We have all heard amazing stories of
survival that rendered us awestruck. But
too often, we don’t realize that there is a
wealth of information to learn from
people who make it to the other side of
life’s most daunting challenges. 
In Extreme Survival author Michael J.
Tougias first captivates the audience by
chronicling harrowing survival stories
and then discusses the lessons learned.
Tougias uses slides from some of the
survival events to give the audience an
edge-of-your-seat experience that also
provides useful techniques that we can
all use when faced with adversity or
aspire to achieve a difficult goal.
Tougias has interviewed over 100
people who survived against all odds,
and researched many historical figures
who have achieved the near-impossible.
He supplements their stories with a
handful of first person accounts from
some of the toughest survivors in history.

Green Mountain Swing is an all-volunteer, 18-piece big band. They play music from the swing era, when swing was king, as in the immortal bands of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and others. They also include music from the “bop” and “post bop” periods which followed and throw into the mix many modern tunes and music from the Latin field. You won’t want to miss this fun, fabulous performance!

Eshqua Bog is a botanical wonderland of cold-climate holdovers—small pockets of bog and a two acre fen—from the post-glacial era 10,000 years ago. This preserve contains a diverse array of bog and fen plants: labrador tea, cotton grass, pitcher plants, showy lady’s slippers, larches and buckbean.
For universal accessibility, they’ve installed a 460-foot boardwalk so that more people could enjoy Eshqua’s natural treasures from its multiple viewing platforms and benches.
We’ll bring bag lunches provided by Westview Meadows’ kitchen and have a picnic lunch at nearby East End Park.

Pauline is a watercolor artist who will offer guidance and instruction
during this immersive painting session. This activity is open to all skill levels, no prior experience is necessary.

The 251 Club of Vermont, established in 1954, is an organization of Vermont enthusiasts whose objective is to visit the 251 towns and cities in Vermont. The 251 Club at Westview Meadows will meet on Tuesday, May 7th in the Private Dining Room to plan the trip set for later in the month. The trip is scheduled for Friday, May 31st, departing at 11am.

Join Dan Norris for a discussion and learn skills and adaptations for managing vision loss. The Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VABVI) is the only private agency to offer training, services, and support to visually impaired Vermonters. Their mission is to enable Vermonters who are blind or visually impaired, to be more independent, cultivate adaptive skills and improve their quality of life.

Donna Thunder knows how to put on a great show that gets everyone singing, clapping and dancing. With Donna’s fun energy and wide selection of music, she is sure to play something everyone will enjoy!

An avid outdoorsperson and amateur naturalist, Phyllis Rubenstein will guide us along her “flip-flop” thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Beginning on April 15th, 2023 on Springer Mountain, Georgia, Phyllis followed spring and then summer wildflowers to central Pennsylvania. In mid-July, she flipped north, summited Mount Katahdin, Maine, and then followed summer wildflowers and fall foliage south to central Pennsylvania, completing her hike of 2198 miles on November 7th. Phyllis will share photographs and stories about flora and fauna, trail life, gear and food, the hiking community, and the joys and challenges she encountered on her epic journey.