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**Welcome to Miss Bachata & Miss Salsa!** **Spring is in the air, and with it comes the promise of new beginnings, fresh energy, and the joy of connection!** As the season of renewal unfolds, we invite you to step into the rhythm of community, dance, and celebration at Miss Bachata & Miss Salsa. My objective has always been to create a different kind of social gathering—one that is open, non-judgmental, and safe. A place where you can meet people just like you, where socializing and dancing come together to help build community and tear down the walls that separate us. Here, we make new friends, feel a sense of belonging, and enjoy the calmness that comes from knowing we are in a safe and welcoming space. Many times, I have been asked, “Why host an event on Monday night?” Many people escape on the weekend and dread Mondays when they return to work. I believe that if you dance and socialize on a Monday, you infuse your week with joy and positive energy, giving your life balance and helping you face your challenges with enthusiasm and confidence. We’re also thrilled to announce that our trial of advanced Bachata lessons, which began last September, has been a resounding success! Building on this momentum, we’re excited to offer an enhanced schedule for 2026. Our dance evenings will now feature three hours of classes: one hour of beginner to intermediate Bachata, one hour of advanced Bachata, and one hour of beginner to intermediate Salsa. As always, the entrance fee remains $15 for a night of 2 lessons and social dancing. For those interested in the advanced Bachata lessons, there will be an additional $5 fee. Here’s our updated schedule: **Miss Bachata – Main Ballroom** 🕖 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Beginner to Intermediate Bachata Lesson (No partner required) 🕗 8:00 pm – 12:00 am: Social Dancing **Miss Salsa – Round Room** 🕖 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Advanced Bachata Lesson (+$5) **NEW** 🕗 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Beginner to Intermediate Salsa Lesson 🕘 9:00 pm – 12:00 am: Social Dancing ✨ **Additional Details:** ✔️ Free Parking ✔️ Full Bar (Free Water, Beer: $5.75) Over the past decade, organizing Latin dancing events in Mississauga has been a labor of love. Our mission has always been to foster a sense of community, proving that the connections we share are far stronger than the differences that divide us. Loneliness is a growing concern, with over half of U.S. adults and many Canadians experiencing its effects. The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened this issue. Harvard University's long-term study on happiness, which began in 1938, highlights the detrimental impact of loneliness on health. People with strong social connections experience slower mental and physical decline and greater overall happiness compared to those who are isolated. Here are some key findings from the study: 🌿 Close ties help delay mental and physical decline more than money, fame, social class, IQ, or genetics. 🌿 Relationship satisfaction is a better predictor of aging well than cholesterol levels in middle age. 🌿 A strong sense of community improves memory function. 🌿 Loneliness can be as harmful to health as smoking or alcoholism. And there’s hope! Strengthening our relationships and supporting community initiatives can combat loneliness and build healthier, happier lives. Miss Bachata & Miss Salsa provides a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, expand your social circle, and enjoy a safe, welcoming, authentic environment. Bring your open heart and a smile, and we’ll take care of the rest. 🌸 **Cheers to a season of renewal, joy, and community!** 🌸 **Anna G.** https://www.facebook.com/groups/1871491806494168/ https://www.facebook.com/EventsByAnnaG

Dig your roots deeper and create the safety, security and trust you need before the fiery season of summer begins. **Join for the full 6 week series or 1 journey at a time.** *Each week Chris Dub will offer a beautiful combination of Kundalini & Yin Yoga plus Healing Soundscapes for each of you to be immersed in. You will also get to choose what Toro "Qi" Meditation Cushion you would like to use, to build your qi throughout your practice with the incredible "Toro" Qi building technology.* Join us each week for a Kundalini Yin Yoga Journey themed around the Root Chakra, as we find more stability, security, trust, safety and strength in ourselves. Create positive change for yourself one yoga posture at a time. Each class we aim to spur on the type of grace that leads to unconditional loving acceptance of yourself. You will be given the safe space to open up your mind, process your current life experiences, rejuvenate your spirit, access your creativity, grow your faith and become immersed in source awareness. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **This series will focus on reseting your nervous system through specific Kundalini Kriya's and a Guided slowing down of the fast paced, anxious energies we can get caught up in through our day-to-day. We will bring in radical acceptance of, and a surrender to, what 'is'.** **This surrendering to reality as it actually 'is' supports you to see the road to living in presence. It will become more and more apparent that there is nowhere else you want to be, and you'll be able to more easily remain here.** **Each journey you will calm your nervous system, ground, centre and open up your heart in real time. Allow yourself to move through stagnant energies in a conscious and loving way, to get your vital life force energy flowing with grace.** \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- We will engage in particular kriya's, asana's, pranayama's, bhanda's (body locks), mantras and meditative techniques to support in awakening your kundalini in a graceful way & mastering your nervous system, mind, breath and your inner world. This is an integrative experience first and foremost, so we take our time to move forward with a gentle potency. You are encouraged and celebrated to move at your own pace. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- .:: 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗮 ::. Every class will have a deep, rejuvenating and integrative shivasana experience with soundbath, which will be different each week including gong, shruti box, steel tongue drum, crystal harp, crystal bowls, shamanic drumming, water stick, medicine songs and more. **.:: 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 ::.** **𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢 Yin 𝐘𝐨𝐠𝐚** (per class journey) $30 ($33.90 w/ tax) for 1 in-person journey (7:00 – 8:30 PM) $50 ($56.50 w/ tax) for a 2-journey pass (2 classes to be used in this 4 week series) $15 ($16.95 w/ tax) per zoom journey ***NEW 4 Class Pass*** $88 ($99.44 w/ tax) for 4 classes to be used anytime within 1 year of purchasing (In-Person or Online) $40 ($45.20 w/ tax) for 4 classes to be used anytime within 1 year of purchasing (Online Only) **𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 6 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬** Early Bird: $120 ($135.60 w/ tax)) in-person (includes the online zoom link) ends Feb 13th Regular Exchange: $130 ($146.90 w/ tax) in-person (includes the online zoom link) Zoom Classes: $50 ($56.50 w/tax) for all 6 E-Transfer to [chris@chrisdubkundalini.com](mailto:chris@chrisdubkundalini.com) the amount w/ taxes or pay via eventbrite **\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*** **.:: 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 ::.** **6 Journey 𝐘𝐨𝐠𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬** **\~ Begins: Monday, May 11th** **\~ Ends: Monday, June 15th** Each class is 7:00-8:30 PM Arrive between 6:35 - 6:55 PM to get settled (Doors close at 7:05 PM) **Located @ The Soul Sanctuary (303 Pape Ave)** **\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*** ***Come as you are and bring a water bottle, yoga mat (mats available) and wear comfortable clothing (optional: cushion, blanket).*** **.:: 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐛 ::.** **Intuitive Healer, Certified Kundalini & Hatha Yoga Teacher, Transformational Teacher & Guide, Quan Yin Energy Healer & Plant Medicine Ceremony Facilitator** Chris is devoted to cultivating and holding space for you to become more aware of your mental blocks and repressed emotions, which allows this energy to transform into a higher understanding of one’s self and your interconnectedness to all of nature. The result is a high degree of self love which leads to a letting go of past pain, hurt and trauma. Experience increased energy flow and creativity, zest for life, calmed nervous system, amplified self worth and deeper, more meaningful relationships. Chris is Yoga Alliance, KRI Certified, 3rd Lvl Babaji Kriya Yoga Initiate & holds a Diploma in Social Work. He teaches Kundalini Yoga, Meditation, Self-Awareness Practices, Sound-Healing and Breath-Work classes and events. Chris facilitates transformational retreats and deep healing ceremonies, he also hosts the Sacred Brotherhood Men’s Group and Women’s & Men’s Love Circles. Chris has undergone intensive breath work, bodily cleansing, meditation and self-inquiry to move through chronic pain and find deeper depths of self-love since 2009. Chris is passionate about supporting you to bring self-awareness and energy flow practices to your daily life so you’re internal GPS can always be online, guiding you to the most heart nourishing and fulfilling experiences.

⚠️日本語の案内は下にあります⚠️ 🎟Fee: $5 🌱Payment: Cash or E-transfer If you choose E-transfer, we recommend sending it **before** arrival to: ✉️canasianstation@gmail.com 🗣Event Style ・This event is 18 + only ・Group-based language exchange ・Small groups of 3–4 people ・Use both Japanese and English to communicate 🕒Schedule 6:15 – 6:30 Check-in 6:30 – 7:10 Round 1 7:10 – 7:15 Seat change 7:15 – 7:55 Round 2 7:55 Wrap-up 💫Friendly Guidelines • Participants with 2 no-shows may be removed from future events • This is not a dating or matchmaking event. You cannot request specific people to talk to. If you have an NG (someone you prefer not to be matched with), please let us know in advance • Photos may be taken for Instagram and event pages. If you do not wish to appear in photos, please inform the organizer beforehand • Harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment, solicitation, or inappropriate behavior is strictly prohibited. If you notice any issues, please inform the organizer 🤝About This Event (Important) This is a group-based Language Exchange event. • One-on-one conversations with Japanese participants • Conversations with participants of a specific nationality ➡️are not guaranteed. 🎟️参加費：5ドル 🌱支払い方法：現金 or E-transfer ※E-transferをご利用の方は、到着**前に** ✉️Canasianstation@gmail.com へ送金していただくことを推奨しています 🗣️イベント形式 3〜4人のグループで、日本語と英語を使った国際交流🌏※本イベントは18歳以上限定です。 🕖タイムスケジュール 6:15 – 6:30 Check-in 6:30 – 7:10 第1ラウンド 7:10 – 7:15 席替え 7:15 – 7:55 第2ラウンド 7:55　解散 💫参加にあたって ・2回以上のNo-show（キャンセル無しの無断欠席）があった場合、以降の参加をお断りします ・本イベントはデート・マッチング目的の場ではありませんので、特定の「話したい人」の指定はできません。 ※NGの方がいる場合は、事前にお知らせください ・Instagram・イベントページ用に写真撮影を行う場合があります。写りたくない方は事前にお知らせください ・セクハラ、差別的発言、嫌がらせ、勧誘行為は固く禁止しています。もし見かけた場合は、主催者までご連絡ください 🫶イベントについて 本イベントは Language Exchange（言語交流）を目的としたグループ形式のイベントです。 ・カナダ人との一対一での会話 ・特定の国籍の参加者との会話 →これらを保証するものではありません。

The purpose of the group, based on the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, is for people to meet and talk about their artistic challenges in any field (painting, writing, music etc.) and encourage each other to break their creative blocks and fulfill themselves in their art. If you find people who are sympathetic, you may want to form your own group, meeting regularly to explore the book and supporting each other in their artistic journeys. I have gone through 2 such clusters and can say that it is a very powerful experience. Why not come to a meeting and see for yourself?

**Set goals.** **Be accountable for them.** **Move your life forward with purpose.** Our goal is to cause greatness by mentoring men to live with excellence and, as mature masculine leaders, create successful families, careers and communities. If you have the desire to work on being the man that your legacy demands that you be (which means being the best you can be, we can work on what your legacy demands with you later) and the man you always wanted to be then we look forward to you attending. Our group is part of Mentor Discover Inspire (MDI). This group meets Mondays, North of Finch Avenue, usually indoors, outdoors in the summer but occasionally on Zoom. To confirm this week's location, please rsvp to Ricardo, call/text (647) 880-1488, or email ricardophilip@hotmail.com From MDI website[: https://goo.gl/3DQ6](https://goo.gl/3DQ6aY)aY From Toronto Sta[r: https://goo.gl/oDH](https://goo.gl/oDH3uX)3uX Regular attendees do not always RSVP, expect 6-8 men to be present.

This meeting will be casual, as are all meetings for this group, for anyone interested in dinner and/or drinks as well as good conversation and meeting people. This group is welcoming to all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community AND supporters even if a supporter is not a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community (supporters might like more friends from the community). In addition, everyone who attends will receive a welcome and introduction in an effort to make meeting and making connections as effortless and effective as possible! Assuming at least one other person has committed to attending, how to identify the group will be provided the day of the meeting (more than likely that will be what I'm wearing that day). If there are any questions/concerns/suggestions, by all means send a message.

When code becomes commoditized, what actually gets protected? RSVP Link - [https://luma.com/0ktn86g3](https://luma.com/0ktn86g3) This is an in-person panel discussion hosted at a Dipchand Law office, bringing together experts from legal, AI, and strategy domains to explore how intellectual property is evolving in the age of AI-assisted development and “vibe coding.” **Why this matters:** AI tools are rapidly commoditizing software development. The barrier to building products is dropping, shifting the focus from writing code to owning ideas, data, and systems. This creates new challenges around ownership, licensing, and long-term defensibility. **Key discussion areas:** * Whether code still holds value as intellectual property * Ownership of AI-generated code and outputs * What developers and companies should protect beyond code (data, workflows, architecture) * Enterprise risks including compliance, governance, and data exposure * How organizations build defensibility when building becomes easy **Speakers:** **Stephano Salani** Intellectual Property Lawyer, Dipchand LLP **Yulia Pavlova, PhD** Applied AI and Governance Leader, RBC Borealis AI **Mohit Rajhans** AI Consultant, ThinkStart.ca **Event details:** Date: May 20, 2026 Time: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT Location: Dipchand LLP Office, Toronto, ON **What to expect:** Panel discussion, networking, and Q&A session **RSVP** - [https://luma.com/0ktn86g3](https://luma.com/0ktn86g3)

Hey there! 😊 **Note:** This event is posted on multiple platforms, so more people come than just the RSVPs here. This is a **Speed Dating event** ❤️ **Why participate:** Easy and fun way to meet your **new girlfriend / boyfriend!** You do not need to do the scary part first, **the host does everything for you.** Easy and fun way to find **new friends.** **🎫 GET YOUR TICKET HERE: 🎫** **www.datemap.net/toronto -** (if link doesn’t work - it means we sold out) 🕊️ **Changed plans?** Simply DM us 24h before the event for **full refund**! 😊 ❗ **Note:** We often sell out around **1 week** before the event! ❤️ **Why People Love Our Events:** ⚖️ **50/50 gender ratio guaranteed** \- handled with care so the mix stays fair and even 😌 **Professional host included** \- the host helps with everything for you ☺️ **Relaxed, welcoming atmosphere** \- calm\, friendly\, and easy 🎉 **Friendly people** \- you may be surprised by how nice everyone is\! 🧭 **YOUR FIRST TIME? 😊 HERE IS HOW IT WORKS:** 🧭 You have a **5 min conversation** with every participant ⏱️ You will get **question cards** on each table! Men rotate every 5 minutes, women stay seated. At the end you get your matches. ❤️ 📍 **LOCATION:** The venue location is sent to **ticket holders** after purchase. It is always a big cafe lounge in central Toronto. 💌 **QUESTIONS?** Email us! We reply to every person! **🎫 GET YOUR TICKET HERE: 🎫** **www.datemap.net/toronto -** (if link doesn’t work - it means we sold out) 🕊️ **Changed plans?** Simply DM us 24h before the event for **full refund**! 😊 ❗ **Note:** We often sell out around **1 week** before the event! I’m excited to welcome you! See you on Saturday! 😊❤️

**This is a ticketed event. Please register at [this link](https://luma.com/9cs5o16b).** ​Rubi will cover two topics at the intersection of prediction-making AI and AI alignment: 1. ​How to align prediction making AI 2. ​How to use predictions in the alignment of general agents ​This talk will discuss problems in using AI for predictions and how we might solve them, along with the implications for aligning powerful AI systems. ​​​**Event Schedule** 6:00 to 6:30 - Food and introductions 6:30 to 7:30 - Presentation and Q&A 7:30 to 9:00 - Open Discussions ​​​​​​If you can't make it in person, feel free to join the live stream starting at 6:30 pm, via [this link](https://www.youtube.com/@Trajectory-Labs/live).

Let’s do some coding together at a cafe! No more working alone in the weekend. Here, we write code together. And I mean together together. Not occupying-the-same-space-but-separate together. Here’s how it works: Jennifer brings her mobile app project, tells everyone that it is like Pinterest for recipes and she’d like to work on the nav bar. Paul and Chloe think Jennifer's project is fascinating, and they join the group. They gather around Jennifer’s laptop and work on the nav bar for 2 hours. Jennifer is the one typing out the code while Paul and Chloe research, brainstorm, and offer suggestions. If you’re feeling stuck on your own project or need a motivation boost, bring it to mob programming! Want to learn by watching how others code and solve problems? Join someone else’s project at this event! Oh and we love your half-done projects that you are a bit embarrassed to share. Absolutely bring those to the event! **Discord**: We use Discord to share screen & code snippets during the event. Also feel free to share your projects here before the event! https://discord.gg/xwjDdVSw3E **Event policy**: * We have 0 tolerance for harassment. * We don’t allow the projects that are not meant to be shared in public such as school assignments, interview tasks, or trade secrets. * The goal is to write code. We discourage you from pitching business ideas here, doing code reviews, or spending the whole event on planning what to do. * Please buy a drink, and tip the barista well.

Customer identity resolution becomes increasingly complex as organizations scale across multiple systems, regions, and data formats. Traditional rule-based approaches often fail to keep up with data variability, require constant manual tuning, and struggle with real-time processing needs. This session presents a practical approach to building a scalable identity resolution pipeline using AWS services and modern AI techniques. The architecture combines data ingestion through Amazon S3 and AWS Glue, transformation pipelines using Spark on EMR, and machine learning models deployed via SageMaker for entity matching and standardization. Graph-based relationship modeling is implemented using Amazon Neptune to improve resolution accuracy by incorporating household and shared attribute context. We will walk through how machine learning models can be used for name and address normalization, how intelligent blocking strategies improve matching efficiency, and how feedback loops can be introduced to continuously improve accuracy. The session also highlights how serverless components such as AWS Lambda can be used for orchestration and real-time processing. **SPEAKER BIO** Mosaic Syed is a Senior Data Engineering and Cloud Solutions Architect with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering scalable, secure, and high-performance data solutions across global enterprise environments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosaic-basha-syed-92300856 **CALL FOR SPEAKERS** Learn more: [https://www.awscolumbus.com/get-involved/](https://www.awscolumbus.com/get-involved/) **THANK YOU** *VEEAM* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Veeam*, please visit their website: [https://www.veeam.com/](https://www.veeam.com/) **DIRECTIONS** 8800 Lyra Dr #450 · Columbus, OH go to 4th floor. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBD

**🔥 Lincoln Street Salsa HAS MOVED TO EVERY FRIDAY, NO MORE SATURDAYS!** **🔥 Lincoln Street Salsa @ 1717 Brice Rd, Reynoldsburg 43068** **🔥 Salsa, Bachata, Merengue Dancing!** **🔥 NO PARTNER OR EXPERIENCE NEEDED!** **🔥 Every FRIDAY, 8 pm - 1 am** **🔥 8:00 pm - 8:30 pm = Registration** **🔥 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm = Beginner Dance Class** **🔥 9:30 pm - 1:00 am = Open Dance Party** **🔥 LincolnStreetSalsa.com** **🔥 Questions? Text Todd 614-774-8146**

Join the Columbus AI community for our quarterly gathering — a casual, community-focused evening where everyone has a chance to share, learn, and connect. These open mic–style events give anyone in the community up to **5 minutes** to present a project, share a tool, pose a question, or offer a perspective on the evolving AI space. No slides required — just a welcoming space to exchange ideas and keep the local AI conversation moving. If you’d like to take the stage, message \*\*Chris (the organizer)\*\*with a **title and short description** of what you’d like to share. Whether you’re deep in the field or just getting curious, come connect with others building and exploring AI in Columbus. Sponsored by [Transform Labs](https://www.linkedin.com/company/transformlabs/) Sign up also accessible via [Transform Labs Luma](https://luma.com/transformlabshq)

**Abstract:** This is a practical playbook for building a production-grade data lakehouse. It walks through foundational principles — naming conventions, least-privilege access, automated CI/CD testing — before diving into medallion architecture. Furthermore, metadata-driven design patterns show how configuration tables and dynamic notebook orchestration eliminates hard-coded pipelines. The deck covers star schema modeling, guidance on choosing between Spark, Pandas, and SQL, and data quality enforcement using DQX with YAML data contracts. Finally, we dive into security best practices and performance optimizations. **Host:** Justin Shea, Mehdi Jeddi, Erik Pak, and Sou-Cheng Choi **Talk Format:** This is a hybrid event. To attend online, join us on Zoom here at 6pm: https://iit-edu.zoom.us/j/89379230295?pwd=NdETyE5sdYuSrvsrBZXSBFkUESBVkg.1 Meeting ID: 893 7923 0295 Passcode: 5t5WYn **Sponsor:** Adyen, UIC College of Business, and PyData Chicago co-host this event. UIC will provide the meeting site. Adyen will sponsor pizza and soft drinks for the onsite participants. **Address:** University of Illinois - Chicago, Douglass Hall, Room 220, 705 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60607 **Logistics:** “UIC Douglass Hall” is recognized on Google Maps, which can guide you through campus. Once you arrive, proceed to the second floor, room number 220

**Improving Office in Franklinton** Physical location: Improving Office 330 Rush Alley Suite #150 Columbus, OH 43215 Schedule: 6:00 p.m.: Socialize, eat, and drink. Improving will be providing pizza and beverages. 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Main meeting and presentation(s). Topic: This month John Lairson will share a notebook describing the Alpaca (Paper) Trading API and discuss different algorithms for evaluating stock trades. We meet on the last Monday of each Month. Presentations are given by members and friends of this group. If you would like to do a presentation (small or large) on a python topic, please contact Central OH Python at centralohpython@gmail.com

**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.