Rodeo, Music, and Modern Rosies: Summer Fest 2025

Written By Beth White

On August 1, 2025, Summer Fest returned—and thanks to a small but mighty crew, it was ready to shine. In the days leading up to the rodeo, Bryn, Miranda, Axley, Beth, and Huxley transformed the grounds with flowers in mason jars, metal cacti, and torch lamps filled and ready for sunset. 

We felt especially honored (and a little giddy) to see our very own pink Habitat for Aviation rodeo ad along the arena rail, standing proudly among the banners.

When the festivities kicked off, an amazing crew stepped in to keep the fun (and fundraising) rolling. Huxley, Axley, Zoë, Miranda and even Jack joined Scott and Beth at the custom betting boards—welcoming BETA friends, explaining that every playful $1 bet supported youth and apprentices in our programs, and making sure everyone felt part of the celebration. 

Ruby Clark, already a force in the ring, cemented her status as a local rodeo celebrity, inspiring cheers, smiles, and more than a few bets in her favor. We were delighted to see so many friends, including Kyra Becker and Martine and Bina Rothblatt, whose encouragement means so much to our builders.

By the end of the rodeo, we had raised both some fun and meaningful support for Habitat for Aviation—and once again proved that when community gathers around a good cause in a sea of pink hats, we are building far more than planes.

As the arena dust settled, the evening shifted into music and story. Under shimmering lights, Christopher Boldt played alongside Charlotte Clark in that perfect end-of-summer glow. But don’t take our word for it, check out Zoë’s incredible Thank You Summer Fest Instagram Reel.

Beth White

Education Possibilitarian, Artist, Writer, Doula, Mentor, Aviatrix, Breast Cancer Survivor, Pilot-in-Command at Habitat for Aviation


In the spring of 2022, Beth White emerged from a 10-month battle with breast cancer with an idea: to create an apprenticeship program at Franklin County State Airport where youth work alongside adult mentors servicing conventional and electric aircraft. A pilot and airplane mechanic apprentice herself, and with family roots in the trades, Habitat for Aviation provides an taxilane for world learning opportunities for youth and adults who love to work with their hands to enter the FAA’s apprenticeship certification track. Each day she puts systems in place that make real John Dewey’s philosophy that we “learn best what we live” – a deep throughline from her time at Antioch University New England and as Regional Director for Big Picture Learning. Each learning experience is grounded in relationships, relevance, and practice. In October, 2023, Habitat for Aviation launched its Women Build Planes program, where an all-female team of Modern Day Rosies is building an airplane at Franklin County Airport, in northwestern Vermont, to show folks everywhere that despite the fact that only 2.6% of airplane mechanics are female, women BUILD, FLY, and FIX airplanes.

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Discussing Our Future Building Plans with VTRANS