alumni gathering
in-person retreat on Vancouver Island
We’re celebrating! The Centre for Holding Space will be turning FIVE YEARS OLD
in September 2025, and we’re inviting you to gather with us for an in-person retreat!
Come together with like-minded colleagues and
Holding Space practitioners from around the world!
Gather with compassion, love and friendship to hold space for each other & engage in fun and enriching activities. Move your body, share your thoughts, eat nourishing food, go for walks, explore what you have learned about holding space and other ways that we can use and apply these concepts.
A message from Heather Plett,
co-founder of the Centre for Holding Space:
Beloved alumni! I am delighted to announce that an Alumni Gathering Committee has been working hard behind the scenes to organize a special gathering for all alumni of our programs. This includes anyone who’s participated in an in-person or online event or workshop hosted by a member of the team at the Centre for Holding Space or by me before the Centre was formed.
I am delighted that the committee chose to host this in the special place where I now live, Vancouver Island!
I look forward to being with you in-person!
A message from the Alumni Gathering Committee
Join us September 25-28, 2025
We’ll gather for dinner on September 25 and end after lunch on September 28th. There will also be an additional day, September 24th, for Certified Practitioners. (More details will be sent to Certified Practitioners.)
Our event will be a mixture of circle time, facilitated exercises, group plenaries, and open-space/small group breakouts; plus rest time, meals, morning movement practices, and other somatic experience.
This is an early draft of our agenda. Program details will evolve….and we are interested in your suggestions!
Register now to save your spot and we’ll be sure to keep you informed of our unfolding plans.
Would you like to lead a presentation? What type of presentation would you like to attend? Drawing from the Holding Space concepts of Share the Work and Lean Into Your Community, we intend to co-create this alumni gathering with input from many folks. What are your suggestions? Contact us at [email protected]. Closer to the gathering, we will also be surveying registered participants about presentations and activities they would like to see happen and possibly lead so you will have your chance to give input then, too.
We will gather at Bethlehem Centre, a beautiful facility located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
It can be reached by flying to Vancouver International Airport, or Victoria BC. Ferry passage may apply, and groups from the airport may be able to be coordinated together. Someone from our committee will be happy to answer your travel-related questions. (Contact information below.)
Three nourishing meals are provided every day with your registration fee – food & lodging details here.
Options for accommodations are:
-
single occupancy in a room with a single bed
-
double occupancy in a room with two single beds
-
single occupancy in a room with a double bed
Let’s gather in circle for connection & inspiration!
Retreat Costs:
All prices are in Canadian currency.
Fees cover all accommodation and food costs. There is no cost for programming (see below).
| Three Nights |
|---|
| Single occupancy, double bed: $1100 |
| Single occupancy, single bed: $1000 |
| Double occupancy, single beds: $800 |
| Four Nights (for certified practitioners) |
|---|
| Single occupancy, double bed: $1350 |
| Single occupancy, single bed: $1200 |
| Double occupancy, single beds: $950 |
| Additional for partner: |
|---|
| Three nights: $600 (for single or double bed) |
| Four nights: $700 for single beds, $750 for double |
Note: Partner fees cover food and accommodation (double occupancy, double bed).
The agenda of the retreat is being organized based on the principle of ‘offer what you can, speak to what you need’. In order to keep rates minimal, no facilitation or other program organizing costs are being charged or paid for by retreat fees. There is also an intent to use any excess funds to build a bursary fund. This would be a travel bursary fund which can help offset travel costs on an as-needed basis, and to equalize financial strain between those who are near and those far away. The bursary is only intended for travel and does not include accommodation.
Would you like to have some of your travel expenses covered (up to a maximum of 50% – depending on amount raised)? Email us at [email protected] to request a bursary.
A few other important details:
- Any excess funds not distributed towards travel costs will be donated to the CFHS for ongoing scholarships.
- In order for this event to run, a certain number of participants have to demonstrate commitment by March 19, 2025. If you are intending to join this gathering, we encourage you to register early.
- Minimum deposit is 30% of the applicable retreat fee. If selecting partial payment, full payment is required by: August 5, 2025.
- Registrations accepted until: September 16.
Cancellation policy:
– Full refunds available until March 22, 2025
– 50% refund available March 23-Sept 13, 2025
– No refund available after Sept 14, 2025
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
We hope you’ll join us! We can’t wait to connect with our global community!
Need more inspiration? Here’s what you’ll get at the gathering:
- Daily schedule of events that includes group plenaries, small group discussions, and free times
- Opening and closing circles
- Morning movement practices and other somatic activities
- Opportunities to learn from fellow Holding Space practitioners and deepen your own practice
- A chance to enjoy friendships off the screen
- Reflect on your Holding Space work and consider its evolution
- A celebratory evening in honour of the Centre’s 5-Year Anniversary – which may be streamed online to share with our friends around the globe
- Sleeping accommodations in the room configuration of your choice
- Bedrooms include linens, bath towels, a desk and a chair, and a place to hang clothes
- Bathroom/shower facilities near each room, shared between 2-3 people
- Three nourishing home-style buffet meals each day which include grown-on-site produce and accommodation of (most) dietary needs (see website: Place | Bethlehem Centre )
- Group access to various meetings rooms
- Casual sitting and gathering spots around the property
- Access to Guest Lounges in each accommodation building which include microwave, mini fridge, and sink
- Access to beautiful grounds including a labyrinth, a reflective pond, a lake with hiking paths and swimming, and many picturesque resting places
- Partners can join for Morning Movement practices, meals, and the CFHS’s 5th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday evening