Sand Lily |

Explore the world of mystery novels with fellow enthusiasts. Email club leader Linda Messersmith at messer@mindspring.com for the current reading list or just drop in to join the discussion.

Twinberry Auditorium | 1:30 pm

Ride the High Country is a reflective Western that pairs aging legends Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea as former lawmen hired to transport gold through dangerous territory. What begins as a simple job becomes a test of loyalty and conscience, and the story becomes a tender meditation on honor, both elegiac and stirring. Directed by Sam Peckinpah, 1hr 34 min.

June 9, Tuesday – Nancy Richardson Design Center 10:00 am – approximately 11:30 am.

The RDC is an interdisciplinary space focused on design thinking at Colorado State University & includes design studios, a prototyping lab with laser cutters, 3D printers & much more! Students learn laser cutting, metalsmithing, product prototyping, woodworking & can even enter the world of digital design, augmented reality, & virtual reality. Join us to tour this exciting state-of-the-art facility located at 522 W Lake St, adjacent to the CSU football stadium. Parking info will be provided as the date nears. Minimum of 5, maximum of 20 participants. Register through the Senior Center either by phone (970-221-6644) or online for Activity 207411-05. Contact Terry Barrett at tbarrettt2@gmail.com for more information.

Special Front Range Forum event to celebrate the end of the Spring term — Friday, June 5, 2026,  1:30-3:30 pm

FREE and open to the public — bring your friends! 

Twinberry Auditorium, Fort Collins Senior Center,

Do you know and love the music of Santana, Bonnie Raitt, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Petty, The Doors, Melissa Etheridge, Bruce Springsteen and other stars of classic rock? Then you will love "Rattle Your Bones- A Feast of Classic Rock," a special Front Range Forum presentation by Tim Van Schmidt. Cool original photos, custom made videos, lively commentary and music, music, music will entertain, inform and challenge you. Be there, sit back and enjoy the ride in a dynamic program that is guaranteed to rattle your bones!

After the Annual meeting, in addition to the Ice Cream Social, we will have an informal book swap! Bring books that you no longer read and take home books you would like to read.

Our Front Range Forum Annual meeting will provide information about our last year, including results of the members’ survey and our candidate for Vice President, and will be followed by an ice cream social and book swap at 2:30!

FRONT RANGE FORUM HOTSHOTS

Hot Shots Photography Group meets the 4th Wednesday at noon of every month. Participants use many different types of cameras or phone cameras. We pick challenges of the month to learn new photography situations, and share a few of the photos taken during the month to discuss at our meetings. We pick new topics for photographs and for learning each time we meet. Recent learning topics included options for backing up photos, digital photo editing programs, portrait photography, and use of AI in photography.

Contact Marcia Patton-Mallory for more information at mpattonmallory@gmail.com.

New members are welcome.

FRONT RANGE FORUM GOES TO THE OPERA

No registration required to attend, must be a member of Front Range Forum

When: Third Wednesday of the Month;

Time: 1 p.m.—4 p.m.

Place: Twinberry Auditorium, Senior Center

Wednesday, May 20—Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, 2hr 39min.

Hoffmann is a poet who has been terribly unlucky in love. We watch flashbacks into three of his love affairs, each darker than the previous one. He is accompanied by a demonic villain and an unreliable muse. Starring Vittorio Grigolo, Erin Morley, Thomas Hampson, and Kate Lindsey. 2015

MYSTERY BOOK CLUB

Are you one of the Front Range Forum members who love to read mystery books?

Then you need to know that the Front Range Forum Mystery Book Club meets on the 3rd Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. every month. We are a group who devour mystery novels and who have favorites that we love to share with others.

This is an outgrowth of a 2016 Front Range Forum class, but now with many regulars who have joined since then.

Please come and share the wide, wide world of mystery novels! Email Linda Messersmith at messer@mindspring.com to get a list of the books we

are reading or just come join us some Wednesday!

COMMUNITY LUNCH

Join us on the second Thursday of the month in Foxtail 2 from noon to 1 p.m. for an hour of interesting conversation and enjoying each other’s company. We hope that this will give members a chance to get to know each other.

Please bring your own lunch.

FRONT RANGE FORUM GOES TO THE MOVIES Second Wednesday of each month Time: Program begins at 1:30 Place: Twinberry Auditorium, Senior Center No registration required to attend, but must be a member of Front Range Forum

AUDIENCE CHOICE: TWO WESTERN FILMS

Wednesday, May 13 -- The Big Country (1958) Directed by William Wyler, 2hrs. 26 mins. The Big Country blends sweeping Western vistas with the themes of pride, honor, and frontier conflict. The film follows a principled sea captain (Gregory Peck) who enters a bitter land feud after arriving in the West to marry a rancher’s daughter. Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, and Charles Bickford round out a powerhouse cast, with Ives delivering an Oscar-winning performance. Wyler uses the vast landscapes not just for spectacle but to underline the characters’ moral choices. The film invites viewers into a world where personal integrity matters as much as gunplay.

Poet's Forum Monthly Meeting Group

Second Wednesdays of the Month Co-facilitators Tim Van Schmidt and Mark J. Rosoff

May 13-Noontime poetry reading at Tandem Squared (this location is for May meeting only) featuring Poet’s Forum Poets. Free & open to the public!

May 12, Tuesday – Front Range Forum will go to Ft Collins Water Treatment Plant, 4316 Laporte Ave, 9:00 am – approximately 11:00 am. Our Ft Collins drinking water begins its journey in the Cache la Poudre River & Horsetooth Reservoir—but what reaches your tap is the result of advanced treatment & constant vigilance. On this tour, you’ll get an inside look at the sophisticated processes that transform raw water into some of the highest-quality drinking water in the country. From source to tap, you’ll see firsthand how every drop is monitored, protected, & delivered with exceptional care 24/7/365. Because this is a secure facility, registration is required no later than Sunday, May 3 at 5 PM & we will be carpooling to the plant. Register through the Senior Center either by phone (970-2216644) or online for Activity 207411-03. Contact Terry Barrett at tbarrettt2@gmail.com for more information.

“Great Art Meet Spring 2026”

Last Winter’s “Great World Art” class for Front Range Forum was so successful that facilitator Tim Van Schmidt has scheduled a single Great Art-sharing session in May. On Monday, May 11 join Tim and other art lovers in a special meet-up to discuss art history, artistic techniques and to bring in and share your favorite art from home- or from elsewhere in the world! Participation is encouraged! The session is scheduled for the Foxtail 2 room in the Fort Collins Senior Center on May 11 from 1:30-3:30

The Twinberry Auditorium in the Fort Collins Senior Center is the venue for our next movie playing on Wednesday, April 8th. Doors open at 1:00 pm, the movie starts at 1:30 pm. Following the movie, a facilitator-led discussion will allow viewers to participate in a dialogue on the film. 

The Big Sleep (1946) Directed by Howard Hawks, running time 1:54

Private detective Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by wealthy General Sternwood to resolve a blackmail scheme involving his daughter Carmen. What begins as a simple case, spirals into a labyrinth of murder, deception, and organized crime. Along the way, Marlowe encounters Vivian (Lauren Bacall), the general’s sharp-witted elder daughter, whose motives are as enigmatic as her allure. The film’s famously convoluted plot—adapted from Raymond Chandler’s novel—becomes secondary to its atmosphere, dialogue, and the electric Bogart-Bacall pairing.

March 25, Wednesday– Hotshots Photography Group Senior Center | 12:00 – 1:30 pm

New members are welcome as we share techniques and expand our photography skills together. For more information contact Marcia Patton-Mallory at mpattonmallory@gmail.com.

March 24, Tuesday – Front Range Forum Presents: The Story of the Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd

(This special event is free & open to the public! FRF membership is NOT required.)

Twinberry Auditorium | 1:30 – 3:30

CSU Associate Professor Jennifer Barfield brings to life the story behind the extraordinary effort that brought back disease-free American bison to our prairies & Native American lands. Sophisticated assisted reproductive technologies, including a cleaning technique that eradicates harmful bacteria, allow Barfield’s lab to produce brucellosis free bison with desirable Yellowstone genetics. It’s been 10 years since the ceremonious first release of ten bison onto the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area & the Red Mountain Open Space & today the herd is thriving with bison roaming over 2,700 acres

March 19, Thursday – More to Explore: Walker Manufacturing, 5925 E Harmony Rd, 10:00 am – approximately 11:30 am.

In 1953, Kansas farmer Max Walker scraped together enough metal parts in his barn to build his son Bob a miniature Caterpillar tractor. By continually tinkering & modifying this toy tractor in his spare time, Max slowly & gradually outgrew his farm & began a company that now employs around 200 people in Ft Collins & has sold more than 150,000 Walker Lawn Mowers worldwide. We’ll hear about this triumph of American ingenuity & perseverance & tour the plant to see all the steps needed to get raw materials in one door & finished products out the other. Tour lasts 60-90 minutes. 5-20 participants. Register through the Senior Center by phone

The Twinberry Theater at the Fort Collins Senior Center is the venue for our next opera playing on Wednesday, March 18th. Doors open at 1:00 pm, the film starts at 1:30 pm.

Nabucco. Giuseppi Verdi 1841, running time: 2:30

Nabucco, King of Babylon, leads an army that conquers the Hebrews. His scheming daughter Abagaille uses the war to advance her own agenda of love and murder. The story involves all kinds of wonderful operatic action including kidnapping, madness and a fair amount of divine intervention. And great music, of course. Placido Domingo and Liudmylla Monastyrska star.

March 18, Wednesday – Mystery Book Club Senior Center | 12:00 – 12:45 pm

Explore the world of mystery novels with fellow enthusiasts. Email club leader Linda Messersmith at messer@mindspring.com for the current reading list or just drop in to join the discussion.

March 18 (NOTE SPECIAL DATE), Wednesday – Poet’s Forum Monthly Meeting with Tim Van Schmidt & Mark J. Rosoff

Foxtail 2 | 11:45 – 12:45 pm

Poet’s Forum is a place for sharing & listening & is the product of the Poet’s Forum class led by Tim Van Schmidt & Mark J. Rosoff. This monthly meeting now continues to bring in excellent guest poets, but above all, the group is dedicated to fostering a supportive & creative environment. Bring your poems & your ears!

March 12, Thursday – Community Lunch

FOOTHILLS ACTIVITY CENTER (PLEASE NOTE SPECIAL PLACE THIS WEEK) / Noon-1 pm.

We meet for an hour on the 2nd Thursday of each month to enjoy each other's company & discuss an intriguing question. Bring your lunch & this month we’ll sit & discuss: You own a time machine that will take you anywhere & any place, past or future. Where will you go? Why? (And yes, the time machine will bring you back to our

current time & place if you wish!) Check the Events bulletin each month for our Community Lunch discussion topics.

FOOTHILSS ACTIVITY CENTER (THIS MONTH ONLY), 241 E Foothills Pkwy, Fort Collins, CO 80525, opposite the parking garage, is the venue for our next movie playing on Wednesday, March 11th. Doors open at 1:00 pm, the movie starts at 1:30 pm. Following the movie, a facilitator-led discussion will allow viewers to participate in a dialogue on the film

The Taming of the Shrew (1967) Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, running time 2:02

Franco Zeffirelli’s lavish adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy stars Elizabeth Taylor as fiery Katharina, whose sharp tongue and defiance make her the “shrew” no man dares marry. Petruchio (Richard Burton), a fortune-seeking suitor is determined to “tame” her. Their battle of wills unfolds in Padua, where disguises, mistaken identities, and romantic subplots swirl around Bianca, Katharina’s younger sister. The film revels in verbal sparring and physical comedy, with Taylor and Burton’s real-life tempestuous marriage fueling the on-screen fireworks.

March 4, Wednesday – Lunch & Learn (Free & Open to the Public!)

Foxtail 2 / 11:45-12:45 pm.

Come hear entomologist Tristan Kubik of CSU’s Colorado Natural Heritage Program & learn about the many amazing things that insects do for us & their importance in preserving the biodiversity of our world. All Lunch & Learn programs are free & open to the public so please invite your interested friends & neighbors!

New members are welcome as we share techniques and expand our photography skills together. For more information contact Marcia Patton-Mallory at mpattonmallory@gmail.com.

The Twinberry Auditorium in the Senior Center is the venue for our filmed opera production playing on Wednesday, February 18th. Doors open at 1:00 pm, the opera starts at 1:30 pm. Following the film, a facilitator-led discussion will allow viewers to participate in a dialogue on the film.

The Magic Flute. W. A.Mozart 1791, running time: 1:52

This highly convoluted story involves a quest by Good Guys. This is, of course, opposed by Bad Guys who are led by the evil Queen of the Night. This production is a streamlined version of the story with gorgeous music and absolutely wonderful giant puppets. Matthew Polenzani, Nathan Gunn, and Erika Miklosan star.

Explore the world of mystery novels with fellow enthusiasts. Email club leader Linda Messersmith at messer@mindspring.com for the current reading list or just drop in to join the discussion.

Every month, we’ll meet in Foxtail 2 from noon to 1:00 pm on the second Thursday of each month for an hour of just enjoying each other’s company. We hope that this will give members a chance to get to know their fellow classmates.

Bring your own lunch and we’ll just sit and chat.