45th ANNUAL SUMMER SOLSTICE HEALING RETREAT

June 20 - 23, 2024
Registration is open now!

Welcome to SSHR!

For 45 years, with the exception of 2020, Breitenbush has hosted Summer Solstice Healing Retreat. SSHR is like a family reunion where we share music, workshops, healing modalities, laughter, conscious childcare (in Youth Village), Karma Yoga and the kind of world we wish to live in 365 days a year.. SSHR reminds us that such a world is possible.

Have you been attending for decades? Would you like to join us for the first time? 

  • This webpage is THE spot for SSHR information. 

  • This site will be updated as we have additional information to share. 

  • The job of the SSHR Registrar and the SSHR Event Coordinator is time consuming. Please use this webpage to answer your questions before contacting us at sshr@breitenbush.com. Please don’t contact the Breitenbush Office, they won’t have the information you need.

  • The price for this year’s SSHR is $250-$1000 per adult, $100 for children 4-12, $150 for teens 13-18. Children under 4 are admitted free. 

  • Breitenbush is still on the brink of survival. We have set the minimum price low because we know that SSHR is the only time some folks can afford to visit Breitenbush. We want to maintain this opportunity for lower-income guests but we ask that those who can give more do so. We’ve accomplished a lot since the 2020 Lionshead Complex Fire burned down half of our buildings, melted most of our vehicles, destroyed our maintenance facility, tools & machinery, and dispersed our staff. Rebuilding Breitenbush will take years. If you’re able, please pay more than the minimum so we can continue to rebuild this beautiful sanctuary.

Registration begins on Tuesday, March 5th at 6:00 PM. When you register we will ask about your lodging needs. We will take into consideration age, health-issues, family situations and other factors. It’s a tradition (and necessity) at SSHR that the majority of attendees camp in Strawberry Meadow.

All of Breitenbush’s golf carts were destroyed in the fire, and the Breitenbush staff is much smaller than before the fire. Breitenbush doesn’t have the capacity to transport guests with mobility needs in golf carts as we have in the past. We're sorry, but this is our reality for now.

Cancellations & Refunds: This year, we have decided to allow for cancellations and refunds of SSHR registrations according to our event-cancellation policy. The policy is as follows: Cancellation and refund requests submitted at least 14 days prior to the start date of this event will be accepted, and the full balance will be refunded minus a $100.00 service charge. Requests submitted less than 14 days prior to the start date of this event will be accepted, but a refund will only be applied if the space can be filled from our wait list. The $100.00 service charge will still be collected.

DAILY SCHEDULE

THURSDAY

4:00 - 11:00pm Registration/Parking • at the front gate

6:00 - 7:30pm Dinner   Front Lawn

6:30 - 7:30pm Spiral Tubs and Sauna cleaned

7:30 - 8:15pm Opening Ceremony and Information Circle Front Lawn

8:30 - 10:00pm Sacred Sound Journey with Tom & Aiyanna North Wing

FRIDAY

7:00– 8:00 am Morning Tea and Fruit (no bells ring)

8:30– 10:00 am WORKSHOP 1

10:30 am-12:00 pm Brunch

11:00 am- 12:00 pm Spiral Tubs and Sauna cleaned

11:45 am– 4:45 pm Youth Village activities • Vista Meadow 

12:00- 1:30 pm WORKSHOP 2

2:00- 3:30 pm WORKSHOP 3

4:00- 5:30 pm WORKSHOP 4

5:00- 6:30 pm Dinner

5:30- 6:30 pm Spiral Tubs cleaned

7:15 pm Children’s Talent Show • North Wing

8:00 pm Know Talent Show • North Wing

SATURDAY

7:00 - 8:00am Morning Tea and Fruit (no bells ring)

8:30 - 10:00am WORKSHOP 1 

10:30am - 12:00pm Brunch

11:00am - 12:00pm Spiral Tubs and Sauna cleaned

11:45am - 4:45pm Youth Village activities • Vista Meadow  

12:00 - 1:30pm WORKSHOP 2

2:00 - 3:30pm WORKSHOP 3

4:00 - 5:30pm WORKSHOP 4

5:00 - 6:30pm Dinner

5:30 - 6:30pm Spiral Tubs cleaned

7:30pm Ritual • Front Lawn

Post-Ritual Dance Party with Max Ribner & Friends, Resilient Beings • Front Lawn

9:30pm - 12:30am Bonfire, Ritual and Music Circle • at the Floodplain Fire Pit

10:00pm Procession of the Ancestor Tree from The Inner Path Altar to The Bonfire (bring instruments)

SUNDAY

8:30- 10:00 am MORNING WORKSHOP (no bells ring)

9:00- 11:00 am Please pack your stuff in your vehicle

9:30- 11:00 am Breakfast (this is the last meal served during the Gathering)

11:30-12:30 am Children’s Closing Circle- Youth Village Area
Children will reunite with their parents in the center of the circle after Spiral Dance

11:30 - 12:30 pm Adult Giveaway Circle • on the Front Lawn
1:00 pm Spiral Tubs and Sauna will close for cleaning

  • Please collect all of your belongings

1:30 Lost and Found is in the North Wing. 

Please check that you haven’t left anything before you leave.

ALL CARS MUST BE OUT OF THE PARKING LOT BY 2 O’CLOCK

Thanks for sharing your magic. See you all next year!

Arrival

  • SSHR begins at 4PM on Thursday. If you arrive before 4 you will be welcomed by SSHR Council Volunteers at the Breitenbush turn off of Forest Service Road 46. SSHR is coordinated by the SSHR Volunteer Council in conjunction with the Breitenbush Community. It is a community-run event and you’re an important part of this community. Attendees make SSHR happen through engaging in Karma Yoga, offering Workshops, Alternative Healing and just adding your kind, generous energy to the event.

  • Just before 4PM our Volunteers will lead cars up to the Breitenbush entrance. A Registration Volunteer will greet you and check you in. The driver of the vehicle will be given a parking tag for the vehicle (and a tent tag if they are camping in the meadow.) Once everyone in your vehicle is fully checked in, and given appropriate tags, a parking team member will guide you to your parking spot. During SSHR the designated driver may be asked to move their car to let another attendee out in case of an emergency. Our Parking Crew are Tetris Masters!

  • Folks staying in their personal vehicle will be led to their spot by a volunteer.

  • The Registration and Parking Teams spend most of SSHR in the Parking Lot. They appreciate when musicians play, and workshops happen, in the Cart Shed. What a sweet way to do your Karma Yoga!

  • Once you’re parked you probably need to find a cart so you can move your gear to your accommodations. Please be mindful (and thoughtful) that there are a limited number of carts and a lot of folks need them. Please return carts to the Cart Shed or Parking Lot as quickly as possible so everyone can move their gear in harmony.

Meals

  • Breitenbush serves two meals a day, with a light food offering from 7-8 Friday & Saturday mornings. You’re welcome to bring snacks, but please keep them in air-tight containers or in your vehicle. Squirrels and other critters chew through tents and scavenge for food around the Lodge. You’re in the forest. Open containers make a huge mess and can cause other problems.

  • BRING YOUR OWN DISHES, CUPS  AND UTENSILS. At least twice as many guests attend SSHR than usual. To keep costs and staff-overload down you are responsible for washing and providing your own dishware. There are hooks to hang dishware bags near the sink area.

  • The Bell System: The bells let you know what’s happening.

    3 Rings = Mealtime

    6 Rings = Workshops & Evening Activities Begin 

Karma Yoga

Everyone is asked to do 4-6 hours of Karma Yoga during the event. Sandy has been volunteering at the Karma Yoga table for decades and is there to answer your questions. Sandy is our Hub! The table is located at the base of the Lodge steps. There are sign up sheets for a variety of jobs such as serving food, monitoring the dishwashing sinks, cutting strawberries for Saturday night’s shortcake, projects with Breitenbush staff and much more. Along with specific tasks, we ask that you generously lend a hand whenever you see someone in need. It takes a village and SSHR creates the kind of village we all wish we could live in all of the time. Please practice kindness & generosity. 

Workshops

We average about 75-80 workshops during SSHR; from ecstatic dance to enneagrams, erotic spiritual play to alternative energy, singing, drumming, the range of workshops is astounding because our SSHR community is dynamic. 

Do you have something you’d like to share in a workshop? Pre-register to offer your workshop (HERE)

Workshops are posted across the walls of the Lobby and Dining Room in the Lodge. If you don’t sign up ahead of time, the Workshop Team will be on the Lodge Deck or in the Dining Room ready to post your workshop. Our Workshops Team Rocks!

Alternative Healing

Do you practice energy work, nutrition, massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, tarot, astrology? Whatever your modality, come share your gift with someone in need. Alternative Healing is located in and around the Forest Shelter. The sign-up sheet for Friday & Saturday is located at the entrance to the Forest Shelter. Those in need of healing may sign up for ONE session during SSHR. Please bring your own sheets if you’re using a massage table for your healing modality.

Note: If your modality doesn’t need a private room, we encourage you and your client to meet next to the sign up sheet, and then find a quiet outdoor spot where you can share your gifts.

 

Youth Village

SSHR is a multi-generational event. Three of our SSHR Council members grew up attending this event. Youth Village offers a safe and creative space for 4-18 year olds during afternoon workshops. Parents must sign their children in before leaving them. Younger children can be accompanied by a parent. Youth Village offers a wide-variety of crafts and fun activities with an excellent adult to child ratio. Safety is key!

We offer a special space for teens. There is a mandatory teen space orientation with Taylor and other Youth Village Volunteers on Thursday night at 7:30. Come eat snacks, connect with friends old and new, and learn about using the teen space.

Except during Youth Village hours, childcare is the responsibility of parents. Breitenbush requires that children under 12 must be supervised at all times by an adult 16 or older. Children under 4 must have an adult over 18 with them at all times.

Rituals & Entertainment

Thursday Evening at 7:30 there is an Open Ceremony on the Front Lawn. Come sing and move with us. Much has changed around Breitenbush. Attend this ceremonial circle to learn where safety features are and how to have a fantastic SSHR.

Sound and Soul Awakening will offer a Sacred Sound Journey beginning at 8:30 in the North Wing. https://www.facebook.com/soundandsoulawakening 

Try to arrive early so you can settle in. 

Tom and Aiyana love to love you up with healing sound vibrations. They use a variety of instruments (didgeridoos, Tibetan and crystal bowls, gongs, shamanic drums and rattles, hand pan, flutes, voice and more) to amplify the energy of Pure Love and help you reset your nervous system and sink into the healing resonance of SSHR.  Get comfy lying down, sitting on your own or snuggled with loved ones. Receive energy clearing and aligning as Tom & Aiyanna walk around the room playing instruments to you and over you. 

Bring a blanket(s) and pillow(s) for your comfort. 

Friday Evening is the Talent Show in the North Wing. 

We start with The Kids’ Talent Show at 7:00. No advanced sign-up is needed. Come be delighted by adorableness!

At 8:00 we have the Know Talent Show (it used to be The No Talent Show but that was a complete misnomer.) There’s a sign-up sheet at the Karma Yoga table until 4:00 on Friday. If you don’t sign up ahead of time, you can perform after everyone has shared their magic. The SSHR Community is incredibly talented and supportive. Be brave. Have fun!

Saturday Evening is the Ritual on the Front Lawn. 

The Ritual is a time to sing, move and feel connected to each other and the Earth. Let's weave our beautiful connective energies together!

During and following the Ritual Max Ribner, Sara Tone and Tim Ribner will have us singing and dancing with live music. Max and Tim joined us for two Summer Solstices before the fire. It’s good to have their beautiful energy back at Breitenbush. Max's debut solo album was 1st Language, which brought 50+ artists together in a cross-continental collaboration as a sonic calling together of our collective humanity. Max’s upcoming album, Resilient Beings, will be a collection of modern-day mantras and torch-bearing songs to bring the listener a sense of coming home to self. You can learn more about Max at his website: MaxRibner.com, hear his music 1st Language, or see him on Instagram Video - 1st Language Live. Max is a touring artist, and Berkley School of Music graduate, who has performed with Esperanza Spalding, Nahko And Medicine For The People, Rising Appalachia, Trevor Hall, and Liv Warfield (Prince).

Following the Ritual will be Global Grooves, an Ecstatic Dance with DJ Geo on the Front Lawn.

The Bonfire will begin at 9:30 at the Floodplain Fire Pit located between the Spiral Tubs and the Labyrinth. 

We ask everyone to pick up sticks throughout SSHR and place them in marked containers in designated areas. The purpose of this is two-fold. One, it will reduce ladder fuel in case of a fire. Two, we will use those sticks for Prayer Sticks during the Bonfire. Bring your musical instruments, jokes and stories to share around the bonfire. Bring your own chair (not a Lodge chair) if you want comfy seating.

Sunday Morning we will prepare to say goodbye. Please be out of your accommodations by 11AM. 

The Adult Giveaway Circle is a treasured SSHR tradition. Bring a favorite something you’re ready to part with and place it on the parachute on the Front Lawn. During our closing ritual you will be handed a wand and can choose a special memento to take home with you. Please be mindful of how long you look, others are waiting their turn. Let something special find you. 

If Covid numbers are low, we will end with a spiral dance and then open the circle back up for the Children’s Parade. Lots of hugs and sweet good-byes will follow.

What About Covid?

Thanks for asking! It’s still around and we want to keep Breitenbush and our SSHR Community safe. Please DO A HOME ANTIGEN OR PCR TEST WITHIN 24-HOURS OF ARRIVING AT SSHR. If you test positive - don’t come. 

Send an email to sshr@breitenbush.com with the subject line COVID and your name and let us know your plight. 

Feel free to mask up, especially during larger inside gatherings such as Thursday night’s Sacred Sound Journey and Friday night’s Talent Shows. Let’s keep each other safe in every way possible. We’re a caring community!

Nudity and Consent

Nudity is allowed during this event, except in the parking lot, kitchen, meal line, Lodge interior, and at Youth Village. We’re all naked underneath our clothes, we just get to shed them off during SSHR. 

Nudity is not an invitation for sexual overtures. We want this event to feel safe for everyone. If you feel someone is approaching you inappropriately, use your voice and tell them to “stop”. If someone offers a massage and it starts feeling yucky - say “STOP”. Don’t hesitate to speak with Stacy or another member of the SSHR Council if someone makes you feel uncomfortable. We will investigate. We’ve banned participants who have behaved inappropriately in the past, and we will intervene and expel any offender from the gathering if their behavior warrants it. We will talk about consent during the Information Circle on Thursday evening.

Cameras are not allowed near or at the Hot Spring Pools and Sauna. Please ask permission before taking photos, especially if the subject is nude.

Medical Help Is Available 24/7

We are blessed to have the Breitenbush Fire Department (BFD) nearby. We have trained emergency medical providers on radio throughout SSHR. If you need medical assistance you can ask anyone with a radio to call for help for you or use an emergency call box. Emergency call boxes are located at the Gatehouse, Lodge Lobby, and Spiral Tubs. 

Pain killers, bandaids and other over-the-counter medical supplies are located behind the Lobby desk in a cabinet. Help yourself. Help somebody else. Let’s all be here for each other.

    • Personal food utensils (plates, bowls, cups, forks and spoons)

    • Camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag, pad, pillow, rain-fly and tarp)

    • K95/KN95 masks encouraged

    • Towel, non-glass water bottle & biodegradable toiletries

    • Flashlight, natural insect repellent & sunscreen

    • Warm clothes and rain gear.

    • Boots, work gloves, and tools for outside work

    • Something to give at the Giveaway Circle

    • Musical Instruments

    • Ritual Garb

    • Blankets and cozies for Thursday night’s Sacred Sound Journey and Saturday night’s Ritual

    • Pets

    • Alcohol/other recreational drugs

    • Camp stoves of any sort

    • Candles & incense

    • Scented perfumes, etc

    • Electric appliances

    • Glass containers

    • Bicycles

    • This retreat is an intoxicant free event, no recreational drugs or alcohol.

    • We DO NOT have public phones available. The nearest phone is in Detroit, 10 miles away. Cell phones do not work at Breitenbush.

    • Our accommodations have no locks, so please leave your valuables at home or in your car.

    • Swimsuits are optional and most people do not wear them.

    • For SSHR, nudity is allowed in all areas, with the exception of the parking lot, Lodge, Youth Village and meal lines.

    • If you do use sunscreen, please be sure to use only natural and unscented products and use a washcloth to wipe it off before soaking.

Conserve Our Resources

Isn’t it cool that Breitenbush is off-the-grid and uses alternative energy! PLEASE make this possible by conserving electricity and water. Use the porta-potties and help us keep them clean. Take quick showers. 

Be Mindful Be Safe

Be mindful where you dispose of your food waste. We have bears around here and we had a cougar on the prowl a few years ago during SSHR. 

You’re off-grid in a forest that recently went through a fire. Please stay on the paths unless you’re working on a Karma Yoga project. We continue to cut down trees that pose a danger.  The ground could appear solid and be hollow below the surface due to roots that have burned away underground. Please don’t stray from established trails. All of the forest hiking trails are still closed.

The Breitenbush Store

Coffee? Snacks? The Breitenbush Store has lots to offer. Help support Breitenbush by purchasing yummies and treasures. The Breitenbush Store is located in the Lodge. The hours are posted on the door. 

Final Note:

DO NOT APPROACH THE KITCHEN TEAM OR ANY STAFF MEMBER WITH COMPLAINTS OR SUGGESTIONS! Thank You’s Are Terrific!

If you have a complaint, please talk with Stacy, Sandy or any other Council Member. PLEASE don’t complain to the Breitenbush Staff.  

Breitenbush is still recovering from the financial devastation of Covid and the fire. It’s operating with a much smaller workforce and the Breitenbush Staff works hard. If you’re unhappy about something - tell Sandy about it in Karma Yoga or talk to Stacy. We will address your concerns through the proper Breitenbush channels. 

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Please be out of your accommodation by 11am on Sunday, and plan to be out of the parking lot by 2pm. There will be a $40 late fee.

🎶 The Cars Leave the Parking Lot at 2 o’Clock! 🎶See You All Next Year! 🎶

THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENCE & BLESSINGS ON YOUR JOURNEY

May This Be The Best Solstice EVER!!!

Do you have a question that wasn’t answered here? Email questions to SSHR@breitenbush.com 

The Office Team doesn’t have the answers to SSHR questions. They won’t be able to help you.