The senior center is cool place to be in summer heat

The heat and humidity of summer have arrived. If the temperature feels overwhelming, the senior center is the perfect way to spend time inside with cool air conditioning. You can take art classes, play board and card games, engage in conversations, or exercise indoors. Alternatively, if summer is the time to soak up as much outdoor time, there are activities ranging from gentle walks, birding, kayaking and canoeing trips. The senior center offers programs for adults 50 and older from Charlotte and surrounding communities. Priority is given to seniors, but programs are open to adults of all ages.

Interested in receiving a weekly reminder about what is happening? Sign up for the email newsletters. The “Week Ahead” email is sent out on Friday mornings with activities, lunch menus and special programs for the upcoming week.

Outdoor activities
Paddling on the Laplatte River
Wednesday, July 19, 9:30 a.m.
Join Karen and Dean Tuininga for a paddling trip, Wednesday morning, July 19, on the Laplatte River. The group will meet at 9:30 a.m. and plan to spend a couple of hours on the water. This trip is open to everyone 18 and older, but space is limited to 10 boats plus leaders, so be sure to sign up early. Questions? Contact Dean Tuininga. Registration required. Free. Details will be sent to registered paddlers the evening before the trip.

Walking and gentle hiking group
Thursday, July 20, Rokeby Museum Nature Trail
Enjoy the beauty of nature. Come walk at a gentle pace with other seniors. Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot at Charlotte Senior Center. Please bring sunscreen, bug spray and water! Questions? Contact Penny Burman at 916-753-7279. Registration required. Free.

Missisquoi Bay and Rock River kayaking
July 28
The July 28 trip will be paddling the Missisquoi Bay and Rock River in Highgate Spring. These kayak trips are second and fourth Friday mornings. The trips are for active women who share a love for exploring the many local lakes, ponds and rivers. Details about the trip will be sent out the week prior. For questions, contact Susan Hyde. Registration is required through the Charlotte Senior Center database or by calling the senior center. Free.

Programs

“Locally Yours” CSA program
Thursdays, 10-11 a.m.
The Senior Center is participating in the “Locally Yours” program, sponsored by Senator Sanders 2023 Earmark Grant. Produce from Full Moon Farm in Hinesburg will be dropped at the senior center weekly and participants (age 60 and over) will have access to fresh fruit and vegetables at no charge. The program is a first come, first serve situation, with the intention that one or two people do not take all of the delivered produce each week and that people only take what they will use. No registration required. Free.

Red Cross Blood Drive
Thursday, Aug. 3, 2-7 p.m.
Please consider donating blood. The Red Cross is experiencing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit the website and enter: CHARLOTTE to schedule an appointment.

Weekly Age Well Grab & Go meals
Pick up on Thursdays 10-11a.m. at the Charlotte Senior Center. Registration is required by Monday for the Thursday meal. $5 suggested meal donation but not required. To register,call 802-425-6345 or email.

Art classes

Drawing for those who think they can’t draw
Friday, July 21, 12:30-2p.m. &
Monday, July 31, 1-2:30 p.m.
Learn that you can draw if you simply look at things differently. Plan to have fun sharing in this supportive, nonjudgmental class. Local artist Mickey Davis enjoys bringing out the innate hidden artist in others. Cost: By donation. Registration required.

Make and Take Garden Art
Tuesday, July 11, 1-3 p.m. & Thursday, July 20, 2-4 p.m.
Make a ceramic and glass art flower for your garden. All supplies will be provided. The studio is at 2257 Fuller Mountain Road in North Ferrisburgh. No previous art background is necessary. This flower will need no watering or weeding and can stay outdoors in Vermont winters. Ages 6 and all the way up will have fun — a perfect intergenerational activity with your adult child or grandchild. Cost: $40. Registration required.

Exercise classes

Bone Builders
Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Fridays, 11-noon
Bone Builders, a program of United Way of Northwest Vermont, is a no-impact, weight-training program designed to prevent and even reverse the negative effects of osteoporosis in older adults. Bone Builders consists of a warmup, balance exercises, arm and leg exercises and a cool down with stretching. Free. No registration required however there is paperwork to complete for the Bone Builders program.

Essentrics
Mondays & Wednesdays, 8:30-9:20 a.m. & Fridays, 9:30-10:20 a.m.
An Essentrics session with Sherry Senior provides a full-body, weight-free workout with a dynamic combination of stretching and strengthening that works through all joints and releases tight muscles. Promotes improvement in flexibility, mobility and posture, as well as relief of pain. Please bring a mat. Cost: $8 a class. No registration required.

Pilates Fitness
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
This Pilates class with Phyllis Bartling, for folks 55+, is designed to be challenging and safe. It includes upper-body strength work with hand weights and mat exercises while working core muscles to improve balance, strength and posture. Cost: $8 a class. No registration required.

T’ai Chi practice
Thursdays, 11 a.m.-noon
T’ai Chi is an exercise program for mind and body training to help improve balance, flexibility, stability and overall health. This is not a class with instruction, but rather a practice for students familiar with the form. Free. No registration required.

Gentle yoga
Mondays, 11 a.m.-noon
A gentle yoga class with Heidi Kvasnak that focuses on breath-led movement, building bone strength and improving mobility, balance and flexibility. Suggestions are given for adapting the practice. Please bring a blanket or pillow to sit on. Suitable for all levels. Cost: $10 a class. No registration required.

Yoga strength building practice
Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-noon
An integrative practice with Heidi Kvasnak that builds strength and stability, while maintaining a sense of ease and spaciousness in both body and mind. The class will practice longer-held postures that strengthen muscles, bones and core, as well as breath-led flowing movement, including sun salutations. Prerequisite: Must be able to easily get down to and up from the floor with or without props. Cost: $10/class. No registration required.

Meals

Menus are posted on the website.

Monday Lunches
Served weekly. Lunch is served 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., or until the food runs out. Suggested lunch donation $5. No registration required.

Senior center contact info
Lori York, director
212 Ferry Road, Charlotte
802-425-6345
Charlotte Senior Center
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