Bright Harvest
A fall weekend writing retreat in Southern Ontario
Are you a writer who longs to write more?
Fall is a time for harvesting. Summer has passed, with all its growth and stories, and now we’re slowing down, we’re letting our thoughts make larger and larger circles.
This weekend is designed to help participants catch their breaths and bring their attention to the page, where they can put some of their ideas into words at last. You may identify as a writer already, or you may simply have a feeling that there’s something inside that wants to be expressed.
All that’s required is an open heart, and the desire to create a community with us.
Here’s how it works:
We will gather on a Friday afternoon at a beautiful location away from it all. Our time will be a mix of writing workshops, group meals, free time, with luxurious silent writing periods on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
We’ll make time to breathe, nap, swim, jump off the dock, listen to the birds, create new relationships, and write our hearts out.
Arrivals are any time from 3:30–5pm on Friday, with dinner at 6pm and our first workshop at 7pm. Our weekend will wrap-up on Sunday after lunch, around 1–2pm.
To help create a community of care (and because we all know the real party is in the kitchen), each participant will be asked to help plan, bring and prep one meal for the group. We'll distribute all food restrictions and sensitivities beforehand to make sure everyone will be able to enjoy what we make, and we’ll take everyone’s “kitchen comfort levels” into account — if you just want to chop carrots and wash dishes, that’s A-OK!
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Are excited by the idea of quiet time, heart connection, and creative self-reflection.
Want to share their ideas and their writing with others.
Appreciate communal atmospheres and feel drawn to forming connections with others. (That said, this is an introvert-friendly space, and there will be lots of time to do your own thing.)
Want to know where their writing will go if they eliminate distractions and just keep writing.
Are craving some time away from social media and buzzing telephones.
Feel aligned with our fundamental beliefs.
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Might prefer to go to a spa. This retreat will involve focused writing and lots of introspection, as well as helping out with some meal preparation and cleanup. This isn’t a space to be catered to; it’s a space to actively co-create.
Are working on a writing project they’re not motivated by, like something for work. This retreat is built on the love of words, and tapping into the heart of our writing processes.
Believe that their writing can only thrive in a critical writing environment. We believe that writing flourishes with heavy doses of kindness and support.
Don’t want to share their work with others. There will be lots of opportunities to share, and while it’s totally fine to pass from time to time, we’re looking for participants who are excited by sharing, even when it’s a little squirmy.
Honestly can’t go a day without checking Twitter.
Where we’ll be:
This retreat will be held at Damselfly Studio, a cozy and spacious home (and gallery) of artist Susan Ware, right on Lake Muskoka, outside Gravenhurst, about 2 hours from Toronto, 4.5 hours from Ottawa. You can find it on Google Maps. It features her gorgeous art throughout, and many accessibility features which we're excited to share. There will be a mix of shared and solo rooms, some with en-suite bathrooms. There’s a fantastic barrier-free veranda, and lake access.
Read about accessibility features at this venue.
Read the Healthcare Harm Reduction Policy for the retreat.
Details:
This retreat will run again next summer. Join our early bird mailing list for early access to future registration or sign up for our newsletter.
Prices:
The total price for this retreat is:
$825 for a bed in a room shared with one other person. These are twin beds. When you sign up, you’ll be asked for a $225 deposit for this option.
$930 for a bed in a private room. When you sign up, you’ll be asked for a $330 deposit for this option.
Your payment will be separated into two parts:
Registration deposit, which covers a portion of the creative writing facilitation, payable to Firefly to confirm your spot.
Balance payment, which covers the balance of the creative writing facilitation plus accommodations, payable to our travel agent partner at Merit Travel once your registration has been confirmed.
All new in-person retreat participants will have a chat on the phone with one of the facilitators before their registration is final. We like connecting to make sure it’s the right fit.
Once your registration has been confirmed, in compliance with TICO regulation, our travel agent partner at Merit Travel will contact you for the balance of the payment ($600 plus applicable taxes).
Wendy Reis, Merit Travel
1-866-341-1777, extension 5320
wreis@merittravel.com
TICO registration #4499356
Four times a year, we give out bursaries for our programs to people with financial barriers. Check out our upcoming dates.
See our financial policies.
Sign up here:
Join our early bird mailing list for early access to future registration or sign up for our newsletter.
Questions?
Credit where credit is due
The photo we’re using to promote this page was taken by Autumn Mott.
What clients are saying…
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Bright Harvest retreat was like diving into a deep well of possibility. I went in unaware of the project I would be working on, but with deep care and graceful finesse the facilitators brought me to a place where my writing flowed. Because of their gentle prompting I was able to go to places I haven’t been wanting to go with my writing, and have come out with a renewed sense of confidence that what I have to write is important and should hold a reverent place in my life. If it weren’t for these beautiful coaches and the stunning venue, mixed with the alchemy of other participants and time to be with myself, I may have not rediscovered my own writing voice so quickly. Thank you Firefly.
Emma Brandy
Outdoor and Environmental Educator -
Thank you for sending me to a table filled with brave open hearted women. For laughter and tears. How each voice had its own melody. Thank you for food prepared in community and endless cups of tea and chocolate for breakfast. For the container created by the facilitators where I could show up as my best self and be in awe of the beauty that came out of each voice at the table. I left this retreat knowing my own capacity for reaching deep inside to pull the words out of sacred places and in awe of how everyone showed all the way up. Before this retreat I was floundering in a rough personal space but the love and authenticity that all 3 of the facilitators bring was like a sparkling waterfall on a hot muggy day. What they do is truly magical, love magic.
Nina Willow
Doctor, artist and mama who loves light, color, form, texture, tone, and the tender moment -
A magical energy surrounded me and guided every step of my ‘Bright Harvest’ journey: my fingertips that somehow steered me to the welcoming Firefly website; the friendly telephone conversation that lit a spark and inspired in me the mantra, “You must do this!“; my seven hour drive on a highway gleaming with the golds and greens of an enchanted Northern Ontario forest; the calmness, kinship, and inspiration fostered by a safe writing space with excellent facilitators and good, honest, questing women; the countless serendipitous happenings that answered so many of my personal questions; gorgeous scenery, particularly the stairs descending to beautiful Lake Simcoe and into my sacred self. All of the “callings” that comprise my life were affirmed by this retreat. A kind of peaceful knowing— a connection to something ‘bigger’: these were, and will remain, the blessings of my ‘Bright Harvest’ journey.
Laura Pigeon-Kelly
Writer, Teacher, Moth
