Season Opening & Covid-19 | We are planning to open our Cortes Island campus on June 25, 2021. See below for all our programs, and learn more about our covid-19 protocols here.
Virtual Programs | As we traverse these unprecedented times together, we are continuing to offer online experiences to support your connection with yourself and community. Browse our upcoming virtual programs and access past recordings.
Teachers | Interested in presenting at Hollyhock? Submit your program proposal here.
Scholarships | Available for most programs, based on financial need. We prioritize Indigenous people, people of colour, people who identify as LGBTQ2IA+, youth, elders, and those who can articulate how their Hollyhock experience will support positive impact in their lives and communities. Learn more.
Upcoming Programs
Listed by Date
Homegrown: A Hollyhock Gardening Guide (By Donation, Online)
With Holly Mackay, Gem Salsberg and Dana Trueman
April 1 - September 30, 2021
Online
Join the Hollyhock Garden team for a fresh take on growing your own garden. Throughout the season you will receive exclusive access to bi-weekly gardening how-tos and tips from our master gardeners, including sneak peeks at the wacky behind-the-scenes fun. Get your burning gardening questions answered during monthly live Q&A sessions, and connect with fellow growers in three community calls where you’ll share your garden visions, talk about challenges you’re facing, and celebrate what you grew this season. You may register at any time during the season and will receive all previous recordings.
Activate Summit (Online)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
June 23 - 25, 2021
Online
Join the sharpest digital minds from political and advocacy campaigns, creative agencies, and progressive causes, for four days of hard-skills training in digital tactics and leadership. Gain clarity on how to intelligently activate your organization from the inside, and crack the code to engaging your target audience to win campaigns, raise money, and hit your goals.
Sharing the Path for Couples at Home (Online)
With Judith Ansara & Robert Gass
June 26 - July 17, 2021
Online
The magic and aliveness of our loving connection is too often lost in deadening habits, competing priorities and the pressures of daily life. Rekindle and profoundly deepen your love and partnership by learning the attitudes and skills of conscious partnership.
Discover Cortes: Nature Adventures (July)
With Bill Ophoff
July 1 - 6, 2021
Cortes Island
With birds and wildflowers at their vibrant peak, explore Cortes Island’s magnificent rainforest and teeming waters. Learn about the stars, the sea stars, and everything in between on this adventure of inspiring hikes, kayaking, beach walks, and a sailing excursion to Mitlenatch Island – the “Galapagos” of the Salish Sea. Limited to 12 participants. Bill Ophoff is Hollyhock’s knowledgeable and most humorous naturalist. He will also be offering this program on August 18-23, 2021.
Tantra for Couples: Cultivating Sacred Intimacy
With Devi Ward Erickson and Chris Erickson, PhD
July 6 - 11, 2021
Tantra is an ancient spiritual science designed to activate, heal, and enrich every area of life. Learn practical and effective Tantric methods to cultivate a deeply sacred, utterly joyful, and profoundly pleasurable intimate connection - in and out of the bedroom. Devi Ward Erickson is an internationally recognized Tantra Expert and Certified Sexologist and Founder of The Institute of Authentic Tantra Education. Chris Erickson holds a PhD in Political Science and is a Certified Authentic Tantra® Coach.
Dancing from the Inside Out
With Margie Gillis
July 6 - 11, 2021
Cortes Island
Move into your body’s experiential wisdom to reveal the soul in motion. Listen to your body’s inner impulses, conversations, and emotions to deepen your well-being along with your artistic and creative expression. An exceptional opportunity. All levels welcome. -- Margie Gillis is an internationally acclaimed dancer/choreographer, performing for 40+ years, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Finding Centre: Yoga + Pilates for Rejuvenation and Resilience
With Loretta Laurin
July 11 - 16, 2021
Cortes Island
Embody a state of easeful strength, relaxed openness, and resilience. Learn fundamental yoga, pilates, and somatic techniques to reset from stress-states, rejuvenate your being, and find centre amidst any challenge. Loretta Laurin is Hollyhock's Communications Manager and has over a decade of experience teaching embodiment and movement, including yoga, pilates, and dance.
The Mystery of the Soul
With Margie Gillis and Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD
July 11 - 16, 2021
Cortes Island
The mystery of the soul can be embraced, experienced, danced, and explored, but never exhausted or diminished. Reclaim and celebrate the mystery of your soul with dance and spiritual teachings. Margie Gillis is an internationally acclaimed dancer/choreographer, performer of 40+ years, and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Thomas Atum O’Kane, PhD, holds a doctorate degree in transpersonal psychology and is a former senior teacher in the Sufi Order International. Margie will also be offering Dancing from the Inside Out on July 6 - 11, 2021 and Atum will also be offering Time of Transition on July 16 -…
SVI 365: Peer Coaching Circles (Online)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
July 14, 2021
Online
Get advice on your own challenge and support fellow entrepreneurs in Peer Coaching Circles. For 25 years, attending the Social Venture Institute (SVI) conference at Hollyhock has been a rite of passage for mission-driven entrepreneurs. Join SVI 365 to enjoy bite-sized morsels of the best of Social Venture Institute year-round: real-time problem-solving, inspiring stories, and above all, the opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders seeking to make positive change through venture.
Time of Transition
With Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD
July 16 - 21, 2021
Cortes Island
Life changes are times of passion and opportunity. Working with teachings from Jungian psychology and various spiritual traditions, detach and break free from old roles and expectations. Ritual, reflection, and wisdom guide your journey and passage toward your new sense of self. Thomas Atum O’Kane, PhD, holds a doctorate degree in transpersonal psychology and is a former senior teacher in the Sufi Order International. atumokane.com
Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) Yoga
With Marie Soleil Boisvert
July 21 - 26, 2021
Cortes Island
Imagine practicing yoga while floating on the clear ocean water surrounding Cortes Island. Let yourself be immersed by the gentle rocking of the ocean and the fresh saltwater breeze kissing your skin, bringing calm to your nervous system.
Core Matter: Yamuna® Body Rolling & Pilates Essentials
With Namchi Bazar
July 26 - 30, 2021
Cortes Island
Activate a sense of centered well-being with simple routines easily practiced at home. Learn exercises that gently massage and adjust the whole body - inviting strength, release, and rejuvenation. Let go of unproductive movement patterns and heal injury. Namchi Bazar developed her unique somatic approach with 25+ years as a professional dancer, Pilates Instructor, Yamuna® Body Rolling Practitioner and mother of three.
Song of the Drum, Dance of Life
With Gordy Ryan and Zoë Ryan
July 26 - 30, 2021
Cortes Island
Activate the fire in your hands, the beat in your feet, and the song in your heart! Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the music and dance of the Olatunji Drums of Passion at Hollyhock. Sing, dance, and play on a soulful journey to the well of inspiration. Everyone welcome. Gordy Onayemi Ryan, Zoë Ryan, Sanga Francis, Ade Harris are the core of the Olatunji Drums of Passion. They performed with world renowned Nigerian drummer and educator, Babatunde Olatunji, after whom the hall this program will take place in is named after.
Falling Awake: The Ecology of Wonder
With David Abram
July 30 - August 4, 2021
Cortes Island
Awaken your animal intelligence, shake your senses free from outmoded concepts, and invigorate your felt experience. Through elemental encounters with the land, creaturely shapeshifting, and heartfelt conversation, open a new relationship between your body and the breathing earth.
Founders + Friends
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
July 30 - August 2, 2021
Cortes Island
Embrace wondrous summer days on the shores of Cortes Island: bask in the beauty of this special place, delve deep into conversations that matter, and nourish your heart and soul. Join with Founders + Friends as we explore the work of Hollyhock, learn from our shared experiences, and envision the future.
ReAwakening the Spine: Yoga in the Lineage of Vanda Scaravelli
With Robin Stamm
August 4 - 9, 2021
Cortes Island
Yoga, or unity of body and mind, is about increasing sensory awareness. We can train and allow our body and breath to open into new avenues without seeking a particular position or asana (yoga pose). Indeed, without attention and freedom, even asana will distract from true listening. Diane Long is Vanda Scaravelli's longest student and has been developing and refining yoga for most of her life. Robin Stamm is a physiotherapist and yogi who is studying under Diane.
The Art of Leadership
With Robert Gass
August 4 - 9, 2021
Cortes Island
This dynamic, internationally acclaimed program is for leaders actively engaged in making a difference in the world. Through this powerful transformational training, learn to empower and engage others in effective action to broaden the impact of your work. By application.
A Training in Lateral Liberation
With Kim Haxton
August 13 - 18, 2021
Cortes Island
Explore Indigenous concepts of land, place, and decolonization. Learn about decolonial practices (language, art, economics, gender) and the embodied knowledge of Indigenous peoples. Deconstruct what is considered valid “knowing,” so we can laterally liberate consciousness together.
The Art of Spiritual Guidance: 2 Year Program
With Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD
August 18 - 23, 2021
Cortes Island
A Two-Year Training Program. Spiritual Guidance is an art, a gift and a calling that has been long practiced in contemplative traditions to support spiritual development and personal transformation. This in-depth training takes an interfaith approach while encompassing insights from transpersonal and Jungian psychology. - Thomas Atum O’Kane, PhD, holds a doctorate degree in transpersonal psychology and is a former senior teacher in the Sufi Order International.
Discover Cortes: Nature Adventures (August)
With Bill Ophoff
August 18 - 23, 2021
Cortes Island
With birds and wildflowers at their vibrant peak, explore Cortes Island’s magnificent rainforest and teeming waters. Learn about the stars, the sea stars, and everything in between on this adventure of inspiring hikes, kayaking, beach walks, and a sailing excursion to Mitlenatch Island – the “Galapagos” of the Salish Sea. Limited to 12 participants. Bill Ophoff is Hollyhock’s knowledgeable and most humorous naturalist. He will also be offering this program on July 1-6, 2021.
Climate Hope: Tools for Thriving in the Climate Era
With Karen Mahon Carrington
August 18 - 23, 2021
Cortes Island
Develop new maps to navigate through these times of climate emergency and social upheaval. Discover tools to strengthen your capacity for cultivating joy, acceptance, and right action. Foster personal and community resilience as we work together to restore justice and balance to the world we love.
Connecting To Source: Yoga, Meditation, and Ritual
With Mara Branscombe
August 23 - 28, 2021
Cortes Island
Since ancient times, the human collective has aligned with the seasons, the elements, the rhythms of the sun, the moon, and the earth as a way to source pure energy and connect to one’s inner compass. The mind-body science of yoga, combined with the practice of meditation, breath-work, and the alchemy of earth based rituals creates a channel that leads to present moment awareness, mind-body-spirit integration, and a wild transformation within. As the summer cycle comes to its completion, we can honour the earth’s dynamic time of expansion, growth, abundance and harvest. As we attune to the earth’s rhythm, may we take…
Alchemy of Forest Bathing
With Amos Clifford
August 28 - September 2, 2021
Cortes Island
When the discursive mind becomes quieter and the intelligence of the heart comes to the foreground, a new consciousness emerges. Forest Alchemy is our ongoing exploration of what happens when we connect head, heart, and body in the crucible of the forest. Amos Clifford is the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, and author of Your Guide to Forest Bathing: Experience the Healing Power of Nature.
Mindful Self-Compassion
With Martin Thomson-Jones, PhD and Joel Grow, PhD
August 28 - September 2, 2021
Cortes Island
Cultivate the skill of self-compassion in this empirically supported training program. Self-compassion is strongly associated with greater emotional well-being, less anxiety and depression, maintenance of healthy habits, and satisfying relationships. Megan Prager and Martin Thomson-Jones are Certified MSC Teachers. Megan is the Compassion Programs Director at UCSD Center for Mindfulness, and Martin is a philosophy professor at Oberlin College, Ohio.
Move Without Pain: Essential Somatics
With Martha Peterson
September 2 - 7, 2021
Cortes Island
Learn to use your brain to reverse the physical effects of stress, restore brain to muscle connection, and defy creaky old age. Create a routine of easy, safe, and essential Somatic Movements to eliminate chronic pain and keep you moving fluidly and effortlessly throughout your life.
The Gift of Gratitude: Fall Yoga Retreat
With Fiji McAlpine
September 2 - 7, 2021
Cortes Island
Gratitude enhances and enlivens every aspect of our life, and can be intentionally brought into our daily routines. Celebrate this season of gratitude with dynamic flow and nourishing yin yoga practices. Learn to mindfully connect to the present, allowing yourself the opportunity to ground and appreciate all that is.
Sea Kayaking Adventures Aboard Misty Isles (Sept)
With Jonas Fineman and Kai Harvey
September 7 - 12, 2021
Cortes Island
Learn to kayak on the pristine and protected waters around Cortes Island, from the comfort of the 43 foot Schooner, Misty Isles. Certified local guides share their knowledge and passion for the coast. All levels of experience welcome. Limited number of participants. Jonas Fineman is the seasoned sea captain and owner of Misty Isles. Kai Harvey is a wilderness guide and owner of Cortes Kayaks. They will also be offering this program on May 16-21, 2021.
Psoma Yoga Therapy
With Donna Martin & Shelley Winton
September 7 - 12, 2021
Cortes Island
Experience a gentle body-mind/spirit practice for healing that can be integrated with Hakomi (mindfulness-based self-discovery). Learn how habitual tension and movement patterns may have psychological meaning, discover and transform the roots of unnecessary suffering, and find the keys to true health and freedom. No experience is necessary.
A Journey of Sound, Movement & Breath
With Michael & Ayi Wong Mayzel and Maria Filippone
September 12 - 17, 2021
Cortes Island
Connect to your inner process with therapeutic Sound Journeys, and learn about the foundations of sound healing. Enjoy grounding and dynamic yoga practices, and combine chanting with movement. Auditory vibration, movement, stillness, and breath provide the groundwork for healing and transformation. Michael Mayzel and Ayi Wong offer therapeutic Sound Journeys through Shanti Sounds in Nosara, Costa Rica, and internationally. Maria Filipone is a yoga instructor, pilates teacher, and Yoga Thai Massage Therapist.
Heart of the Condor: Andean Wisdom Teachings
With Jhaimy Alvarez Acosta
September 12 - 17, 2021
Cortes Island
Ground yourself in the wisdom teachings of the Andes while discovering the keys to harmonizing the three bodies of the serpent (mind), puma (body), and condor (soul). Connect to your heart, Mother Earth, and the Cosmos with the support of traditional Andean Indigenous knowledge, passed down through generations since time immemorial.
Earth Wisdom, Horse Wisdom: A Nature Retreat with Horses
With Oriane Lee Johnston
September 12 - 15, 2021
Cortes Island
Journey into the heart of the world with horses as our guides. Practice breath and body meditation, hands-on touch, joyful play with the herd, and a journey ride on horseback. Limited to 12 participants.
Mindfulness Meditation: A Way of Love and Compassion
With Robert Beatty
September 17 - 22, 2021
Cortes Island
Wake up from the trance of everyday life. You are not your moods, anxiety, compulsions, past wounds, or addictions. Awaken to the freedom, love, compassion, and joy that is your natural state. This program is held in silence (except sessions) — common areas on campus are shared spaces.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): 5-Day Professional Training
With Mark Lau, PhD and Andrea Grabovac, MD
September 17 - 22, 2021
Cortes Island
Take your next step on the transformative journey to becoming an MBCT teacher. MBCT is an empirically validated group program designed to prevent depressive relapse. For mental health professionals. Pre-approval required.
Social Venture Institute Hollyhock
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
September 22 - 26, 2021
Cortes Island
"A profoundly life changing event. Hollyhock SVI raises your expectations of what success can be and connects you to those who can make your goals reality.” – Patrice Mousseau, Satya Organic Skin Care Social Venture Institute offers the mission-based entrepreneur an opportunity to share challenges, successes, and experiences with peers in an atmosphere of trust and goodwill. Each attendee brings a commitment of social change to their enterprise, whether a for-profit business or a non-profit organization. Over 25 years, SVI has provided more than 3,000 entrepreneurs the opportunity to strengthen their business skills, network with other social enterprise leaders, and rejuvenate…
Whole Human Health: Functional Medicine 2.0
With Dr. Lawrence Cheng and Dr. Devon Christie
September 26 - 30, 2021
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jun 27, 2021.
Embody your well-being potential! Create your own personalized optimal wellness plan for lasting health and happiness informed by a synthesis of integrative and functional medicine, mind-body medicine, and leading-edge neurobiology. For anyone seeking an empowered approach to their own personal health.
Writing the Other
With Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford
September 30 - October 4, 2021
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 1, 2021.
Writers know it’s important to include characters from different identities in their work. Many are afraid to create characters whose identity differs from their own and worry about getting it offensively wrong. But representation is too important to ignore. Learn how to do it well
From Age-ing to Sage-ing®: Deepening the Sage Within
With Annie Klein and Nancy Gray-Hemstock
September 30 - October 4, 2021
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 1, 2021.
“Sage-ing” is a new approach to growing older. Discover skills, philosophies, perspectives, and tools to improve the second half of your life. Recognize the value of experience, and learn to respond in practical and positive ways to the changes that occur as we age.
Wild Mushrooms & the Mycology of Consciousness
With Paul Stamets, D.Sc (Hon.)
October 4 - 8, 2021
Cortes Island
Save the world, one mushroom at a time. Fungi offer powerful, practical solutions to enhance both human and ecosystem health. Roam the wilds of Cortes Island and learn mushroom identification, easy-to-grow cultivation methods, as well as various culinary and medicinal applications. -- Paul Stamets, D.Sc., is a renowned, award-winning mycologist. The Star Trek Discovery series recently named a character - Astromycologist Starfleet Lt. Commander Stamets - in his honour.
Plant Medicine as People’s Medicine
With Yarrow Willard
October 8 - 13, 2021
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices! Offer valid until Jul 9, 2021.
Modern yet old and more valuable than gold, plants have always been close by to assist in healing our health imbalances. Now more than ever, the wisdom the plants offer are some of our most potent teachings. In this 4 day intensive, we will be looking at a variety of ways to incorporate plant medicine into our lives.
SVI 365: Peer Coaching Circles (Online)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
October 13, 2021
Online
Get advice on your own challenge and support fellow entrepreneurs in Peer Coaching Circles. For 25 years, attending the Social Venture Institute (SVI) conference at Hollyhock has been a rite of passage for mission-driven entrepreneurs. Join SVI 365 to enjoy bite-sized morsels of the best of Social Venture Institute year-round: real-time problem-solving, inspiring stories, and above all, the opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders seeking to make positive change through venture.
Wild Mushrooms & the Mycology of Consciousness
With Paul Stamets, D.Sc (Hon.)
October 13 - 17, 2021
Cortes Island
Save the world, one mushroom at a time. Fungi offer powerful, practical solutions to enhance both human and ecosystem health. Roam the wilds of Cortes Island and learn mushroom identification, easy-to-grow cultivation methods, as well as various culinary and medicinal applications. -- Paul Stamets, D.Sc., is a renowned, award-winning mycologist. The Star Trek Discovery series named a character - Astromycologist Starfleet Lt. Commander Stamets - in his honour.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Levels 1-2 (Vancouver)
With Alina Frank & Dr. Craig Weiner
October 15 - 17, 2021
Blue Horizon Hotel, 1225 Robson St. Vancouver
Learn powerful evidence-based Clinical EFT tapping techniques to quickly and effectively create changes in negative emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours. This training is for individuals looking to use EFT for self-help, and to integrate it safely into professional client-based practices. -- Alina Frank & Dr. Craig Weiner, DC, are internationally respected EFT trainers and directors of the EFT Tapping Training Institute.
Dark & Stormy Writing Retreat
With Shaena Lambert and Betsy Warland
October 17 - 24, 2021
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 18, 2021.
Dark and Stormy is a 7-day retreat - free from interruption - to explore the direction of a work in progress, as well as to foster creativity through community with other writers.
Metta Vipassana: Awareness as a Path to Liberation
With Michele McDonald and Steven Smith
October 24 - 31, 2021
Cortes Island
Experience 7 days practicing Metta and Vipassana meditation and cultivating mindfulness.
Run for Office
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
October 31 - November 4, 2021
Cortes Island
What does it take to run for public office? Come together with people who have been traditionally excluded from electoral politics and have an interest in running for office or supporting a candidate at any level of government in Canada. Learn how to create an effective campaign plan, strengthen personal narratives, fundraise, and other campaign tools and tactics. Explore the personal and emotional realities of being or supporting a candidate. All with the support of a network of past and current politicians, campaign staffers, and change makers. Applications from Indigenous people, People of Colour, people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, women-identified,…
SVI 365: True Confessions (Online)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
November 10, 2021
Online
Hear from a leading entrepreneur who will share their trials, tribulations and triumphs in creating their socially responsible business. These personal and intimate “confessions” are instrumental learning moments around the challenges and successes of building businesses focused on a triple bottom line. For 25 years, attending the Social Venture Institute (SVI) conference at Hollyhock has been a rite of passage for mission-driven entrepreneurs. Join SVI 365 to enjoy bite-sized morsels of the best of Social Venture Institute year-round: real-time problem-solving, inspiring stories, and above all, the opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders seeking to make positive change through venture.
SVI 365: Business Problem Solving (Online)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
December 8, 2021
Online
At Business Problem Solving Sessions, you’ll take part in a model for collective learning and community problem-solving. For 25 years, attending the Social Venture Institute (SVI) conference at Hollyhock has been a rite of passage for mission-driven entrepreneurs. Join SVI 365 to enjoy bite-sized morsels of the best of Social Venture Institute year-round: real-time problem-solving, inspiring stories, and above all, the opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders seeking to make positive change through venture.