Enrichment & Wellness

How to Make Spa Products in Your Kitchen

Prepare to roll up your sleeves as we explore the beautifying properties of kitchen staples like honey, yogurt, and oats, and learn how to formulate custom treatments that rival high-end spa products for a fraction of the cost.

Participants will make and experiment with treatments on the spot, including a hair mask, a face mask, and cuticle treatment. Everyone will sample what we make in class and take home recipes to continue the fun at home. This class makes a fun “girls’ day out” or mother-daughter activity, and is perfect for anyone looking to pamper themselves.

Class Notes: Please bring a towel and a headband to pull your hair back.

Community Instructor: Lily Kunning

Fortify Your Immune System with Herbs

Learn how to build a proactive “botanical shield” to help you navigate the seasonal bugs of the coming cold and flu season. Participants will learn the science of how plants help your white blood cells do their best work as we make our own elderberry syrup and garlic-infused honey.

Everyone will take home their own practical toolkit including their class-made herbal supplements, recipes, and tips for daily habits designed to keep participants standing tall and feeling well, even when everyone else is coming down with the sniffles.

Community Instructor: Lily Kunning

Morning Yoga for Your Health

Join us for a multi-week session of gentle Hatha Yoga and Meditation classes focused on mindful movement, breath, and personal well-being. Each session offers adaptable poses to meet your individual needs, with support from yoga mats, chairs, and walls to enhance your practice. 

Please bring your own yoga mat and enjoy a supportive, mindful practice together.

*Please note: For the October Session, there is no class scheduled on Thursday, October 15.

Community Instructor: Pam Bortz

Inspiring Meditation & Mindfulness

A walk, an orange, and the breath…all these simple elements come together in a relaxing introduction to mindfulness and meditation. Join long-time yoga instructor Pam Bortz as she shares a path for calming the body and quieting the mind.

Plan for a short walk outdoors, weather permitting. Adjustments will be available for anyone who prefers to remain indoors or has mobility concerns. All participants will receive a notebook and pen to record personal thoughts, reflections, and practices to take home.

Community Instructor: Pam Bortz

Podcasting 101

Discover what you need to know before starting a podcast in this exciting, beginner-friendly class led by Kim Newlove—pharmacist, author, voice actor, and host of The Perrysburg Podcast and The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast. Since launching her podcasting journey in 2019, Kim has published over 400 episodes and brings a wealth of real-world experience to share.

Participants will explore the twelve key “ingredients” in a successful podcast “recipe” while gaining valuable insights to help you avoid buying unnecessary equipment and steer clear of time-consuming rabbit holes. Podcast planning worksheets will be provided, and basic podcasting equipment will be available for demonstration.

Community Instructor: Kim Newlove

Explore the Medicinal Roots of Cocktails: Bitters

Explore the medicinal roots of cocktail culture in this hands-on workshop and discover why bitter flavors have long been valued for supporting digestion. Participants will make two blends together: one cocktail bitters and one digestive bitters.

Before cocktails were fancy and full of nonsense, they were medicine, and we’ll learn how bitters support digestion, calm the stomach, and bring your belly back online. Everyone will take home their samples, recipes, and the knowledge to keep the bitter magic going in your kitchen or home bar.

Community Instructor: Lily Kunning

Fire Cider: Spicy Roots and Kitchen Resistance

Learn the fascinating story behind the popular herbal concoction called Fire Cider as you craft your own 16-ounce jar of this fiery formula to take home and infuse. Participants will also receive recipes and explore variations, so everyone can keep the tradition alive in their own way.

Fire Cider is more than just a punchy vinegar tonic. It’s part immune support, part digestive aid, and part herbal folk hero. We’ll explore the fascinating story behind this fiery formula and how it became a symbol of preserving herbal traditions while learning best practices for making your own at home, including what to put in it, how to balance the heat, and how to use it when cold season hits.

Community Instructor: Lily Kunning

Sound Bath & Meditation

Relax into your weekend by joining us to experience the benefits of vibrational sound and meditation. Receive gentle guidance to unwind through focused breathing and meditation exercises. We’ll then relax onto yoga mats to experience the calming effects of listening to highly resonant, immersive sounds from various instruments, including crystal bowls. These sound vibrations, or sound “bathing,” promote a meditative state, allowing thoughts to quiet and the body to relax.

Leave class with an understanding of how this practice can be beneficial and how to incorporate vibrational sound into your own self-care practice. All supplies are included (yoga mats, blankets, bolsters, and eye pillows), but participants are welcome to bring their own pillows and any other props for personal comfort. It is also recommended to dress warmly since bodies tend to cool as they relax.

Class Location Note: This session takes place in Virginia’s House. A limited number of soft seating options are available for participants who may wish to sit comfortably during the second part of the class. To reserve seating, please call in advance.

Community Instructor: Pamela Bortz

Summer Soap Making: Honey Soaps

Create your own custom honey-based soaps in this beginner-friendly class using the Melt & Pour method—a safe, simple, and quick way to craft soaps with no lye and no long curing times required.

In this class, you’ll learn the basic equipment and techniques needed to get started, along with an introduction to different soap bases, scents, colors, and additives. You’ll then put your new skills into practice by creating three (3) unique honey-based soaps.

Each participant will take home their finished soaps, soap molds, and instructions to continue creating custom soaps at home.

577 Staff Instructor: Lindsay Grider

Sound Bath & Meditation

Relax into your weekend by joining us to experience the benefits of vibrational sound and meditation in 577’s Geodesic Biodome. Receive gentle guidance to unwind through focused breathing and meditation exercises as you relax and immerse yourself in the tropical environment.

Participants will experience the calming effects of listening to highly resonant sounds from various instruments, including crystal bowls. These sound vibrations, or “sound bathing,” promote a meditative state, allowing thoughts to quiet and the body to settle.

Class Location Note: Participants can choose to sit or lie down on their yoga mat (please bring your own), or can sit in one of 577’s chairs (please reserve a chair at registration). The Geodesic Biodome will be heated for the evening, but we suggest that you dress warmly in layers since bodies tend to cool as they relax.

Community Instructor: Pamela Bortz

Creating Teas & Tisanes

Discover the difference between a true tea and a tisane by going back to the basics of the leaf and flower in this class. We’ll explore the origins of Camellia sinensis (true tea) and contrast it with the diverse world of herbal tisanes—infusions made from roots, barks, fruits, and blossoms.

Sip, savor, and learn how to craft a brew that is as therapeutic as it is delicious by unlocking a plant’s true potential. Cultivate your palate, refine your brewing technique, and enjoy botanical bliss. Everyone will also take home a bag of herbal tea.

Community Instructor: Lily Kunning

Cooking for Autumn & Winter Wellness

Learn how to build a proactive “botanical shield” to help support your immune system through cold and flu season. Explore how the immune system works and how herbs, mushrooms, and other natural ingredients can be incorporated into everyday cooking to help support its natural defenses.

Participants will learn the difference between immune stimulants, which can provide short-term support when seasonal bugs strike, and immune tonics, which are traditionally used for longer-term immune support. We’ll explore familiar ingredients like elderberry and garlic alongside other seasonal foods, herbs, and ingredients, with practical tips for incorporating them into meals throughout the colder months.

Throughout class, we’ll prepare and sample recipes with autumn and winter wellness in mind while exploring the idea of food as medicine. Participants will leave with recipes, resources, and practical ways to bring what they’ve learned into their own kitchens.

Class Note: This class is different from our August class, Fortify Your Immune System with Herbs, which focuses on making herbal remedies and supplements for seasonal immune support. This October class takes a food-as-medicine approach, with an emphasis on cooking and incorporating immune-supporting foods, herbs, and ingredients into everyday meals.

Community Instructor: Lily Kunning

Read & Recharge: Bring Your Own Book Club

Relax and unwind as we spend a cozy evening together in Virginia’s House, enjoying good books and good company. Grab something from your TBR pile and join us for Read & Recharge: Bring Your Own Book Club.

We’ll begin by sharing what we’re currently reading and chatting about our favorite books, then settle in for a quiet hour of uninterrupted reading time. We’ll wrap up with a little more time to socialize. If you’re immersed in a great book, simply keep reading!

The evening will be hosted by Jennie from 577’s Welcome Center & Curiosity Shop. A lifelong reader with a background in education and a love of learning, Jennie will help guide introductions and discussions before and after the reading time.

We’ve loved seeing this new gathering grow throughout the summer and are excited to continue welcoming book lovers each month. Join us on the last Sunday of the month from 6pm to 8pm to connect, relax, and enjoy dedicated time with a good book. No fee and no registration required.

Please Note: This gathering is intended for adults ages 18 and older. We’ll meet on the Screened Porch of Virginia’s House when weather permits and move indoors to the Library if needed.

Tutus, Touring, & Other Terrors w/ Nigel Burgoine

Behind the Screams at the Ballet! Join Nigel Burgoine, former principal ballet dancer with the London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) and award-winning artistic director, as he gives insight into touring the world with a professional ballet company. Backstage and onstage hysterical and hair-raising situations in performances!

This event is free, but registration is required. Space is limited to 20 participants.

Nigel Burgoine is a classical ballet instructor and choreographer. He is a graduate of the Royal Ballet School and a former Principal Dancer with the London Festival Ballet. Burgoine has danced around the world in Australia, Brazil, Africa, China, and throughout Europe. He danced principal roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Nutcracker, and Romeo & Juliet to name a few. He is the past Artistic Director of Toledo Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet, as well as the past Director of the British Ballet Organization. Burgoine implemented education programs for companies and communities throughout the world. Burgoine has choreographed productions of Nutcracker, Cinderella, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Carmen, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Coppelia, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Ugly Duckling, Little Mermaid, Snow Queen, Jungle Book, The Great Pancake Escape, Snow White, Pinocchio, Meema the Lemur Becomes a Ballerina, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and A Night Before Christmas At the Museum. In 2020, Burgoine was the recipient of the Ohio Governor’s Award for the Arts in Arts Education. He is married to Anne Marie Getz.