4th Annual Sisters in Harmony RETREAT and/or Live Song Leader TRAINING

NOTE:

As we get closer to the retreat, most of the on-site overnight accommodations are sold out. If you are looking to attend the Live Song Leader Training and want to stay on-site, please reach out to Heather's assistant Natalie, to see what options may be possible (even if the ticket type says sold out). If you are registered for the retreat and want to add the Live Song Leader Training with your current accommodations, we can most likely accommodate you, so please ask. [email protected]

Retreat: Thursday June 26th - Sunday June 29th, 2025

An ALL INCLUSIVE women's singing retreat AND Live Song Leader Training at the stunning Green Mountain Retreat center in the Santa Cruz Mountains!

Please join Heather Houston with special guest artists -

Arnaé Batson, Te Martin, Debbie Nargi-Brown, Kaitie Ty Warren, Amanda West, and Sheniqua Trotman!

Supported by Namasya on percussion, Sound Bath with Caroline, and Qi-Gong with Beth.

Immerse yourself in sacred sisterhood, song, meditation, ritual, nature, a swimming pool, and hiking trails. We’ll be singing together in one big group the entire weekend, with the exception of a round robin session where we will break into smaller groups and YOU will have the opportunity to lead and learn songs from the other participants. (Don't worry, leading a song is optional!) :)

Fill your cup with songs that open your heart and uplift your spirit!

Add-On - LIVE SONG LEADER TRAINING

Sunday June 29th - Tuesday July 1st

Expand your repertoire of songs and chants that tend to the beautiful tapestry of your unique community and feel more empowered in your songleading skills!

This year I am excited to announce that we are adding another component to the Song Leader Training. We will have TWO groups - for beginner and intermediate leaders. We will all have time together as well, and everyone will gain the unique tools they need to lean into their gifts and lead their communities in heart-opening songs!

Beginner Group - for those who are newer to song leading, or not yet leading regularly. Practice leading the melodies, simple harmonies, and rhythms of songs with ease and confidence! Taught by Sisters in Harmony graduates who are leading regulary - Sarah MacEwan & Laura Claire Sera.

Intermediate - For those who are leading song circles regularly, or leading a community choir. I'll be offering pracitces for helping your groups blend and tune, open, and connect with each other. You'll be leading more complex songs with multiple layers and harmony parts. Taught by Heather.

You will be asked on the intake form whether you are interested in the beginner or intermediate training, and if we have enought interest, then we will split into two different groups.

*You must sign up seperately for this training by also selecting the Add-On Live Song Leader Training ticket upon check-out. Please select the same housing type as you have during the retreat or we will move you and contact you to pay the difference prior to arrival.

*Subject to Space it may be possible to sign up for the Live Song Leader Training without attending the full retreat. Just email us and ask.

Food

Organic, locally sourced, gluten-free meals.

Lodging

Dorm rooms and cottages. Dorm rooms offer first, second, or third floor access in the building adjacent to the primary meeting space. They are a short flat walk to the dining hall. They offer individual a/c units and are more insulated for sound concerns. Their is no elevator if you are on an upper floor. Cottages are rustic with character and charm. Cottages do require walking on uneven footing over a hillside. Some cottages may be a 10 minute walk from the main meeting space. Cottages are shaded but do not have a/c units. Some cottages have upper and lower units and are not sound proof so we ask you to be considerate of your neighbors if you are in a cottage. Both dorms and cottages have windows that open for fresh air.

Private beds in shared dorm rooms and cottages are available. Limited single rooms are also available. All accommodations include shared bathrooms.

No camping in tents, RV's, or vans are allowed on site.

Ride Shares: We will create a private Facebook page for registered participants only to arrange ride shares and to connect and make roommate choices prior to the retreat.

Transportation: It's easy to take shuttles and Ubers from the San Jose airport.

Tentative Schedule

(Subject to change)

Thursday:

● 3:00 pm - Welcome to arrive and get settled in

● 6:00 pm - Dinner

● 7:15 - 9:00 pm - Welcome Song Circle

● 10:00 pm - 7:00 am - Quiet hours

Friday:

● 7:00 - 7:50 am - Qi Gong with Beth Freewoman in Redwood Grove

● 8:00 - 9:00 am - Breakfast

● 9:15 - 12:00 - Morning Singing Session

● 12:00 - 2:00 pm - Lunch & Free time

● 2:00 - 4:15 pm - Afternoon Singing Session

● 4:15 - 5:00 pm - Sound Bath with Caroline

● 5:00 - 6:00 pm - Free Time

● 6:00 - 7:15 pm - Dinner

● 7:15 - 9:00 pm - Evening Session

● 10:00 pm - 7:00 am - Quiet hours

Saturday

● 7:00 - 7:50 am - Qi Gong with Beth Freewoman

● 8:00 - 9:00 am - Breakfast

● 9:15 - 12:00 - Morning Session

● 12:00 - 2:00 - Lunch and Free Time

● 2:00 - 4:30 - Afternoon Round Robin Sessions

● 4:30 - 5:00 - Free Time

● 5:00 - 6:00 - SILENT TIME

● 6:00 - 7:00 - Dinner

● 7:15 - 9:00 - Evening Session

● 10:00 pm - 7:00 am - Quiet Time

Sunday

● 7:00 - 7:50 am - Qi Gong with Beth Freewoman

● 8:00 - 9:00 am - Breakfast

● 9:00 - 10:00 - Pack up and be out of room

● 10:00 - 12:00 - Closing Session

● 12:00 - 1:00- Goodbys / Clean up / Off property by 1:00

● NO LUNCH Unless you are staying for the Song Leader Training - BRING SNACKS

Song Leader Training begins at 7:00 pm on Sunday and ends on Tuesday morning at noon.

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ABOUT the Facilitators:

Amanda West

Amanda is an award-winning singer, songwriter, song-circle leader, music teacher and mother. She is co-founder of Womb Song, U.S., an organization that supports women into motherhood through music. She understands music to be a part of our human birthright, playing an essential role in our experience of being alive, and has found her life-path and greatest joy through sharing music with others.

Arnae Batson

Arnaé Batson is a GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, and vocal instructor. Her work covers multiple genres including jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, hip-hop, and children’s music. Arnaé is the founder and director of The SSING Network, a non-profit enterprise in which she “Shares Songs & Inspires Neighborhood Gatherings.” Additionally, Arnaé serves as director for the Hearts Afire Community Choir and the Voices Raised LA Vocal Collective for Social Justice. Arnaé is committed to using her gifts to create spiritual pathways for heart healing, self-compassion, and social equity.

Debbie Nargi-Brown

For over 3 decades, Debbie Nargi-Brown has been leading dancing and singing in Santa Cruz and beyond; teaching African-inspired dance classes, leading Community Sings as well as facilitating retreats and workshops. She writes songs for the heart, for healing, for transformation, for love, for grief and all those things that connects us as human beings. Bringing people together in dance and song is one of her greatest sources of joy!

Heather Houston

Founder of the Sisters in Harmony Global movement, Heather Houston is a beloved community choir director, recording artist, and women’s vocal empowerment coach who offers life transforming singing events, both online and in person. She is passionate about uplifting hearts, freeing voices, and building strong, loving communities through the power of singing. Heather’s songs are sung by communities across the globe, and weave themes of communion with the natural world, personal and collective healing, prayer, unity and inspiration.

Kaitie Ty Warren

Kaitie Ty Warren (she/they) is a Bay Area-based song leader, teacher, writer, and performer. Passionate about creating collective experiences through music, she teaches by call and response and emphasizes playfulness as a form of resistance. In 2015 she founded Living Room Choir, which survived the move to Zoom through the pandemic and recently re-opened as Living Room Choir ANEW, co-led by Sara Stutz. Kaitie is a member of the Ubuntu Choirs Network, which believes it's everybody's birthright to sing. KaitieTyWarren.com; TheLivingRoomChoir.com

Te Martin

Te Martin is a song-keeper and ritual artist. They were born on Ramaytush Ohlone land in San Francisco and have been shaped by the Ocean, Redwoods, circus arts, and theater games. They facilitate oral tradition singing classes and workshops that focus on song as a tool for collective liberation, somatic regulation, and ancestral connection. Te served as co-organizer of Thrive Street Choir in the San Francisco Bay area for six years, is a student of Gaelic song, and released their first professional music video and EP of original songs, "Water & Bones", in 2021.

Sheniqua Trotman

Sheniqua is a passionate song facilitator, social justice activist, and vocal empowerment coach based in Brooklyn, New York. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in creating inclusive and transformative spaces where individuals can heal, connect, and find empowerment through the power of communal singing.

Namasya Carpenter (Percussionist)

Namasya Carpenter is a percussionist, singer, dancer, and spiritual practitioner based in Santa Cruz, CA. With over 25 years of experience in music and dance, she has traveled the world studying her craft in Ghana, Bali, and Australia. Drawing inspiration from world rhythms, folk, reggae, hip hop, and rock, Namasya is known for her intuitive drumming style while playing from the heart to support and uplift the music. Passionate about supporting the voice through rhythm and harmony, Namasya believes in the transformative magic that happens when we unite in song, rhythm, and dance.

Beth Freewoman (Chi Gong)

(she/her/hers) is the owner of The Open Hearth–Tools for Self-Healing(www.IAmTheOpenHearth.com). With her passion for holistic health and her confidence in thebody’s self-healing capacity, she shares the practice of Qigong with enthusiasm and the intention to empower. Not only is she certified as a Holden Qi Gong teacher, (by Lee Holden), she is an advanced student of Dr. Joe Dispenza, integrating the healing power of meditation and coherence into her own health and well-being practices. She currently lives in Santa Cruz, CA.

Caroline Nicola (Sound Blessing)

Caroline Nicola is a sound practitioner, massage therapist and visual artist living in Aptos, California. She loves creating events that combine merriment and mindfulness, silliness and stillness. From Sound Blessings to Silent Dance Parties, these events are gently facilitated to nurture a greater sense of well-being, belonging and awe.

Tickets:

Paid in FULL and Payment Plans are available.

Payment Plans: To register for a payment plan please email my assistant at [email protected] for a personalized registration code.

Early Bird: Payment Plan costs $50 administrative fee above paid-in-full price. A deposit of 50% holds your place; with a 25% payment due April 1st, and the remaining 25% balance due May 1st.

On-Time Bird: Payment Plan costs $50 administrative fee above paid-in-full price. A deposit of 50% holds your place; with a 25% payment due May 1st, and the remaining 25% balance due June 1st.

Early bird pricing goes through the end of April. On May 1st on-time bird pricing will be $100 more per ticket. Please email Heather to inquire about partial trade scholarships.

*Note: The iPhone app for Eventbrite no longer supports ticket sales so please register through a web browser if you are having difficulties registering.

Cancelation Policy:

Cancellations between now and April 30th are refundable minus a $100 administrative fee.

Cancellations between May 1st and June 1st are 50% refundable to cover the costs of the retreat already paid.

Cancellations after June 1st are non-refundable.

At any time you are welcome to gift your place at the retreat to someone else, of your choosing. There will be a $50 administrative fee to do so (payable by you or them.)

If you test positive for COVID before the retreat and need to cancel, you will be refunded minus a $100 administrative fee, with proof of positive COVID test.If you are sick prior to the retreat, COVID or otherwise, please contact us to discuss refund options. Our goal is to keep our community healthy!

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING REFUNDS: Eventbrite does not refund the ticket processing fees charged by them. We will not be responsible for refunding this fee. https://www.eventbrite.com/help/en-us/articles/548304/is-the-eventbrite-fee-refundable/

If we cancel on you:

Full refund minus $50 administrative fee. The $50 helps us recover some of the expenses we have already made, and the time and resources we have spent tracking your registration and housing requests.

What to Bring:

• Earplugs (If you're a sensitive sleeper)
• Snacks (Especially for Sunday. We need to be off campus by one, so no lunch will be provided that day. There are restaurants within a 20-minute drive from our venue.)
• Water bottle
• Travel mug
• Flashlight/headlamp
• Comfortable layers of clothing that you can move and breathe in
• Good walking shoes
• Hiking shoes if you'd like to hike on the property
• Shower/pool shoes
• Bathing suit (clothing optional pool area)
• Towel for the pool (shower towels are provided)
• Sunglasses
• Sun hat
• Warm hat
• Sunscreen
• Toiletries
• Journal
• An item for our collective altar - something that you want to charge up with the powerful energy of our time together and take home with you as a reminder.