Additional Activities

The following additional activities are offered to enhance your experience at the Whidbey Island Grief Retreat and are being offered before and after the retreat Saturday August 5th – Monday August 7th, 2023.  Registration for the additional activities is on the main registration page for the Whidbey Island Grief retreat.

If you have any questions about the additional activities, please email us at info@therapyheals.com.

Take your Grief for a Hike:  Friday, August 4th 3pm – 9pm

Registration fee: $150.00; minimum of 6 people required.

Start your retreat experience with one of the most majestic and spectacular hikes Whidbey Island has to offer. This 3-mile moderate hike along the island bluff will introduce participants to the island beauty and provide opportunities to view resident wildlife including bald eagles, red-tail hawks, coastal seabirds, and occasional coastal whales.  Hikers will have time to stop and reflect on their grief and set intentions for the retreat in journals.  After the hike, participants will share a private sunset dinner to share reflections, weekend goals, and grief experiences.

This hiking excursion will take place at Ebey’s Landing and will be led by a Whidbey Island Field Educator, and Grief Therapist Jennifer R. Levin.  Please note there is an incline on the initial part of the hike and the return section is on the beach with unstable sand and cobblestones.

Get Creative and Put Your Grief in a Box:  Tuesday, August 8th 9am – 3:00pm

Registration fee:  $150.00; minimum of 6 people required.

Memory boxes serve as safe vessels to contain your grief and provide you the opportunity to decide when to explore the contents or delve deeper into your grief.  Conclude your retreat experience with Whidbey Island Artist, Mary Horton, to create a memory box that will incorporate your new insights, elements from the island, and artifacts that represent your grief. You will return home with a keepsake memory box to help you stay connected to your retreat and loved one.

During the memory box experience we will go to the beach and forest to collect supplies for your memory box.  You will also receive a list of suggested items to bring with you for your memory box.  Art, crafting supplies, and memory boxes will be provided along with packing materials to help carry your boxes home.  Lunch will also be provided.

The memory box experience will be led by Whidbey Island Artist, Mary Horton, and Grief Therapist, Jennifer R. Levin.

 

Mary Horton was born in Seattle and grew up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by the fresh and salt waters, majestic mountains, and old-growth forests which inspire her work today. Mary and her husband Matthew have lived on Whidbey Island for the past 20 years. Mary is a multidisciplinary artist incorporating painting, printmaking, collage, encaustic, and photography. Mary’s work is currently part of the Whidbey Art Gallery Collection.