Thursday, June 30, 2016
Get settled into your room at the elegant Woodstock Inn and Resort and relax before the Welcome Cocktail Reception and Opening Dinner. Cocktails begin at 6:00 PM with dinner to follow at the Woodstock Country Club.
Friday, July 1, 2016
We’ll rise and shine early to jump right into our policy discussion.
What is good citizenship in the eyes of the founders? Have immigrants historically become good citizens? Do they today? Is assimilation working? What about recent large flows of immigrants from Latin America? What about refugees and immigrants from the Middle East? What did Coolidge think about immigration? What form should U.S. immigration policy take today?
These are but some of the questions we’ll address throughout the weekend. Top experts on citizenship, immigration and the Constitution will provide the facts. But you will make up your own mind.
Dinner will be a quintessential Vermont experience. We’ll ride along the Ottauquechee River and over the famous Quechee Gorge on our way to Simon Pearce. Watch artisans at work as they blow glass and create beautiful pieces of art. Dinner will feature some of Vermont’s finest cuisine as we are treated to a multi-course meal in the Gallery Room at Simon Pearce.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
The morning is yours! Explore Woodstock, play a round of golf, hike to the top of nearby Mt. Tom, relax by the pool, or treat yourself to a massage at the Inn’s full-service spa.
We’ll reconvene for lunch and discussion before heading to Plymouth Notch in the late afternoon for a special VIP reception prior to the Coolidge Foundation’s Summer Gala. The Gala features special speaker Hon. Edith Jones, federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Jones will speak on the Scalia legacy and the future of the Supreme Court.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Enjoy our special excursion to Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. You’ll have the chance to ride the Cog Railway to the summit of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the eastern United States. You’ll also tour and dine at the Mount Washington Resort, home of the famous Bretton Woods Monetary Conference of 1944. Be on the lookout for the ghost of John Maynard Keynes!
Monday, July 4, 2016
We’ll end our retreat on the Fourth of July by celebrating America and Coolidge – the only president born on Independence Day. Join in the procession as the Vermont National Guard marches from the village green to the Notch cemetery where a wreath sent from the White House will be laid upon Coolidge’s grave. Then take a part in our group marathon reading of the entire Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. Before heading home, you’ll have the chance to serve as a VIP judge in the championship round of “The Coolidge Cup” where top high school debaters from across the country will compete for up to $10,000 in scholarship prizes.