Autumn Gathering of Western Region Retreat Centers

Regeneration and Resiliency
A Gathering of Retreat Center Leaders and Staff Focused on Bio-regional Regeneration and Light-hearted Connection with Peers

Saturday, September 21st  – Tuesday, September 24th, 2024
Please register by September 14th 11:59PM Pacific

Join us for an exploration on the topic of resilience and connection amongst peers in our regions. We hope to make this joyous, playful, informative, and nourishing! 

This Fall we will gather Western Regional Retreat Centers from the US and Canada.

We’ll gather to connect deeper as peers, meet each other from nearby regional centers, and discuss topics related to bio-regional sustainability and resiliency. There will be plenty of open time to connect with each other, ground in nature, propose topics for discussion during breakouts, and to dive into topics together.  We hope to have time for play, art, and laughs. Anyone is welcome to volunteer to lead discussions, share their wisdom, or lead an activity (mindfulness, art, play, dance) – let us know. 

We encourage you to join the dialogue while also embodying rest and restorative practices the center and community has to offer.

This retreat topic and discussion focus is inspired by Joe Brewer’s work with the Design School for Regenerating Earth. Brewer’s work is dedicated on the theory and practice of birthing bioregional learning centers. We’ll use this topic and Joe Brewer’s work as a grounding and launchpad for our discussion topics. Learn more about Joe Brewer and the bioregional regeneration work here. 

Who is invited? Anyone working at or with a retreat center in the West Coast or Mountain Regions are welcome to attend. If you’re not sure, you likely belong! Contact us and we’re happy to share more. 

(For now, we ask that no more than 3 staff from a particular center attend – to support everyone having an opportunity to attend and diversity in the room. We’re happy to set up a waitlist if space is available for more of your staff closer to the retreat- contact us!)

Note: we’re defining ‘Western region’ as anyone in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and BC Canada. 

Plus ones are welcome! If you’d like to bring along any family members, friends, kiddos, etc. please contact us and we’re happy to arrange. Likely to share the room with you, and possible more space (depending on the total registrations). Kids are welcome, though note that we don’t have daycare available. Please consider setting this up in whatever way supports you in being present and joyous as we gather. 

This retreat is offered as a sliding scale to ensure it is as accessible as possible for those interested. If finances are a barrier for you, contact us for more financial support options. 

This retreat is offered in collaboration with RCC, and hosted by Big Bear Retreat Center and Whidbey Institute. It is our intention to organize among peers with a chance to connect deeply and regularly amongst our region!

**Note: It is our intention that this retreat be collaborative. We will lightly facilitate sessions, but we invite the wisdom in the room! If you’d like to lead a breakout topic, lead a mindful movement session (i.e. yoga, chi gong, etc) please let us know. We’d love for this to be a collaborative and open experience for the community. This was dreamed up by Ben, Marta, and Andreas at the last RCC gathering in Canada and we wanted to get together with folks in our region to dive deeper! 

Schedule:

(click here to see the full schedule)

Saturday, September 21st: 2-4pm Check-ins and Arrivals
*we ask everyone arrive by dinnertime, beforehand is preferred*

Tuesday, September 24th: 11am(ish) Retreat Close (12pm checkout)

*Contact us if you need to leave early and we are happy to coordinate more. Come for as much time as you can – because we know once you step foot in your peaceful cabin, taste the nourishing food, and walk the sacred land – you’ll be glad you came.

Your Stay with us Includes:

• A private bedroom in a shared retreat cabin (up to 3-4 rooms), with wifi, a kitchen, living room, central heat, and a private deck in nature
  • with option to bring guests, loved ones, or friends to share a room
  • we have 35 bedrooms total, in 11 cabins
• Meals (three healthy freshly prepared, delicious vegetarian meals)
• Daily center guided wellness, mindfulness and dialogue activities
• Access to center amenities and natural environment and trails

*spouses, family members, and friends are welcome to join (even if they may not plan to participate in the discussions).

Activities and what to expect:

• Facilitated discussions and breakout sessions on our discussion topics
• Peer led discussions and activities
• Relaxing and mindfulness based activities hosted and organized by the center including morning meditations, breath work, thematic hikes in nature, mindful movement, and evening relaxation activities
• Options to schedule outside recommended holistic service providers such as massages, body work, etc.

I can think of no better way to spend a week than to take in the breathtaking beauty of BBRC. This is the place to learn how to truly appreciate life. Everyone I have encountered there has been nothing but kind and helpful. – Retreat Guest, May 2023

Take a virtual tour of a cabin!

Accommodations:

The Center consists of several single-story buildings and cabins for dining, meditation and sleeping. Our residence cabins are large furnished and comfortable with 3-4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, living rooms, a full kitchen and decks outside in nature for shared use.

The Meditation Hall:

Our beautiful meditation hall is a large room that accommodates most meditation and movement retreats. We have supplies for most participants, but guests are always welcome to bring their own supplies (not required). Guests can typically expect to have access to a zabutan (large cushion), zafu (small cushion), yoga mat, blocks, a meditation chair, a blanket and a selection of other yoga and meditation props with limited supplies. If you’re unsure, please contact us or visit our welcome guide for more details.

Meals:

The Center provides fresh, healthy meals made with seasonal and organic ingredients to support a nourishing time in retreat. Meals begin with dinner on arrival evening through to breakfast on departure morning. For this retreat, meals will be offered to support meditation retreat practice with a simple medium breakfast, hearty lunch, and light dinner (typically soup and salad). All meals will be vegetarian, and we accommodate most major dietary restrictions. Snacks will be available in the dining hall 24/7, including teas and coffees. The Center has refrigerators in the cabins and dining area for guests to store their own snacks – please bring any foods that might support your time here.

Any questions please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org or visit our website bigbearretreatcenter.org.

Planning your trip: If you are booking a flight for your trip our recommendation is to search for flights to the Ontario Airport (ONT) whenever possible. If your travel plans require you to land at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) we highly recommend arriving at least one day prior to your arrival at BBRC for retreat. Registration opens on Arrival day from 2:00pm – 4:00pm. The final day will conclude by noon or later on, so please allow yourself adequate time for travel to the airport. Please visit our Getting to Big Bear page on our website for more detailed travel recommendations.

Ride-share: Ride-sharing / Carpooling is highly encouraged, and is one of the most convenient ways to travel to Big Bear Retreat Center. For this retreat we have set up a self-organized ride-share page that you can visit at anytime before, we will send email reminders closer to the retreat.  Visit the ride-share page

Covid Policies: For this retreat we are requiring a negative rapid test on-site (and possibly a re-test after 72 hours).  Masking is optional, but subject to change.

Guests are asked, when possible, to bring their own rapid tests. Tests will be provided by the center by request only. We recommend testing BEFORE your travel to us.

For any questions please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org or visit our website bigbearretreatcenter.org

Cancellation Policy: Please visit our website for more on the cancellation policy for this retreat- bigbearretreatcenter.org/cancellation-policy

• > 8 weeks   $75
• 4-8 weeks   $150
• < 4 weeks   No Refunds