New Year Ritual Retreat
Join us for a weekend retreat to welcome the new year with ritual and ceremony
Rivendell Retreat Centre, Bowen Island
January 15-18th 2026
Step into 2026 with intention and community
Every January, we host a weekend retreat offering rituals to welcome the new year. Together, we release what we need to let go of from the previous year, find stillness in the present moment, and create a vision board to guide us forward. This is a wonderful way to set new intentions for what’s to come, surrounded by a community of care in a natural environment.
Who is it for?
This retreat is ideal for women of all ages and stages in life who are looking to invite more intention into their everyday life and start the year with clarity and purpose.
Whether you’re curious about ritual design, wanting a weekend to reset, or join an empowering community of women, this will be an opportunity to learn, share and connect with others in a magical setting.
Where is the retreat?
This 3 night / 4 day retreat is hosted at Rivendell Retreat Centre on Bowen Island, BC. A short ferry ride from West Vancouver, the Lodge is set in a tranquil, natural environment, surrounded by forest, lakes, and sweeping ocean views.
We have the Lodge to ourselves, with both private and shared rooms, and we have our own private chef creating nourishing meals for us.
What can I expect?
Over the course of the weekend, we will explore rituals to release what was, find stillness in the present, and set intentions for the future. There will be meditation, movement, art, music, and time in nature.
We will craft and create vision boards that capture the story we want to tell in 2025, and we will share our stories with each other. The weekend is steeped in ceremony and intentional gathering.
Schedule of Events
Please arrive at Rivendell by 4pm on Thursday, January 15th. We will hold our Opening Circle followed by dinner and guided conversations. We will spend Friday releasing the year gone by and finding ways to be present in the moment. Saturday will be spent crafting our vision boards and tapping into our creativity. We will have breakfast together on Sunday and then clean our rooms and the lodge before departing at 12pm (plan for the 1pm ferry)
Investment
The cost for the 3 night retreat is $1,150 CAD for a semi-private room and $1,450 CAD for a private room which includes 3 nights accommodation, 8 vegetarian meals, workshop supplies, and more. It does not include travel to or from Bowen Island. A non-refundable 25% deposit is requested upon registration, with the remaining 75% due 60 days before the retreat begins. We have two partial scholarships and small subsidies available for those facing financial barriers.
The Space
We will host our workshops, circles and meals in the Lodge at Rivendell. We have the entire space to ourselves. There is a beautiful meditation space, a community labyrinth, hiking trails, and lots of beautiful nooks to pause and soak up the majestic views. Please note that as part of Rivendell's focus on service, we are asked to clean our own rooms and the lodge before we leave.
Accommodations
Most rooms are shared, with two single beds (side by side) and modest furnishings and a private shared washroom. You can request a private room for an additional fee (limited availability, on a first come basis). All of the rooms are located in The Lodge where we will be gathering throughout the day.
Vegetarian Catered Weekend
We hire a caterer to prepare our meals and snacks throughout the day. Meals include Thursday dinner, Friday and Saturday all meals, and Sunday breakfast. All meals are vegetarian with a focus on locally-sourced, organic produce. We can accommodate most dietary needs if given advanced notice.
Sharing Our Gifts
We are fortunate to have so many talented people joining us on our retreat. If you have a gift you would like to share with the group - whether it's leading us in song, dancing or movement, on a hike, or in conversation, we invite you to share your gifts so we can celebrate them and learn from each other. Please reach out with any offers or requests for our time together.
WHO WE ARE
Megan Sheldon, Lead Ceremonialist
Megan is the co-founder of Be Ceremonial, the world’s first guided ritual and ceremony app. She is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, and end-of-life doula living and working in North Vancouver, BC. She has created ceremonies for people around the world, focusing on what she calls the ‘seemingly invisible moments of change’, such as pregnancy loss, organ transplantation, menopause, and marking death anniversaries.
Megan will be guiding the entire weekend, framing it as a ceremony where we release what was, find stillness in what is, and set intentions for what will be.
*We will share our guest facilitators closer to the retreat date
Retreat Application
FAQs
After our opening circle on Thursday, we’ll have dinner together. Friday and Saturday will be spent in nature, in conversation, and in reflective time. There will be free time to choose your own adventure – such as a walk, a swim in the sea, quiet time, or exploring Bowen Island. We will craft and curate our story visions for 2026 over the course of the weekend, sharing our stories and our gifts. Sunday will include breakfast followed by our closing circle. We are asked to clean our own rooms and share in the cleanup of the main lodge. We will leave Rivendell by 12pm with plans to be on the 1pm ferry back to Vancouver. Please note Sunday does not include lunch, but you are welcome to stop in Snug Cove and grab your own lunch before making your way back to the city.
Yes! Be sure to note the fact you’re planning to attend with a friend and we will do everything we can to place you in the same room. Please note that rooms are available on a first-come basis and may fill up. If you’re sharing a room with someone new, we will introduce you ahead of time so you can get acquainted!
We made the decision to offer these retreats to women, and those who identify as women, to help with feelings of safety, transparency and shared lived experiences. We connect with all of our applicants before approving registration to ensure that everyone joining is aware of the topics and circumstances of the weekend.
Prices are in CAD. A non-refundable 25% deposit requested to secure your spot. The remaining 75% is due 60 days before the retreat begins.
If you cancel before 30 days of the retreat, we will refund your payment less the 25% deposit. If you cancel within 30 days of the retreat, we cannot provide a refund of any kind.
Due to the limited number of spaces available and the financial commitments incurred to book the lodge and caterer, we cannot make any exceptions to this refund policy, not even for personal emergencies. We recommend that you take out travel insurance to protect yourself against illness, emergencies and changes in your circumstances.
In the unfortunate event you are unable to attend the retreat, you may transfer your spot to a friend or someone on our waiting list if available, subject to our approval. If we have to cancel the retreat due to events beyond our control, we will reschedule the retreat for a later date. If you cannot attend the new date, we will provide a full refund.
To make our retreat more accessible, we offer two partial scholarships with a priority for marginalized communities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ2S and people with disabilities. We will reach out to those who apply for a scholarship during our application process to share more about your circumstances. If you do not qualify for a scholarship, you can request financial assistance in the form of a payment plan or small subsidy to support your attendance.
Absolutely! As part of our tuition model, we welcome those who are able to offer an extra scholarship to a participant in need. Please reach out if you have the means to add to our scholarship program.
Absolutely. Our chef will create outstanding vegetarian and plant-led meals for us and can make adjustments assuming we have ample notice of any dietary restrictions. You are also welcome to bring items to supplement the nourishment we will provide.
Yes, this is a BYOB retreat and we will not be serving alcohol. If you would like to bring wine, spirits or mocktails to share, you are welcome to do so. We will have flavoured fizzy waters, coffee and tea to share.
Yes, of course. Our time is carefully scheduled but not packed. There will be time on Friday and Saturday to rest and recharge in whatever way you need. This could include taking a nap, going for a walk in nature, cold plunging in the ocean, or doing yoga in the meditation hut.
Our time together is carefully planned and the nature of the event is one that fosters community learning. We understand that sudden events may come up but we request that all attendees join us for the duration of our weekend, from 3pm on Friday to 3pm on Sunday.
We set up a RideShare spreadsheet for our guests to request and offer ride sharing. We’re also happy to help you connect with the many bus, taxi, and private car services available between Vancouver International Airport and Bowen Island, BC. Please note that there are no taxis on Bowen Island and the lodge is located at the top of a very steep hill. We suggest finding someone in our rideshare to drive you from the ferry to the lodge.
Our retreat facilities are not set up as a conventional hotel, so you cannot stay at Rivendell longer than our allotted timing. However, we would be delighted to suggest options for extending your vacation on Bowen Island or in Vancouver.
