Approximate arrival time is 6:30 p.m. The tour will be lead by Edwin Slipek Jr. The cost will be $225 based on double occupancy and includes travel by coach and driver gratuity, hotel and deluxe breakfast, entrance fees, and en-route snacks. The single supplement is $45.
- To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures From the Brooklyn Museum, at the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk
Nov. 6, 2009
More than 120 items from one of the world’s greatest collections of Egyptian antiquities will help guests explore the universal theme of life after death. Mummies, sarcophagi, jewelry, statuary, papyri and other age-old pieces illustrate the strategies that ancient Egyptians used to evade death and, ultimately, live forever. The Chrysler is the only mid-Atlantic venue for this popular traveling exhibition. Departing at 8 a.m. we will visit the museum for several hours before heading to the MacArthur Center for lunch or shopping. We will return to Richmond at approximately 6 p.m. The cost of the trip is $70 and includes travel by coach and bus driver gratuity, en-route snacks, and museum admission.
- Newseum and National Geographic Museum
Jan. 14, 2010
Departing Richmond at 7:30 a.m., our first stop will be at the Newseum for a two- to three-hour visit. Early afternoon will find us at the National Geographic Museum for a tour of the Terra-Cotta Warrior Exhibition for one- to one-and-a-half hours duration. This is a traveling exhibition featuring the largest number of terra-cotta figures ever to travel to the U.S. The National Geographic Museum will be the final venue of the exhibition’s four-city U.S. tour and includes 15 terra-cotta figures from the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled from 221-210 B.C. We will return to Richmond at approximately 6 p.m. The cost of the trip is $105 and includes coach and bus driver gratuity, admissions to both museums, and en-route snacks.
International travel
- Tour of China
Please plan to join Dr. John Herman, VCU Department of History, on a three-week tour of China. Tentative itinerary has us arriving in Beijing in mid-May and touring the amazing country by airplane, train and bus. The tour will end with a stay in Shanghai. More information will be available in late October.
Book Group
- The Commonwealth Society Book Group
All current members are invited to participate in these always enlightening discussions. The book group meets the fourth Friday of each month (except December, July and August). Upcoming books are “Harriet and Isabella” by Patricia O’Brien (September), “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout (October), “Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery (November), “Moon Tiger” by Penelope Lively (January), “The Secret of Lost Things” by Sheridan Hay (February), and “The Space Between Us” by Thrity Umrigar (March).
Brown-bag Lunch Series
We invite you to bring lunch as The Commonwealth Society presents a series of lectures on politics, cultural issues and other topics. Notification of times and topics will be sent to members. Drinks and dessert will be provided. Nonmembers may attend on a space-available basis for a fee of $10.