1) Mountain Peacemakers Host Art Opportunity April 15
The Mountain Peacemakers will host an open art opportunity on Tuesday, April 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Watauga County Library. The theme is Mountain Justice and the community art work will be presented at the 2014 Voices of Peace Concert. The event is free and open to the public and part of our preparations for the 2014 International Day of Peace, celebrated annually on Sept. 21. More information is available at www.MountainPeacemakers.org.
2) Widow’s Peak Retreat Held June 6-8
Transformative and uplifting, Widows Peak is a weekend retreat specifically designed for anyone who has lost a life partner and wants to take a meaningful step forward. Seven authors, experts and thought leaders are traveling to the Blue Ridge Mountains to serve as mentors for the three-day immersion. Through discussions, breakout sessions, performances and activities participants will interact closely with the mentors to gain practical tools they can take home. The retreat is June 6-8 at the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone and registration is currently open at www.WidowsPeakRetreat.org. “The experiential weekend will be hands-on, intimate and above all, inspiring,” said Thomas Bell, the Art of Living Retreat Center’s client relation’s director. “We wanted the event to go beyond traditional grief-talk, and elevate the mental, emotional and spiritual well being of our guests.” Attendees will have free time each day to socialize, explore, stroll forest paths or tour the Retreat Center’s garden. Other activities include painting, a potter’s wheel, healthy cooking demonstrations and sunrise yoga and meditation for all levels. The weekend includes vegetarian dining with ingredients picked from the garden. All participants will have access to the Retreat Center’s onsite Blue Heaven Spa which will offer three specifically selected Ayurvedic spa services to work in harmony with the weekend’s themes and enhance both health and well being. “This is an opportunity to create new beginnings,” said Audrey Pellicano, a certified grief recovery specialist, stress reduction specialist, registered nurse and author of Six Secrets to Surviving Widowhood. “It’s something I wish was available to me, even years after I became a widow.” Additional retreat mentors’ sessions will combine their own personal experience and professional expertise. Double Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Beth Nielson Chapman, herself a widow, will contribute her own stories and songs, and lead sessions on the nature of inspiration and the magic of creativity as a path to healing. Lorna Bell, a certified hospice and palliative care nurse and author of the Happy Endings books will offer lessons learned at the bedside of the dying. Anne Farrow, a retired registered nurse and stress expert will share her experiences from 18 years of teaching meditation and stress relief programs for the nonprofit Art of Living Foundation. The Art of Living Retreat Center was created to help individuals achieve well-being and peace. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in an area traditionally known for its healing energies and beauty, it serves as a refuge of self-renewal for its many visitors from around the world.