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TechDay: AI kansen en valkuilen
Donderdag 21 mei 2026 is het weer tijd voor onze Techday: hét vaste moment waarop we kennis delen, elkaar inspireren en nieuwe ideeën direct in de praktijk brengen.
Deze editie pakken we het aan als een conferentie in het klein. Drie sprekers, drie verhalen, één middag – drie verhalen voor de prijs van één.
Wat kun je verwachten?
**Dirk neemt een kijkje onder de motorkap van AI**
AI voelt voor veel mensen als magie. In deze talk probeer ik de magie weg te nemen door een kijkje te nemen onder de motorkap. Een essentieel bouwblok van moderne AI is een neuraal netwerk. Als je begrijpt hoe een neuraal netwerk werkt, is het een stuk makkelijker om te begrijpen hoe en waarom een LLM werkt.
De beste manier om iets te begrijpen is door het te bouwen, vanaf scratch. Dus dat gaan we in deze talk doen. Door dat te doen leren we over artificial neurons, activation functions, backpropagation en meer.
**George vertelt hoe AI Cyberaanvallen verandert**
George Schizas (extern), voormalig IT Manager, nu werkzaam als CISO, vertelt over zijn ervaringen in de Cloud Cyber Security en hoe hackers met behulp van AI nieuwe aanvalsmethoden kunnen gebruiken om kwetsbaarheden op te sporen en te exploiteren. Hij geeft voorbeelden van manieren om in Kubernetes omgevingen in te breken en noemt manieren om dit tegen te gaan.
**Roland duikt in de wereld van de fraude fabriek**
Als ontwikkelaar kom je dagelijks in contact met technologie en de laatste jaren natuurlijk ook vaak met AI. JIJ snapt heel goed wat de voordelen en de gevaren zijn, maar hoe leg je complexe onderwerpen als AI gegenereerde afbeeldingen, Voice Phishing en Hallucinaties uit aan je ouders, de buurvrouw, of je kinderen? Ik neem jullie mee in een realistische situatie waarin Anna en haar familie opgelicht wordt met behulp van verschillende technieken en hoe dit oplichters-landschap met behulp van AI verandert.
**Wanneer:** Donderdag 21 mei 2026
**Wat:** Techday – conferentie-editie “AI kansen en valkuilen”
**Voor wie:** Iedereen (!) die nieuwsgierig is en wil leren
**Agenda**
14:45 - 15:00 - Inloop
15:00 - 16:00 - Neurale netwerken
16:15 - 17:15 - AI risico’s en kansen
17:15 - 18:00 - Eten
18:00 - 18:45 - Fraude fabriek
We zien je graag op de Techday!
You & Your Brand: A Casual Sharing Time for Business Owners (online)
**RSVP here via EventBrite [here](https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/you-and-your-brand-a-casual-networking-hour-tickets-1984283125243).**
Expand your visibility.
Join a casual online time to share about you, your brand and business, and learn more about other business owners, locally and globally. Share upcoming events and workshops, too.
After each business owner gets the spotlight to share, we then move into a topic-oriented discussion. This month, the topic is begin chosen by [Isabella Maria Noguera, MSc](https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabellamarianoguera/) over of Be Your Brand Consulting.
Every session closes with gratitude and a creative activity, so have a pen and paper, tablet, or something available in case we write/create/draw.
**RSVP here via EventBrite [here](https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/you-and-your-brand-a-casual-networking-hour-tickets-1984283125243).**
*-*
*\*\*\*The only requirements are a minimum age of 18 years old, be a business owner or preparing to launch,*
*and **at least three attendees** register to make it a worthwhile hour for everyone.\*\*\**
Beyond the prompt: UX research as your competitive edge
We’re back! On **May 21st**, PuXu returns to Acato in Utrecht for a meetup dedicated entirely to **Research**.
**Speaker 1: Emmanuelle Savarit**
Emmanuelle is a UX researcher with 20+ years of experience. She's built and led research teams at Facebook, Just Eat Takeaway, LSEG (Refinitiv), and Thomson Reuters. She ran her own UX research agency for 10 years. She's written two books, hosts the UX Research Club podcast, and now focuses on helping researchers increase their strategic impact, including navigating AI.
In short: she knows what it takes to move research from tactical to strategic, and she's coming to Utrecht to talk about it.
**Special Offer:** Emmanuelle is the author of *The UX Research Powerhouse*. As a PuXu attendee, you can [pre-order your copy](http://clicks.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=u001.NY3oBFzZ5LJDG7YcnfSAKt-2FPbu0mdbClRwu8GKKRoO80nKlP-2FLm90aUF5CQqytHZ3qPz_74u5-2F-2BkTZmgMdnIu03cC4mmjtImPovdZ1zhiEax5tCGl-2BX4fyxb41gNAMGCWV5p-2F3ZXnrHzXrYb-2FEX1gm6iU0hCqBeZf0X8TDiJ-2FF2Pb5b0AYKY0z73yUDJwsJeyVUq2KtnZTX6IPrsDNa2UkzczY3hKG3S2HRTZ-2F-2F-2B5qIwx3CPXatPQFxQ52SkLNZ5jtWr2BsPEXqg9XUqI4UVveDZFOzr6Jpxsj6HpP5WPTNn9JfRQGsEK6lvy8Funa0EQyQ5-2Fcs-2B47BimpzF-2BEXne3mS-2BZNzrupqrFFi2fX4yIrWqpynPk6sL8GL1wQYphmXVe60iss42yhd4nNcrL3QnxXpmXREmBBaQDTLdBvlEgh-2BlmcKlZdw6YOLqURK9zvY-2FZT5KaZSep0LjLq0ckOBsBXggyUAiy01ioYfPSic9ypG0U9487DG53iY3jWQMuNSrHZokvJpDhdJ90J3JwMV8sFus1jAghL1xl0LlFTEJpqn6t0IDZ1Yply0uZ5X2veN2tA6ExM9KeLmTIDEk7ps7HLzVl7BhlE3HPR0nzpsaeXQjsAOoU-2BnH0eHPtBMoFi4jTJ-2BzcDaUWHmnZT1Xq5B2aktBwrvpQR2rC-2B2F3HcHTn3UrTwP8UrRAlyo7TVk8S34miQEhNN6-2BmmpLC1LwWfU-2FC5CHRq0sQuuBynnS2qztg0oS1no5qCyhZ0QvtvBawQvEzT9) at a **15% discount** and get it signed during the event!
**Speaker 2: Sabine Bakker**
Sabine is an inclusive user research consultant at the Accessibility Foundation, supporting organizations with making their products and services accessible for users of all (dis)abilities. She knows the challenges that UX teams face in demonstrating their added value from her 10+ years of experience at the tech start-up Blendle, cybersecurity scale-up Zivver, and low-code SaaS Mendix. She now helps teams with gaining a competitive edge through inclusive research and co-creation “from a to y”.
Her talk will point you to the importance of user experiences that are not reflected in the training data of LLMs and the “curb cut”-effects to be gained which no synthetic persona will provide.
**Speaker 3: Bo Kusters**
Service Designer at the Dutch Tax Administration. With millions of users, the team often sees the same generic functional and emotional needs recurring in their user research.
To avoid reinventing the wheel every time, they developed an interactive, tarot-style card game. With this clever deck, they make complex user insights tangible, allowing internal teams to apply this data directly in their daily work. Learn during this session how to successfully translate abstract research data into a practical design tool that actually works for your team.
**Event details**
**When:** May 21 \| 18:30 – 22:00
**Where:** Acato, Oudegracht 231, Utrecht
**Cost:** Free \(Includes snacks & drinks sponsored by Visma \| ProActive\)
**Capacity:** 50 spots
Stay tuned for more updates! Later this week, we’ll also share our *Utrecht Visitor Guide* for those traveling in to make a day of it. See you there!
International Stand Up Comedy @Tierney's SEASON FINALE!
Your monthly international comedy event in Nijmegen! Top European & UK headliners doing 1 night only in Nijmegen!
Fancy some Thursday night laughs? Then come on over to Tierney’s Irish Bar & Restaurant for some top headline acts from the UK and European comedy circuits!
It's our season finale and we are bringing you Adam Bloom (UK); a headliner who is one of Ricky Gervais' favourite comedian, one which actor Sir Ian McKellen could not wait to see live! His TV credits include: Mock The Week (BBC2), Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC2) & Russell Howard's Good News (BBC3).
Get your ticket via Evenbrite/ Tix4All or link bleo:
https://fienta.com/nl/international-stand-up-comedy-attierney-s-irish-bar-nijmegen
Seats will be based on RSVPs, so let me (Sharon) know at the door if you want to be introduced to other meetup up members in attendance.
Adam Bloom is undoubtedly one of Britain’s most exciting and original stand-up comedians. He has performed seven sell-out solo runs at The Edinburgh Festival, ranging from 1996 to 2007 and has also performed a twenty-nine date, sell-out tour of The UK.
In 2004 Adam was part of Just For Laughs Comedy Tour, where he performed to over 42,000 people in 17 cities across Canada.
He has also written & performed three series of The Problem with Adam Bloom for BBC Radio 4 (2003-2005).
He has also provided additional material for over 130 other people, making him one of the world’s most prolific ghostwriters. Some of the people Adam has written for include an Oscar & BAFTA Nominee and four comedians who've given Royal Variety Performances.
Plus support acts!
Come early to get your seat and have have some delicious pub grub before the show.
An hilarious monthly show featuring some top names, a great night out with friends, a date, you work crew or just come alone and meet other comedy fans.
An hilarious monthly show featuring some top names, a great night out with friends, a date, you work crew or just come alone and meet other comedy fans.
Los Habladores! Conversación en Español en Utrecht
¡Compartamos juntos con el grupo de personas más divertido de la ciudad!... ¡en español!
No necesitas ser un hablante fluido o nativo.... ¡Solo atrévete a compartir!
Te esperamos a las 20hrs.... ¡Entrada gratuita!
¡Nos vemos! ¡Hasta entonces! 😃
Let's share together with the funniest group of people in town!... in Spanish!
You don't need to be a fluent or native speaker.... Just dare to share!
We wait for you at 20hrs ....Free entry!
Nos vemos! Tot dan! 😃
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/habladores/
Meetup Link:
https://www.meetup.com/nl-NL/los-habladores/
Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/los_habladores_utrecht/
Los Habladores!
RustWeek Hackathon
We’re excited to welcome everyone attending RustWeek 2026 for another collaborative day of coding!
This year, we’re partnering up with [Zed](https://zed.dev/) and [Kiesraad](https://www.kiesraad.nl/) (Dutch Electoral Council) to bring you some fun challenges to hack on.
Your friendly hackathon organizers are still pulling together details but we'll open the Discord channel soon with more details including hackathon tracks, prizes, and schedule for the day.
And you will not be alone!
* **From Kiesraad**, the Electoral Council’s Abacus engineers will be on-site to collaborate with you on software for election results and seat allocation, with several good first issues and challenges, and they would love your input and proof-of-concept ideas!
* **From Zed**, we will have no less than seven devs from the Zed team ready to pair with you. This will be a great chance to get started with Zed (if you don't use it already), and work on some cool issues and projects together.
You do **not** need a ticket to the RustWeek conference to attend the hackathon. The hackathon is free of charge; we will provide coffee, tea, lunch and refreshments.
The hackathon will be held at Kinepolis, the same venue as the conference.
Schedule
Doors open: 9:00
Opening: 9.30
Hacking Begins: 10.00
Demos and wrap up: 6.00
We will keep you supplied with food and drinks during and after the hackathon.
Looking for more fun things to do during RustWeek? Take a look at our activities page: https://2026.rustweek.org/events/social-activities/.
"Back to the Future of Code" - WeCode @ KVK
In a world where new frameworks, tools, and trends seem to appear every week, it’s easy to forget where true technical strength and innovation come from: the fundamentals.
At Back to the Future of Code, we invite developers to **explore the foundational building blocks behind modern software**. Three speakers will each offer a different perspective on these fundamentals and highlight why they’re still at the heart of great engineering.
Talks:
🎤 **Frontend Framework Dependency: Are we skipping the hard part** → Ramona Domen (Software Engineer and Impact Leader)
Ramona shows how modern frontend frameworks still depend on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And why mastering these foundations makes you a more deliberate and powerful engineer.
🎤 **Why Great Engineers Don’t Just Write Code** → Sarah Gruneisen (Engineering Leader & Leadership Coach )
Sarah’s talk highlights how many engineers, especially women, have their strategic and technical strengths overlooked in favor of their “people skills”. She reveals how those very skills drive real technical impact and invites us to broaden our definition of engineering excellence.
🎤 **Women in Tech: Bug or Feature?** → Maaike Wachters (Software Engineer)
Maaike uncovers the hidden history of female tech pioneers whose groundbreaking ideas laid the foundation for the way we code and innovate today.
**Program**
* 17:15 – 18:00 Walk in and dinner (vegetarian options)
* 18:00 Intro WeCode and KVK
* 18:20 Talks and Q&A (in English)
* 20:00 – 21:00 Snacks and drinks
**Who should attend?**
This event is especially designed to spotlight and elevate women’s voices in tech by giving them a place on the stage. Everyone is welcome to join.
**How to get there**
KVK is located at Sint Jacobsstraat 300, 3511BT Utrecht. (KVK has two buildings on the same street, so look out for number 300)
* By car: Paid parking is available at Q-Park La Vie or Paardenveld.
* By train: The nearest train station is Utrecht Centraal, about a 10-minute walk.
* By bus: Take lines 1, 3, 6, 7 or 27 to bus stop Sint Jacobsstraat.
* By bike: There are bike racks available close to the location.
You need to bring identification because we're in a goverment building. (ID-card, drivers license, passport).
**Change of plans?**
Please cancel your RSVP so someone on the waiting list can take your spot. Thank you!
**Photography**
We will be taking photos during the event to capture the atmosphere and share highlights afterward online. If you’d rather not be photographed, let our team know.
**Questions**
If you have any questions or need special accommodations, please contact us at wecode@kvk.nl.
Four Wheelers Events This Week
Discover what is happening in the next few days
Speeddaten 30-45 jaar | Hoger opgeleiden in Utrecht
**Speeddaten Utrecht**
Al twaalf jaar organiseren we speeddates in Utrecht. Ontmoet je graag een groot aantal singles in korte tijd, dan is speeddaten iets voor jou!
Tijdens een speeddate heb je ongeveer 15-20 dates van 4 minuten. Wanneer de bel klinkt, schuift de helft van de singles door naar de volgende tafel.
Op je datekaart geef je aan met wie je verder in contact wilt komen.
**Locatie**
Het speeddaten vindt plaats bij [Anne&Max Domstraat](https://www.annemax.nl/vestigingen/utrechtdomstraat/), een sfeervol en ruim opgezet restaurant. We hebben een apart gedeelte van het restaurant gereserveerd, zodat je alle privacy hebt tijdens het daten.
**Matchmail!**
Binnen een dag na de speeddate ontvang je van ons een e-mail met de voornaam en het e-mailadres van de singles met wie je een match hebt.
Heb je bij alle deelnemers ‘nee’ ingevuld? Dan is je volgende speeddate [gratis](https://aboutlove.nl/geen-klik-volgende-speeddate-gratis/)!
**Kom je ook speeddaten bij About Love?**
Heb je zin in een avond vol ontmoetingen in Utrecht? Schrijf je dan nu in voor deze speeddate! Bij About Love ben je in goede handen; wij zijn een ervaren speeddate-organisatie met uitstekende [recensies](https://aboutlove.nl/is-speeddaten-leuk/) en bieden speeddates aan voor de laagste prijs.
Date je mee? >> [https://aboutlove.nl/event/details/speeddaten-utrecht-hogeropgeleid/](https://aboutlove.nl/event/details/speeddaten-utrecht-hogeropgeleid/)
❤️🥾 Walk & Picknick with Queer Refugees 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Come along, lovely queer hikers! 🌿✨
This time we’re serving an easy-going queer nature moment with a short loop through **Landgoed Heidestein** near Zeist. Think dreamy forest paths, shimmering fens, a peaceful forest pond, and heather fields - a lot of diversity for such a short walk :)
We’re teaming up with **Cocktail (COC’s group for LGBTQIA+ refugees & asylum seekers)** for this event, so besides soaking up nature, we’re creating space for connection, sharing stories, and learning from each other’s journeys and experiences. Expect a vibe that’s part hike, part picknick, part wholesome community exchange. 🌈
Bring your snacks and blankets, as we’ll pause along the way for a relaxed picnic moment together.
Because queer joy isn’t just about where we go, but who we walk with. 💖
**Practical info**
📏 **Distance:** 5 or 7 km (loop walk)
📍 **Start:** Bus stop Prinses Margrietlaan, Zeist (5km option) Driebergen-Zeist station (7km option)
🏁 **End:** Back at the starting point
🥾 **Level:** easy - chill pace
🤝 **Meeting point:** outside the train station **Driebergen-Zeist at 13:45** or bus stop **Prinses Margrietlaan (Zeist) at 14:20**
❗You’re welcome to join from another direction. If you come by car you can park at P+R Driebergen-Zeist.
Please note: we published this hike with Cocktail simultaneously, which is also why we lowered the participant number from Hiking Queer NL's side.
Pack your:
🍱 snacks
🚰 water
🧥 rain coat/umbrella
☀️ sun screen
🏳️🌈 anything else you might need
❌ If you signed up and cannot make it in the end, please cancel your RSVP attendance so we know how many people will show up and someone else can take your place instead.
💗 A voluntary donation helps us to keep the Meetup group up and running :) you can either pay via a Tikkie or in cash after we finish the hike.
*Hiking Queers Netherlands & Cocktail (COC)*
Buitenspelen voor volwassene
Samen sporten, gewoon voor de fun, elke week een divers programma, met allerlei verschillende sporten. Je hoeft niet de beste te zijn, maar wel zin hebben om samen te spelen en te leren.
Tijdens een training doen we verschillende spelletjes, basketbal, voetbal. volleybal, spikebal, honkbal.
Kom je ook, de bal ligt bij jou!!
Eerste keer meedoen is altijd gratis, daarna kan je beslissen of dit voor jou is, of niet!! Dus kom een keer proberen.
Kan je niet op deze dag, we sporten ook op andere dagen nl
Zondag om 9:30 of
Maandag om 20:30
Stuur mij een berichtje als je op die dagen een keer wil proberen!
The amount of people rsvp'd to this game doesn't match the real number of people at the event, as Meetup is only used for promotion purposes.
[ARNHEM] Bitcoin Pizza Day
(english/german below)
**Bitcoin Pizza Dag!**
Op 22 mei 2010 betaalde programmeur Laszlo Hanyecz 10.000 BTC voor twee pizza's — de eerste gedocumenteerde aankoop met bitcoin. Hij plaatste een bericht op een forum waarin hij BTC aanbood voor pizza; een andere gebruiker ging akkoord, bestelde de pizza's en leverde ze af. Die transactie werd later bekend als "Bitcoin Pizza Day".
Laszlo bewees dat Bitcoin als ruilmiddel gebruikt kan worden.
**Sluit je bij ons aan voor pizza-avond bij De Pizzabakkers! (vanaf 18:00)**
RSVP zo snel mogelijk; we moeten reserveren bij De Pizzabakkers en er is beperkte plek. Zorg dat je je geladen Lightning-wallet meeneemt!
***
**English: Bitcoin Pizza Day!**
On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas — the first documented purchase using bitcoin. He posted on a forum offering BTC for pizza; another user accepted, ordering pizzas and delivering them. That trade later became famous as "Bitcoin Pizza Day,"
Laszlo proved that Bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange.
**Join us for pizza diner at De Pizzabakkers! (from 18:00)**
Please RSVP as quick as possible as we need to make a reservation at De Pizzabakkers and there is only limited space. Be sure to bring your loaded lighting wallet along with you!
***
**Deutsch: Bitcoin Pizza Tag!**
Am 22. Mai 2010 zahlte Programmierer Laszlo Hanyecz 10.000 BTC für zwei Pizzen — der erste dokumentierte Kauf mit Bitcoin. Er postete in einem Forum und bot BTC für Pizza an; ein anderer Nutzer akzeptierte, bestellte die Pizzen und lieferte sie aus. Dieser Tausch wurde später als "Bitcoin Pizza Day" bekannt.
Laszlo bewies, dass Bitcoin als Tauschmittel verwendet werden kann.
**Begleite uns zum Pizza-Abend bei De Pizzabakkers! (ab 18:00)**
Bitte antworte so schnell wie möglich; wir müssen bei De Pizzabakkers reservieren und es gibt nur begrenzten Platz. Nimm unbedingt deine geladene Lightning-Wallet mit!
Bike tour around Utrecht
We'll start into the weekend with some Sport and what is better than having a bike tour on Friday 22nd May? If you'd like to bike along, sign up here! We expect this to take about 4 to 5 hours.
On the route, we will see at least two beautiful castles, and we’ll have a pause in Breukelen where we will get a snack!
**This tour is for everyone. You don't have to prepare anything, it's enough to be at the bike rental at the time.**
The following information is for the curious: You can see the [tour](https://www.komoot.com/de-de/tour/2884792439?share_token=aCVbZHeYrkmmS52GP5uwrR7Q3EweCrOv65hA2MpYgtf4nSaL8V&ref=wtd) on the app [Komoot](https://www.komoot.com/). It's approx. 46km, **we may adapt it as a group on the day. As last year we’re very flexible and adaptive!**
The bike rental is payed by Stichting Rust Nederland. Many thanks to Erik Jonkers for the sponsoring and to Jana Dönszelman for helping with the meetup page and organization.
**Agenda**
1. We'll meet at the bike [rental place](https://willemstraatbike.nl/contact/) it is near to the conference venue. (5 Minutes by bike)
2. Everyone receives their bike.
3. We’ll go over “Hogeweidebrücke”
4. We’ll see Kasteel Nijenrode and get a snack at the marketplace of Breukelen
5. We’ll see Schloss Zuylen
6. We ride back to Utrecht and return the bikes!
Looking for more fun things to do during RustWeek? Take a look at our activities page: [https://2026.rustweek.org/events/social-activities/](https://2026.rustweek.org/events/social-activities/)
Four Wheelers Events Near You
Connect with your local Four Wheelers community
Trails & Ales! Blendon Woods Metro Park / Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery
**History**
The history of [Blendon Woods Metro Park](https://www.metroparks.net/parks-and-trails/blendon-woods/) began long before its 1951 opening, rooted in a landscape of rugged ridges and deep ravines that made the land unsuitable for traditional farming. In 1945, a report proposing a metropolitan park system for Franklin County specifically highlighted these cliffs of Bedford Shale as some of the "wildest land in the vicinity". Following this recommendation, the recently formed park district purchased the first 229 acres in early 1949. Because the terrain was so uneven, developers had to cut a mile-and-a-half-long roadway through dense woods just to bring in heavy equipment. This initial preservation effort ensured that the mature second-growth hardwood forests remained largely untouched by the urban expansion spreading toward Westerville.
Opening day arrived on Labor Day, September 3, 1951, marking Blendon Woods as the second park in the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system. The final push to open was a frantic race; the State Highway Department only finished the primary gravel access road four days before the gates opened. Early staff members, consisting of just four full-time employees, had to hand-dig pit toilets and learn construction skills on the fly to build the first picnic shelters. Despite the dusty conditions and limited facilities, the park was an immediate success, drawing massive crowds from across Central Ohio. By the end of the 1950s, annual visitation had already climbed to over 190,000 people.
As the surrounding suburbs grew in the 1960s, the park faced severe overcrowding that threatened its natural habitats. In response, Franklin County voters passed the first Metro Parks levy in 1960, providing the funds necessary for a decade of steady expansion. During this era, the park nearly doubled in size, growing from 264 acres to over 570 acres by 1968. Planners also addressed a critical water shortage by collaborating with the U.S. Soil and Conservation Service to build a lake in 1964. This body of water originally served as a temporary reservoir before its role shifted toward conservation and wildlife support.
The 1970s marked a transition toward the specialized wildlife and educational focus for which the park is known today. In 1971, the Walden Waterfowl Refuge was established around the 11-acre Thoreau Lake, creating a sanctuary that remains restricted to provide a quiet habitat for migratory birds. A formal nature center was also developed during this period, expanding on the guided Sunday walks that had been a park staple since the early 1950s. The park’s famous "Monarch Mansion" also became a prominent fixture, starting a long tradition of raising and releasing thousands of monarch butterflies each September. These initiatives cemented the park’s reputation as a premier destination for birders and nature enthusiasts.
In more recent decades, Blendon Woods has continued to modernize while maintaining its wilderness character. The 10-acre Natural Play Area was added in 2017, encouraging kids to explore the ravines and woods off-trail. This was followed by the opening of a $1.5 million inclusive playground in April 2025, designed to accommodate children of all physical abilities. The nature center also underwent major renovations to include immersive, three-dimensional exhibits and a new butterfly house. Today, the park encompasses 653 acres, preserving a unique geologic and biological corridor amidst the bustling Westerville and Northeast Columbus area.
**Map of the Park**
Here is a map of [Blendon Woods](https://www.metroparks.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BLN_map_Inclusive-Playground-and-Butterfly-Trail_May-2025_1980px.png).
**Summary**
For this event, we will hike the Lake View, Hickory Ridge, Ripple Rock, Overlook, Brookside, and Sugarbush Trails. This sounds like a lot, but it will really be only a little over five miles. Blendon Woods has a few hills here and there, but it's not one of the more strenuous metro parks.
**Where We'll Meet**
We'll meet just in front of the Nature Center. This is about a mile into the park from the main entrance. You have to go past the Ranger Station and the Shadblow Reservable Area to get to it, so don't stop too early at the Ranger Station and get it confused with the Nature Center.
**After the Hike**
Afterward, we will head over to [Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery](https://forbiddenroot.com/restaurants/columbus-ohio/) at Easton for [drinks](https://forbiddenroot.com/restaurants/columbus-ohio/#dinner-menu) and [food](https://forbiddenroot.com/wp-content/uploads/Cbus-Food.pdf). We should be there by 5 if you can't make the hike and just want to join us for drinks.
The brewery's actual address is [4080 Worth Ave, Columbus, OH 43219](https://www.google.com/maps/place/4080+Worth+Ave,+Columbus,+OH+43219/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x88388a86d10b6619:0x4d42b470a5cf11d3?sa=X&ved=1t:242&ictx=111); however, I recommend pointing your GPS to the [Worth Garage](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Worth+Garage/@40.0542293,-82.9137962,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x88388b4df6082825:0x17582f0eccd9dda1!8m2!3d40.0542293!4d-82.9137962!16s%2Fg%2F11rzfvvv8b?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDQxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) across the street. Parking in this garage is free as long as you're not on the first floor, and it is literally right next to the brewery.
Stop Negative thinking and Over-thinking and Feel More Positive
How do we recover from having had a toxic or narcissistic ex?
How do we move on from the past, especially something as traumatic as a divorce or breakup?
How do we avoid anxiety and depression?
How do we have more self esteem?
In this meeting, you will learn the mental health secrets to help you
quickly get over the past and heal your mind.
Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there.
This group is created by the Dianetics & Scientology life improvement center.
How to Move on From the Past and Feel Happy
In this local meeting, you will discover knowledge that you can use to get over the past.
The key to improving your personal motivation, self-confidence, and happiness is to get over your painful memories.
When you become free of your past, you will be free from stress, anger, anxiety and depression. Studies show that negative emotions can affect your health. By being free of negative emotions, believe it or not, you will most likely even look younger, feel more energetic, and become healthier!
Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there.
This group is brought to you by the Dianetics and Scientology life improvement center.
What Causes Your Roller Coasters in Life?
Do you sometimes feel like you do well in life then something happens and you slide back, never quite getting ahead.
At this Meetup you'll find out how to identify what actually causes the lows, the highs and everything in between. More importantly you’ll get the secret of how to gain control over your life so the highs are higher and the lows go away.
Wouldn’t it be nice to stop the wild roller coaster ride for good? Or at least make it a fun roller coaster ride, with more ups and downs.
There is a hidden factor that will be going over and you’re going to be quite surprised what it is and how much it affects your life.
Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to the event. We look forward to seeing you there.
This group is hosted at the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center.











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