Summerglow

A weekend writing retreat in Ontario.

Is your creative writing craving inspiration and focus?

In this busy world, we’re always making things — lists, plans, emails, sandwiches. It takes time to step out of the bustle and create mindfully, with inspiration and care.

This is a retreat for people with words in their hearts that they want to get down on paper. We’ll gather beside a lake — eight participants and two facilitators — and we’ll write. In silence and in laughter, in circles and alone, we’ll find just the right words and images to move our work out into the world.

Participants may have projects on the go, or may simply arrive with big open hearts and the desire to create something new.

Here’s how it works:

We will gather on a Friday afternoon at Sumac Centre, about an hour north of Kingston. Our time will be a mix of writing workshops, group meals, free time, with luxurious silent writing periods on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Our focus will be ourselves — who are we, as this summer draws to a close? What are we craving? What are we ready to make?

Come to breathe, nap, swim, jump off the dock, listen to the birds, explore the trails, make friends, and write your heart out.

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.

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 between 1-2pm.

- 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 you own thing.)
- Want to know where their writing will go if they eliminated distractions and just keep writing.
- Are craving some time away from Facebook and buzzing telephones.
- Feel aligned with our fundamental beliefs.
- 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.

Where we’ll be:

Sumac Centre is a beautiful, barrier-free, 600-acre property in the deep woods north of Kingston, Ontario. See it on a map. It’s remote enough to be incredibly quiet, with private lakes and many trails to explore, starry skies, and lots of opportunity for wildlife sightings.

There will be a mix of shared and solo rooms with semi-private bathrooms and lots of common spaces, including a meditation room and two screened-in porches. Weather permitting, we’ll have a bonfire by the lake on Saturday evening.

To help us create a community of care, everyone will be invited to contribute to making and cleaning up one meal for the group. This doesn’t need to be fancy — the idea is to co-create our time together and connect in new creative ways. Plus we all know that the real party is in the kitchen.

We’ll do our very best to accommodate all food restrictions.

Read about accessibility features at this venue.

Read the Healthcare Harm Reduction Policy for the retreat.

See the space

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.

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?

Reach out to us!

What clients are saying…

The Summerglow retreat was the best weekend of my year. I came out of it inspired, relaxed, and with a goal and direction for my 2 year long project. There was so much incredible thoughtfulness in everything and the facilitators were absolutely wonderful people to spend the weekend with. The retreat location is stunning. I’m so excited to do it again.

Sumair Sattar
What an experience! Firefly brought a group of novice and seasoned writers together in a way that deepened our understanding of ourselves, our writing practice and our stories. The exercises brought fun and a new perspective on the writing process. The wonderful chunks of silent time allowed me a deeper engagement with my writing, inspired me to tame anxiety (after a good cry on the dock to release tension) and get to work. I enjoyed meeting like-minded people and being surrounded by the beauty and intentionally. I loved how the participants relaxed over time, me included, to allow for our creativity to breathe. The group giggle fest on the last morning was the best! I was delighted with the progress I made on my first novel. I highly recommend Firefly!

Colleen Bradley