Grace Cavanaugh ~ Staff Writer
Every second and fourth Tuesdays from January to April, the Ukulele Circle will be meeting in Community Room 102 at the Miller Center. The meetings will run from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is free to all that wish to attend.
Located at 301 Grove Street, the Miller Center is a recreational center in Lynchburg that was an elementary school, Miller Park Elementary, built in 1911. According to the Miller Center website, the school closed in 1970 and “became the new headquarters for the Parks and Recreation Department.”
The Miller Center offers many different programs to the Lynchburg community. One such program is a Ukulele Circle hosted at the Miller Center.
According to Megan Heatwole, the Community Recreation Programmer for the Lynchburg Parks and Recreation department, “The Hill City Ukulele Circle began in October of 2016.”
The Miller Center website said that the Ukulele Circle will meet from January to April, but Heatwole said, “The group is ongoing, although attendance weans in the summer because people are traveling, et cetera.”
Anyone regardless of skill is welcome to the Ukulele Circle. While lessons are not currently offered at the Miller Center, Heatwole said, “We have offered classes and workshops in the past and can do so again if there is interest.”
Heatwole also said, “This group is open to all ages and attending these group jams will make you a better player.” While there is no plan for a public performance, Heatwole states, “I am always open to suggestions.”
Besides the Ukulele Circle, there are many other programs offered at the Miller Center. Many different classes are offered free of price, like many culinary classes. Packing the Protein is a class offered on Wednesdays that teaches the importance of protein in a diet. Another, called Detox Your Diet, also meets on Wednesdays and discusses how to “revitalize your diet,” according to the page.
There are also classes that focus more on workouts than food, with a Calisthenics Conditioning class offered on Wednesdays for $10 and an Aerobics class on Tuesdays and Thursdays for free.
During spring break, there are classes offered Monday through Friday targeting children ages 5 to 15. While they are not free, these classes could allow parents to entertain their children during the break with programs such as Cupcake Decorating 101.
For more information on the different programs offered by the Miller Center, please visit http://www.lynchburgparksandrec.com/activity-tags/miller-center/. If you are interested in joining the Ukulele Circle, please register at http://www.lynchburgparksandrec.com/programs-and-activities/hill-city-ukulele-circle-2/.
