Osher - Special Events

Special Events

Courses & Events

Osher Membership Fee

A required individual Osher membership fee of just $25 will be collected during the fall semester each year to grant participation in the Osher offerings for the next 12 months. Your paid membership allows you to attend Osher courses and special events. Membership in Osher helps to keep the cost of classes affordable for all. We're excited to nurture your ongoing quest to learn as you engage with and contribute greatly to the world around you.

July 16, 2025 to December 31, 2025

A Christmas Story: The Musical

From the songwriting team behind the smash-hit, Tony Award-winning musical "Dear Evan Hansen" and the critically acclaimed films "La La Land" and "The Greatest Showman," "A Christmas Story: The Musical" brings the classic 1983 movie to hilarious life on stage! Nominated for three 2013 Tony Awards including Best Musical, the Associated Press calls "A Christmas Story: The Musical" "a joyous Christmas miracle," while The New York Times writes "I was dazzled. You'd have to have a Grinch-sized heart not to feel a smile spreading across your face." The event includes top-notch seats behind the Lied Center's orchestra pit and a catered dinner with a special Osher-only presentation before the show. All reservations must be made by Nov. 18. No refunds will be given after that date.

Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Lied Center

Christmas Carols, Cookie Decorating and Cocoa

"Carols for Christmas I," last December, was a much-enjoyed Osher class. Join us for "Carols for Christmas II," as we explore a new selection of carols from the Sir David Wilcox collection and a sampling of carols from throughout the world. Since we'll work up an appetite singing, we'll each decorate a dozen Christmas cookies with the help of a pro pastry chef. (We won't tell Santa if they don't all make it home.) Bring your friends and family to create a new holiday tradition!

Saturday, December 13, 2025, St Andrews Classroom

Presidents and First Ladies

Osher members are invited to attend a special event at Brandon Woods about President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover. This event is free to Osher members as a gift from our partner, Brandon Woods at Alvamar. Refreshments will be provided by Brandon Woods at Alvamar. Seating is limited. You can register for either a 10am or 2pm event.


Brandon Woods at Alvamar- 1501 Inverness Dr., Lawrence KS 66047

No admission fee, but reservations are required by completing the Osher registration form.


This course contains no sessions
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Turn-of-the-Century Holiday Traditions

Experience the holidays through the lens of history by visiting two of Kansas City's turn-of-the-century mansions, completely transformed for the Christmas season, and a traditional Catholic Church built in 1900. The day will start with a tour of the Strawberry Hill Museum and Cultural Center, housed in a mansion built on a bluff overlooking downtown Kansas City in 1887. Each of the mansion's rooms will be awash in holiday décor, including traditional Eastern European decorations. After a traditional Croatian lunch, we will tour the St. John the Baptist Church, celebrating its Centennial in 2025. We will board the bus and head east to the Vaile Victorian Mansion, one of the best examples of Second Empire-style architecture in the United States. The 31-room mansion includes nine marble fireplaces, spectacular painted ceilings and a 48,000-gallon wine cellar, all transformed for the holidays.

Includes: Docent-led tours of the Strawberry Hill Museum, the Vaile Mansion and St. John the Baptist Church, a traditional four-course Croatian lunch, executive coach transportation and a special Christmas treat. The coach will pick up and drop off students at the St. Andrews Office Building in Lawrence and at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

Friday, December 12, 2025