Retreat · Jan 17, 2025 – Jan 19, 2025
New Year Ritual Retreat 2025
- When
- Fri, Jan 17, 2025 – Sun, Jan 19, 2025
- Format
- In-Person
- Location
- Rivendell Retreat Centre, Bowen Island, BC, Canada
- Schedule
- Friday 3pm - Sunday 3pm
This sold-out women’s retreat welcomed 2025 with ritual and ceremony at Rivendell Retreat Centre on Bowen Island. Participants released the year gone by, found stillness in the present, and set intentions for the future through story visioning and community ritual.
The retreat was for women and those who identify as women who wanted to invite more intention into everyday life, reset at the beginning of the year, explore ritual design, and gather in an empowering community.
Over the weekend, participants practiced release rituals, meditation, movement, art, music, time in nature, story sharing, and vision board creation with the support of an artist-in-residence and guest facilitators.
The retreat was hosted in the Lodge at Rivendell Retreat Centre on Bowen Island, BC, with private and shared rooms, forested surroundings, ocean views, a meditation house, a labyrinth, hiking trails, and quiet spaces to rest.
The weekend was fully catered with vegetarian and plant-led meals, snacks throughout the day, and dietary accommodations when requested in advance.
Registration included two nights of accommodation, six catered vegetarian meals, workshop supplies, and retreat treasures. Travel to and from Bowen Island was not included.
Itinerary
- Friday, January 173:00pm onward
Arrival and opening circle
Participants arrived by 3pm, gathered for opening circle at 4pm, shared dinner, and entered rituals to release the year gone by.
- Saturday, January 18
Vision boards, creativity, nature, and evening ritual
Saturday centered on crafting vision boards, tapping into creativity, spacious time in nature, and an evening dance/community ritual.
- Sunday, January 193:00pm departure
Sharing visions and closing circle
Participants shared their 2025 visions, set intentions for the year ahead, and closed the retreat before leaving Rivendell around 3pm.
Facilitators
Megan Sheldon
Megan Sheldon (she/her) is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, end-of-life doula, and co-founder of Be Ceremonial, the world's first guided ritual and ceremony platform. She is the author of Ritual Without Religion: A Humanist Guide to Creating Secular Ceremonies, and has spent years crafting ceremonies across the life cycle, with a focus on grief and the less visible moments of change and transition.
