Presenters & Workshops

Beat the winter “blahs” and come join us again in “the spirit of Chautauqua”! 

West Bloomfield UCC church will honor our longstanding heritage of intellectual discernment and public entertainment on Saturday, February 3rd. Starting at 9:15 in our Sanctuary, you can enjoy a day of expert presentations on an eclectic range of subjects including Artificial Intelligence, a panel on youth mental health, backyard maple sugaring, the April 8th eclipse, root causes of racism, Feldenkrais, methods of deep discernment, and a demonstration and tour of the 1875 Davis organ at the church. 

Not free all day long?  Sign up for whatever workshops fit into schedule.

The Day of Curiosity event is about experiencing new ideas, cracking open your mind, having fun, and maybe making a new friend or two. Lunch is included in a $10 (optional) donation you can bring with you on 2/3. Please secure your workshop (listed below) choice by pre-registering at http://tiny.cc/dayofcuriosity2024

Workshops & Presenters

WORKSHOP 1 & 2, 10:00am – 11:00am (choose 1)
Youth Mental Health,
Panel: Marsha Foote, Jon Grasso, Facilitator Paul Hudson
Many of us know young people who struggle with their mental health. We often hear of a “Youth Mental Health Crisis”, yet perhaps our youth are just reflecting dis-ease in greater society.   What are we missing?  How can we support all people in living lives of meaning and purpose, being kind to others and ourselves?

Marsha Foote- I have been the director of Ontario County Youth Bureau since 2016 but have worked with youth my entire career.  My degree is in Religious Studies with a minor in Sociology.  I am a former Catholic Nun and a retired clown.  The two are not related however some days they did work closely together. 

Jon Grasso – I have been a school psychologist at Bloomfield Middle High School for over 20 years. I’m also a part-time therapist in private practice, working with youth and young adults and their families.

Workshops 3, 4 A & 4B, 11:15am-12:15pm (choose 1)

Artificial Intelligence –  what is it and how will it affect society?
Clark Hochgraf, RIT Professor
Are you curious why everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)?  In the last year, AI has achieved superhuman capabilities. It can speak, listen, hold a conversation, write poems, create images, or do your kids’ homework. It can even pass the bar exam, ranking in the top 10% of law students. What gives it these superhuman powers and what are the limits? How will AI affect jobs, employment, media, and most importantly, you? Come to this session to understand how AI works, what it can do, and how it is already impacting our lives. Bring your questions and be prepared to be amazed.
Clark Hochgraf is an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a faculty fellow specializing in Generative AI. At RIT, he teaches a graduate course on AI and Machine Learning and he has helped numerous faculty use AI to advance learning. His research involves using AI to enable non-verbal gesture communication between humans and mobile robots.

Mist-Ery of Maple, Backyard Sugarin’
Rock Castor, Co-Director of Respite & Retreat at Lagom Landing
Join us as we explore the gift of maple time in Western NY. We will learn about the biology of sap flow, how to tap maple trees, collect sap, and simple boiling setups to enable you to experience the gift of sugarin’ in your own backyard.
Rock Castor is co-director of Respite & Restoration at Lagom Landing, a Livingston County retreat center that focuses on embodied practices. He is a lifelong residential builder and a big believer in getting out there and getting into it.  He has been a lover and learner of backyard sugarin’ for the past 12 years.

Feldenkrais: Awaken Your Curiosity Through Movement
Lisa Hochgraf, Guild-certified Feldenkrais practitioner in training
We’re curious about a lot of things in life … Today in other sessions, you can explore questions like, “What is redlining and what are its impacts?” “How can I decarbonize at home?” and “How does an antique organ make such an amazing sound?” This session will provide an opportunity to awaken your curiosity about yourself. During an easy-to-do Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson, you’ll bring your awareness to the question of how you make slow, gentle movements, always within your range of comfort. By doing so, you’ll open the possibility of learning something new about yourself, moving better and maybe even liking yourself more
A member of West Bloomfield UCC, Lisa Hochgraf loves to move well–whether she’s sledding, cooking, dancing, snowshoeing, biking or typing. Having curiosity about herself and her movement led her to the Feldenkrais Method, which has helped her learn to move with more comfort and ease. A Feldenkrais student for more than 20 years, Lisa became an authorized trainee teacher of the method’s Awareness Through Movement classes in August 2023, a key milestone on her way to becoming a Guild-certified Feldenkrais practitioner in September 2025.

Are You Ready to Be Eclipsed? Preparing for the 4/8/24 Total Eclipse

Emily Earley, Director of STEM Initiatives YMCA of Greater Rochester 
“What people can expect on April 8, 2024 in Rochester, NY.”

  • I will be talking about the science of what a Total Eclipse is
  • how to safety view the eclipse
  • what this will mean in relation to visitors, crowds, traffic
  • what you will experience during Totality, and leading up to it. 
  • Places you can view the eclipse

Emily has worked at the YMCA of Greater Rochester for the past 5 years; she current role is the Director of STEM Initiatives. In this role, she strive to open doors to bring in more opportunities for youth and adults to get involved with STEM. She is also a Community Eclipse Ambassador with RMSC. Their goal is to help spread awareness of this Epic event so that as many people as possible can safety experience the Total Eclipse.  Emily has always had a passion for science and Outerspace. She graduated from the College at Brockport majoring in Meteorology and Water Resources. She then worked as a Meteorologist and Reporter for WROC-TV and 13WHAM-TV.

Workshops 5 &6, 1:30pm-2:30pm (choose 1)

Root Causes of Inequality and What We can Do about It?
Shane Wiegand, Co-Director of the Antiracist Curriculum Project at CCSI
Have you ever been curious about why our community is so segregated? Or why poverty rates are so high in Greater Rochester? This workshop will explore the historical and current root causes of inequality and the Greater Rochester Region and the stories of everyday people past and present who have worked for civil rights and a more equitable and just community. The session will close with concrete examples and suggestions for how we can work together and move the needle on racial inequity in Greater Rochester.
Shane Wiegand is the Co-Director of the Antiracist Curriculum Project at CCSI, a former fourth-grade teacher at the Rush-Henrietta Central School District, and a board member at City Roots Community Land Trust and Connected Communities. For his education work he was named as one of Rochester Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 in 2021. He and his wife live in the Beechwood neighborhood of Rochester.

Methods of Deep Discernment During Times of Transition
Rev. Corey Keyes, Pastor at West Bloomfield Congregational Church and Operations Director at Haden Institute

Workshops 7& 8, 2:45pm-3:45 (choose 1)

Cut the Carbon: What You Can Do
Enid Cardinal, Chief Sustainability Officer at RIT
Learn about home energy consumption, transportation options, food choices, purchasing decision etc.  We’ll cover more than just decarbonizing physical infrastructure at home.  

How Does an Organ Work, and touring inside WBUCC’s famous 1875 Davis organ with demonstration from Ivan Bosnar

Ivan Bosnar, a native of Croatia, studied organ at the Eastman School of Music with Nathan Laube and improvisation with Edoardo Bellotti and William Porter. He took his first organ lessons at Vatroslav Lisinski School of Music in Zagreb where he studied with Jasna Šumak-Picek. Following high school, he studied organ at Zagreb Music Academy with Mario Penzar and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz with Ulrich Walther. Ivan won First Prize in the Croatian Organ Student Competition in 2009, and Second Prize and Audience Prize in the University of Michigan Organ Improvisation Competition in 2016, and First Prize and Audience Prize in the American Guild of Organists’ National Competition in Organ Improvisation in 2021. He has appeared in several organ festivals, both in Croatia and abroad (Požega Cathedral, Zagreb Cathedral, Loretto, Graz, Pecs, Berlin). He has collaborated with the Croatian Military Symphony Orchestra and the Croatian Radio-television Symphony Orchestra. As a church musician, he served in Croatia as organist at St. Peter’s Church (Zagreb) and at St. Mary’s Church (Zaprešić). In upstate New York he served as organist at St. Boniface Church (Rochester), and as Music Director and Organist at St. John the Evangelist Church (Spencerport). He serves as an organ instructor at Setnor School of Music, Syracuse University, and as organist at St. Mary’s Church in Auburn, NY.