Single Day of Bliss

VITALITY WINTER RETREAT

PACKING LIST

This Vitality Retreat will be located at

ALL SOULS INTERFAITH GATHERING

291 BOSTWICK RD

SHELBURNE, VT 05482

http://www.Allsoulsinterfaith.org

Medicine Womyn retreats are a powerful and potent time together when we meet each other with an open heart and open mind. Our activities throughout the day are varied and diverse. To stay comfortable and make the most out of our time together, we encourage you to bring a few items. 

PLEASE BRING:

• Journal and pen
• Clothes that are cozy, comfortable and easy to move in
• Layers, slippers, and blankets to adapt to changes for comfort
• Yoga mat & any necessary supports such as cushions or bolsters
• Drum or handheld instrument (if you have one or more!)
• Water bottle and/or tea thermos
• Business cards or networking resources to stay connected
• Appropriate outdoor gear if you desire to step out and get fresh air

Other Info to know…please prepare yourself accordingly!

WE WILL BE: 

• Mostly indoors 
• Sitting in circle in ceremony and workshops for extended periods
• moving to drum, dance, and a little gentle yoga and meditation 
• Reclining for an extended time to receive a sound bath

WE WILL PROVIDE:

• Lunch (vegetarian and vegan friendly), snacks, and tea from Lucky Star Catering
• Extra drums and small instruments for those who feel called

WE WILL GO ON: 

• Snow, rain, or shine, we will be meeting together!
• No refunds will be offered.

WEEKEND SUMMER RETREAT PACKING LIST

AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2024

Our VITALITY SUMMER Retreat will be Located at:

CAMP HOCHELAGA

Hochelaga Road

South Hero, VT

(802) 372-4510

http://www.ywcavt.org

 

We are looking forward to gathering at this sacred land in South Hero. For many years we have been looking for a place that has so many of the fabulous amenities that Camp Hochelaga offers and we love the history of this camp. For more than 100 years this sacred land has been a girls nature based and empowerment summer camp. When you are on site with us over the weekend, if you are still enough you can almost hear the giggles of the girls woven into the buildings and the land.

With that in mind, we are playfully calling this Levity retreat a bit of an adult summer camp.

We will be staying in awesome rustic cabins, swimming in the lake right off their private beach, drumming/singing and dancing around a beautiful fire pit and using their main theater as our main classroom and gathering place.

There are also safe spaces designated for learning and practicing Archery, and lots of wild inspiring places to create nature based arts and crafts. 

 

With all of this in mind, we are so grateful and blessed to have the main classrooms and cooking/dining spaces already there just waiting for us to transform for our retreat together.  HOWEVER keep in mind it may be considered rustic or bare bones for some of you and therefore we ask for your added comfort and safety to scan this packing list and bring anything you may need to be most comfortable all weekend.

 

SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO PACK

 

You will be sharing a cabin that is OFF GRID, NO ELECTRICITY with 6-7 other sistars. The cabins sleep 8 and are all sets of bunk beds. 

Ideally as a cabin crew,  you can figure out who gets which bed and always honoring the elders with their ability to get up and down off the top bunk…

 

These are pretty thin mattresses and you will need to bring your own BEDDING, either sheets and a blanket and PILLOW or a SLEEPING BAG. Late August is still pretty hot in the evenings in VT so you may want to pack cool sheets etc.

 

There are NO OUTLETS in the cabins but if you need a fan there are battery operated ones I have seen for sale online that you may consider bringing…

 

We have a main classroom but NO chairs for it, they are all staying in the dining hall in the lower fields so please bring some sort of CHAIR for the weekend; either a CAMP CHAIR OR LOW SEATED CUSHION. We will be using these throughout the weekend. perhaps tag your chair or cushion so you don’t have to worry about it getting mixed up with the others

 

We will be offering a YOGA CLASS Sunday morning so if you want to attend that class please bring a YOGA MAT and any PROPS (blocks, strap, bolster)  you may use for your yoga practice

 

If you don’t want to do yoga with us but plan to come to the SOUND BATH directly after, we still recommend a yoga mat or some sort of BLANKET to lay on as it will be a restorative sound bath….

 

We have access to a private beach on this land, however with the recent floods and abundant rain falls we have had this summer, the actual beach part is not as large as before. However it is still a wonderful place to wade into the water, swim and even borrow a kayak, SUP-stand up paddle board, Canoe etc. 

 

Bring your SWIMSUIT and TOWEL, perhaps even WATER SHOES for more stable ground if needed 

 

We DO have access to showers at the bath house, we DON’T recommend everyone using them with such a large group as the lake is quite clean and refreshing and there is something so special about getting a little dirty and wild all weekend together but if you plan to shower,  please bring your ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS and TOLIETRIES and again a towel etc

 

Seeing as the cabins are off grid and once the sun goes down we won’t have lights to guide you to the cabins and bath houses etc, please bring a FLASHLIGHT, HEADLAMP OR LATERN and BATTERIES. We plan to have Solar lights and I believe the bath houses have electricity so thats helpful for the late night missions. 

 

We are NOT ALLOWED to burn candles in the cabins 

 

WATER BOTTLE- there is clean potable water on site 

 

we will be GIFTING you each a beautiful essential oil based BUG SPRAY upon arrival but if you need something stronger feel free to pack it

 

RAIN GEAR- we are stoked to have safe and spacious classrooms, kitchens, dining rooms and cabins to keep us all dry and ideally cooler however it would be smart to bring the right gear as we hope to do as much outside as possible

 

RAIN BOOTS, UMBRELLA, RAIN COATS, HATS

 

SUN GEAR- We plan to do as much of our retreat outside as possible and there is a lot of open fields and no outdoor tents set up so please bring layers to keep yourself protected from the sun; HATS, SUNGLASSES, SUNSCREEN,  light layers etc

 

FOOT WEAR- this sacred site is aprox. 35 acres and a bit of walking to and from the classrooms, to the art spaces, kitchen/dining halls, cabins etc. Its mainly level but I would suggest bringing sneakers and comfortable footwear for all terrains. There are also some wood trails available to explore

 

If you need some sort of HIKING POLES, STAFF or CANE  for extra support please bring them

 

CLOTHING- bring layers and different styles of clothing

something to stretch in, dance and drum in, something if you want to dress up and feel festive in and so forth. we will be belly dancing together as well as dancing around the fire, and also into the evening inside the main classroom. 

You may want a jacket or warmer layers if it gets cooler or buggy etc

PJS etc 

 

Biz cards and networking tools to share with others

 

DRUMS, RATTLES, INSTRUMENTS 

 

SONGS, CHANTS, POEMS 

GOOD INFO TO KNOW

**There will be a Marketplace to shop, so I would suggest bringing some cash  to treat yourself to a little something special. There will be jewelry, drums/rattles, art, apothecary goods, herbal medicine, tuning forks, books and so much more on site…

**There also will be several beautiful areas reserved for private Healing sessions….We have a tribe of incredible ladies offering bodywork, wellness consultations, therapy, reiki, shamanic work, tarot/divination etc For more info, look under  the ‘Additional Offerings’ here on the website and make sure to book yourself a little session with one or several of these incredible sisters.