5th Annual Sisters in Harmony RETREAT and/or Live Song Leader TRAINING

Nourish yourself with nature, song and sisterhood!

Retreat: Thursday June 25th - Sunday June 28th, 2026

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 -

Amanda West, Debbie Nargi-Brown, Julianna Zarzycki, Kaitie Ty Warren, Sheniqua Trotman, and Lyndsey Scott.

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 28th - Tuesday June 30th

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!

All levels of experience are welcome - beginners all the way to those leading their own community choirs. There is something for everyone here. Build your confidence and practice leading melodies, simple harmonies, and rhythms of songs or lead more complex songs with multiple layers and harmony parts. Gather practices for helping your groups blend and tune, open, and connect with each other. Learn about holding a strong container space and setting intentions, weaving prayers and unifying the hearts of your groups of singers. Fill your pockets with more songs for the journey of life we are on.

*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. There 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 soundproof 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 private bedrooms are also available. All accommodations include shared bathrooms.

NEW in 2026 camping is allowed on site. You will need to arrive with your own tent and bedding to camp. Tents can be set up in the grass above the pool area or in the field between the dining hall and the performance hall. Showers and restrooms are adjacent to the pool area. Please note that this area is near the facility's commercial kitchen, so there may be residual sound factors. Campers are asked to use the restroom facilities in the pool area or in the dorms.

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.

Example 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 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 - Special Guest activity

● 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

● 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

● 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 a song catcher/writer, ritualist, community leader, mother and ever-evolving human. In a lifetime devoted to music and healing, she has brought song to the thresholds of birth and death, life rituals, spiritual centers, community gatherings, album recordings, festivals and performances throughout the West Coast and parts of Europe. She understands our world to be full of both collapse and possibility, and is passionate about cultivating resilience and hope during this time of collective re-birthing on planet earth. www.amandawest.com

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! https://www.debbienargi-brown.com

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. https://heatherhoustonmusic.com

Julianna Zarzycki

Julianna is an artist, teacher, song carrier and community weaver. She is honored to hold sacred spaces for people to come together in gratitude, wonder and celebration. Being welcomed into the community singing in 2021 changed her life, opening doorways to creativity, connection, support and Spirit in new and ever expanding ways. Julianna creates, teaches and sings in devotion to connection, healing and joy for herself and her community. She lives in Los Angeles, with Sage, Oak, Coyote and Owl. https://juliannazarzycki.bandcamp.com/album/circle

Kaitie Ty Warren

Kaitie Ty Warren founded Living Room Choir in 2015; in 2026, she is launching the new East Bay SongFest. She is a community song leader, minister, writer, visual artist, singer, and more. KaitieTyWarren.com; TheLivingRoomChoir.com

Lyndsey Scott

Lyndsey Scott is an artist, songleader, and priestess committed to exploring community singing as a technology of belonging and strategy for collective liberation. She composes and records mindful mantra music with a beat for the national and international community singing movement, including the albums Well Held (2022) and Prodigal Daughter (2024). She co-facilitates the Year in Ceremony cohort with Earthkeeper Wisdom School, practicing emergent ritual craft in service to social change. https://www.lyndseyscott.earth

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. https://www.elevatedexpression.net

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 nataliesjewels@yahoo.com 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.

Cancellation 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.)

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 1, 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.