Bearsville Day of Awakening tickets here

Friday, August 8

6:00 - 7:00 pm (doors open 5:30)
awakening Community Opening in Ceremony, Song & Dance

Woodstock Community Center
by donation

Our three days and two nights of events, talks, blessings and music sessions open with gathering in the field where we will call to the elements and directions, activating the Festival in ceremony, song, dance and wishes to form a sound that may heard together and beyond. Enactments include the Medicine Wheel & blessing of Festival; “Song for Jogger John,” our Festival patron saint, led by Tad Wise; the consecration of the communal Festival altar and a session of contemplation guided by Guy Beider’s Reverberations.

7:00 - 9:00pm
BreakBread Potluck and Conversation

Woodstock Community Center
Click here to secure the required BreakBread registration

BreakBread is a unique way of gathering that invites people into connection and recognition. After gathering in a large group we disperse to tables of 5-6 to have a compelling conversation about a prompt: Stay tuned for more, including registration field and the Awakening questi we will plumb!

9:00 - 11:00pm
Ecstatic Dance

Woodstock Community Center
by donation

Join Avinash Barnes in this form of dance in which the dancers release themselves to the rhythm and move freely as the music takes them, that may lead to trance with an ecstatic accent & more .

9:00 - 11:00pm
Kundalini Cosmic Sound Bath & Light Immersion

Mountainview Studio
by suggested donation

Jennifer Drue honors the sacred practice of sound healing and meditation, offering a sanctuary to restore balance to mind, body and soul.

Saturday, August 9

5:58am
Sunrise Chanting & Singing within Sacred Sound Chamber

Lenny’ Bee Happy Farm
395 Wittenberg Road, Bearsville
by donation

We will be chanting and drumming to welcome the sun as we mark the midsummer on our living Earth Mother. The sun rises at 5:58, but it takes the light a little while to get above the mountains so it doesn't shine into the chamber until a bit later. There are signs for Chamber parking. Please pull into the field and park where indicated. Head toward the back of the property, following the string of colored lights. Bring drums, rattles, flutes, whatever you like to make sound with. We will have some extra instruments as well.

9:00am -12:00pm
Mothership Happenings

The Mothership Gallery
6 Sgt Richard Quinn Drive, Woodstock
by donation

9:00am
Sharing Stillness with Elliott Landy

Renowned Woodstock photographer great Elliott Landy transmits a spiritual energy, a vibration—often tangible—that enables one to quickly go into deep quiet. The energy can be transformative. You may experience spiritual awakening, deep relaxation, peace and wholeness. In SHARING STILLNESSⓇ sessions, there are no mantras, visualizations, physical postures or guided meditation techniques. You sit quietly with your eyes closed and receive the energy.

10:00-12:00 noon
”What is Awakening?” with Paul McMahon & Sparrow & fanny perez

Paul McMahon, Sparrow and Fanny Perez will reveal the seven secrets of torso regeneration through music, extremely brief meditation, language, and somewhat awkward dance instruction. First we will recite the Ten Commandments, followed by the seven secrets of moral regeneration aka reclamation of innocence. They will also answer any questions from the studio audience.

12:00 noon - 6pm
Bearsville Day of Awakening

Bearsville Park, Bearsville

Buy Bearsville Day Awakening tickets here

12:00 - 6:00 pm
SACRED CHANT/KIRTAN FESTIVAL with Avinash

Come join musicians from across the Hudson Valley & beyond for this unique gathering of spirit in sound & dance & more than we may know.

12.00pm-1:00pm
Arundhati and Band

1:00pm-1:30pm
Mirabai Moon and Band

1:30pm-2:00pm

Lee Mirabai Harrington and Band

2:00pm-3:00pm
Ishwari, Avinash and Band

3:00pm-4:00pm
Spirit Brothers, featuring Ned Leavitt, Joseph Jastrab, Steve Gorn, Robert Bard and Avinash

4:00pm-6:00pm
Br. Ramanandamrita and Band
The kirtan musician of the Amma and Director of the M.A. Center DC, Rāmānandāmrita will highlight this noon-to-late afternoon gathering.

12:00 – 6:00pm
AWAKENING TALKS, curated by Sam Truitt

12:00pm
Matthew Morse

Matthew Morse, LMHC, will discuss and riff on the nature of awakening from the perspective of a humble practitioner with knowledge of poetry and grounded in psychotherapy. As a spiritual adept, he’s steeped in the Dzogchen teachings and “View” of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. Morse grew up in St. Louis, MO and Tacoma, WA and went on to study Ancient Greek and Medieval philosophy at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. Stints at Naropa University and New College of California followed. He holds an MA from Fordham University in Mental Health Counseling and Spiritual Integration.

1:00pm
Robert Thurman & Nena von Schlebrügge Thurman

We are honored to host the redoubtable Robert Thurman and Nena Thurman, often described as a Buddhist dynamic duo and known for their prominent roles in popularizing and contextualizing Tibetan Buddhist teachings in the West, including founding Tibet House US and Menla. They are recognized for their intertwined lives as practitioners, scholars, and advocates for Buddhist principles in both personal and public spheres. This will be a truly unique discourse.

2:30pm
Suzan Saxman

The “reluctant psychic” (the title of her memoir) and Woodstock living-treasure in the spirit realm, Suzan Saxman will address from her extraordinary vantage the nature of awakening. Saxman has been talking to dead people about the past and the future for as long as she can remember. She has been called a psychic, a sensitive, a fortuneteller, a medium, and an oracle. Sometimes she wonders if she isn’t just plain crazy. In any case, it’s the only thing she knows how to do. Here’s her vivid talk about The Reluctant Psychic.

3:45pm
Heather Ash Amara

HeatherAsh Amara has spent the last three decades weaving together earth-based wisdom, mindfulness, and practical strategies for creative, courageous, and compassionate individual and community change. With humor and compassion she will speak about the path of awakening as well as spiritual smugness, a chief impediment to our realization. She is the author of nine books, including the bestselling Warrior Goddess Training, The Seven Secrets of Happy and Healthy Relationships with don Miguel Ruiz Jr., and her latest book Wild, Willing, and Wise. 

5:15-6:30pm
Ira Schepetin

Woodstock-local sage Ira Schepetin, also known as Atma Chaitanya, is a student of the ancient Indian philosophical and spiritual tradition of Advaita Vedanta, and in this final talk he will speak about that which he at heart always does: the nature of awakened state. He has studied with both Eastern and Western scholars for over 50 years, singularly focused on the non-dual nature of the Self and living in the present moment. For a sense of his teaching and its instigation, check out his talk Intuition of Reality, the first of his series of presentations on Vedantan ways.

12:00 - 6:00PM
MOVEMENT BY THE STREAM, curated by Michael Raphael

Integrate with the sounds of the creek & the music & the flow of guided meditation in movement that passes through us into and beyond understanding.

Noon-1:00pm
Shakti Yoga: Rebecca Raphael

1:00-2:00
Euphoria Yoga: a Sophia Bruun Sound Journey

2:00-3:00
Spiritual Warrior workshop with Jamie Logan

3:00-4:00
Euphoria Yoga: Brigit Moynihan

Synergy of Hatha & Vinyasa yoga and Somatic practices. Connect to your life force and raise your vibration.

4:00-5:00

Dance and movement with Andrea Ward

5:00-6:00
Qigong with Paul Bloom

12 - 6pm
CHILDREN’S AWAKENING ACTIVITIES, curated by Emma Leigh

Organized & enacted by community educators, a dedicated & separate area of the Park we will host a semi-interlinked series of activities to delight, engage & inspire children through movements, story, art projects, group collaborations & more. (Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.)

1:00pm
Children’s Awakening guided arts and crafts.

2:00pm
All Ages Yoga with Devin Schepetin

3:30pm
Yogi Story Hour with Emma Leigh

5:00pm
Krystal Kids with Nidhi Adhiya- Huba

12:00 – 6:30pm
HEALING GARDEN MARKET, curated by Jenny ariel

Tents, tables & sundry booths of people & groups at the forefront of wellness, healing & spiritual & community inquiry. You may find what you know you need here and what you didn’t know you need & everything in between to ease your way. Our practitioners and vendors, among others, include:

Cosmic Mother + TONIC + ChakraTalk - Reiki and Self Partnership Coaching + Young Living Essential Oils, with Dr Harari and Scents of vitality + The Modern Mystic + Lorry Salluzzi Sensei + Crackalackerman Shop + Grateful Gem Head + Sustainable Sorcerers + Miss Gypsy Janet + JEMs Fashion + Michele Therese Designs Jadara Lemonade + Beatriz Coria Annapurna + Michele Therese Designs + Shri Alchemy + Bhakta Bandhav ServeLove + Asrama + Earth Embodied Healing + SelfLove with Nicola + The Natural Singer + Dharmaware Inc. + Kathenna + Faerie Fyne Henna Design + Fantastica Face Paint + Medicine Gardens + ELECTRIC LIVING

1:00 pm, 3:00 pm & 5pm
AWAKENING WALKS on Bearsville Trail, curated by Thích Nhất Hạnh sangha

Hosted by the Catskill Mountain Sangha Group, these three, half-hour Walking Meditations in the tradition of Buddhist Master Thích Nhất Hạnh follow a path through the Bearsville Park’s woodland.

7:00 – 9pm
Woodstock Music Walk

From the bottom of Mill Hill Road to Alba’s Kitchen on Tinker Street
by donation

From the bottom to the top of the town into the ether! Running from Alba’s Kitchen to Print Express, and up Rock City Road to High Love Woodstock, the Woodstock Music Walk is about a mile and a half long and lined with dozens of musicians playing live into the night air. The effect on walkers is almost intoxicating, as if the town itself was serenading them. This salute to the muse is organized by Paul McMahon in gratitude to musicians and music everywhere. Tipping is smiled upon. Here are a few of the artists and locations, with many more to be announced:

Billy Riker at the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Arts

Ever Peacock at High Love Woodstock

Bruce Balmer at Mirabai Books

Isaac Berk at Tiny’s Porch

Robin the Hammer tba

Jimmy ll lolat Strawberry Fields

Bryan Dunn and Aaron Dugan on the big rock steps near the Toy Store

Anna Womack at 120 Tinker Street porch

Shamsi Ruhe at Small Talk

Mister Ed at Bread Alone

6:30pm - 9:00pm
Full Moon Ecstatic Dance

White Feather Farm
1389 NY-212, Saugerties, NY
Sliding scale

Opening circle with polyculture sourced cacao, Sofiya + Zuma on the decks will share global beats for a genre bending journey serving up cathartic release and live vocals from Deoné, including Navajo medicine songs and a closing sound bath with meditative handpan and other instruments.

9:00 -11:00pm
Ceremony at the Nest

ESKFF The Nest
41 Shotwell Rd, Woodstock, NY 12498
Sliding scale

Join Stefanie Frank and our community for a taste of the best of the NEST. We will offer, among other enactments and surprises, a fire circle and ceremony, plant-infused treats and sacred sounds. The nest stands as a transformative sanctuary, harmonizing education, spirituality, and healing. For more see here.

9:00 pm
After-Walk Dance

The Mothership Gallery
6 Sgt Richard Quinn Drive, Woodstock
by donation

Gather back at the Mothership to flow into the glow flow of a Fanny Perez dance performance.

Sunday, August 10

5:59am
Sunrise Chanting & Singing within Sacred Sound Chamber

Lenny’ Bee Happy Farm
395 Wittenberg Road, Bearsville
by donation

We will be chanting and drumming to welcome the sun as we mark the midsummer on our living Earth Mother. The sun rises at 5:59, but it takes the light a little while to get above the mountains so it doesn't shine into the chamber until a bit later. There are signs for Chamber parking. Please pull into the field and park where indicated. Head toward the back of the property, following the string of colored lights. Bring drums, rattles, flutes, whatever you like to make sound with. We will have some extra instruments as well.

10:00am -1:00pm
Mothership Happenings

The Mothership Gallery
6 Sgt Richard Quinn Drive, Woodstock
by donation

10:00
Mothership Church Meditation

10:30 – 11:30
Lingdro Dechen Rolmo (Tibetan “dance for peace”)

11:30 – 12:00
MA: A Chant to the Mother, with Linda Mary Montano & Paul McMahon

& more

12:00pm

Soundbath with Lea Garnier and Emma Leigh

Sage Academy of Sound
6 Deming Street, Woodstock
By donation

Our SoundHealing journey incorporates a variety of instruments, including gongs, crystal & himalayan bowls, crystal pyramids, and voice. We also integrate indigenous elements to evoke an ancestral space, fostering deep connection and tranquility.

1:00pm - 7:00pm
A Day native local elder Wisdom

ESKFF The NEST
41 Shotwell Rd, Woodstock, NY
Sliding scale

Among other offerings, the Woodstock Museum’s founders Shelli Lipton and Nathan Koenig will share, scattered throughout the day, their magnificent, seven-part documentary on Iroquois Culture. As part of a celebration of local Native American culture, the day will include the Red Feather Drummers as well as contemplation, prayer and nature walks. We will offer food and enjoy the nature of the NEST throughout the day. For more, see here.

1:00pm - 2:30pm
Spiritual Response to a political crisis: a forum

Christian Science Church
85 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY
By donation

Protests are a compelling way to express our reactions to political issues, but when protests drop to the level of name-calling and ridicule, do they really serve our purpose? How can we go higher in our response to injustice, corruption, war, and other political crises? What spiritual principles can guide our thinking as we seek the best for our country and the world? We will hear 10-minute presentations from Rabbi Karen Levine of the Woodstock Jewish Congregation, Rev. Matthew Wright of St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Swami Jnaneswariananda of Sivananda Ashram, Khenpo Karma Tenkyong of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery, and Violet Snow of First Church of Christ, Scientist. We’ll follow with questions from the audience.

2:30pm - 4:00pm Restorative Yoga Workshop with Lavinia Nannini

Euphoria Yoga 
99 Tinker Street, Woodstock
Sliding Scale, $30-$35. Walk Ins Welcome.

1:00 - 4:00pm
Shivastan Poetry Ashram

Shivastan Poetry Ashram
6 Sgt Richard Quinn Drive (around back)
by donation

1:00 - 3:00 pm
Garden Party & Performances with Shiv Mirabito

Join host and proprietor Shiv Mirabito in his garden with poets, mystics, sages and artists of every stripe from across the Hudson Valley & beyond for this garden party with readings & music & more. The Ashram contains a trove of literary and artistic treasures. Bring food and drink to share. Also, all attendees are invited to perform.

3:00 - 4:00pm
Festival Closing Ceremony

Shivastan Poetry Ashram & Village Green

Empower wishes at the communal Festival altar to song and fire. We will walk in musical procession to the Village Green and the four o’clock commencement of the Drum Circle.