Creative BEing

A Contemplative Craft Retreat

4:30pm Thursday October 2 - 11:00am Sunday October 5, 2025 | Wellfleet, MA

*SOLD OUT* - please join our mailing list to hear about upcoming programs

Imagine having the time and space to steep in your creativity; the luxury of being present to yourself, your craft, your spirit, and the beautiful world around you….

What might happen if you had 3 days dedicated to nothing else other than making things with your hands, wandering along the beach, being nourished by good food, powerful natural beauty, and to share it all with like-minded people? 

This is a retreat designed to help you explore the relationship between craft, personal contemplative practice, and our connection to the natural world.

It is an opportunity to rest, to heal, and to recall what it is that matters most to you. Each day will offer an opportunity to practice mindfulness meditation, participate in a slow craft weaving project, or work on your own creative project - whatever that looks like for you. 

This is more than a weekend away - it’s a weekend to come back home to yourself. Join us.

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An All-inclusive Experience

Beach-front Lodging

3 nights in a historic house in Wellfleet with a private beach.

Local Food

Includes all meals with lunches and dinners made by a registered dietician and herbalist.

Mindful Craft Workshop

Guided weaving workshop including all materials with an overview of mindful craft.

Mindfulness & Meditation

Nature-inspired practices and sessions facilitated throughout the weekend.

Beautiful Historic Lodging

We will be staying at a one of a kind beach house overlooking Wellfleet Harbor for this intimate retreat. We will enjoy breathtaking panoramic ocean views with a private sandy beach just steps away. The Beach Castle is a private beach house, providing guests with a true beach stay experience we would describe as “rustic elegance.” It includes stunning views, a lovely front porch, and a private yard for creative exploration. The historic house is a Wellfleet landmark that was originally built and owned by Captain Lorenzo Baker, founder of the United Fruit Company, and known as the “Banana King.” Six bedrooms are available with a variety of occupancy options.

Beach view through a covered porch with wooden chairs and tables.
A cozy living room featuring a stone fireplace, two framed pictures on the wall, a small wood stove, a dark wooden wall, and a large window with grid panes letting in natural light.
A large, old house with a tower on a beach, with colorful chairs and a fence in front.
A dinner table set with plates of crackers and apples, bowls of vegetables, a candle, and various drinks and dishes, ready for a meal.

(Really) Good Food

Eating well can be a rare experience for many of us in our busy lives, but it is also a critical component of our creative and spiritual flourishing. That is why for this retreat, we are taking food seriously and collaborating with Nicole Cormier, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian and clinical herbalist who will be preparing all lunches and dinners fresh onsite. Nicole’s work is rooted in nourishment, sustainability, and deep connection to place. Nicole's food approach is seasonal, locally sourced, and inspired by both the landscape and the intention of the gathering. Meals will be colorful, grounding, and nutrient-dense, with elements of herbalism and plant wisdom woven throughout. From nourishing teas to vibrant shared meals, Nicole creates meals that support rest, reflection, and reconnection to the earth and each other.

For breakfast, you will have the leisure and flexibility to make what feels best for you from a variety of ingredients provided including fruit, yogurt, eggs and granola. Coffee will be available, and Nicole will offer a tea bar available throughout the day. 

Learn more about Nicole and her practice at www.deliciousliving.org.

Craft & Contemplation

Making things with our hands is a doorway to reconnecting with our spiritual selves. This retreat will gently offer you ways you can integrate mindfulness into your craft practice to expand your experience of connection, fulfillment, creativity, and joy.

We will explore the relationship between mindfulness, connection to land, and creative practice through a weaving workshop utilizing natural materials. This workshop will provide you with a project that you can continue throughout the retreat. You are also encouraged to bring with you your own materials and projects to work on during open creative practice time. The house, porch, yard, and beach will all offer beautiful studio space for your creativity to flow.

We will also weave opportunities for mindfulness and meditation practices throughout the entire weekend including guided sitting, walking, and eating meditation. Whatever your spiritual background, root tradition, or level of practice, you are welcome here.

A spool of white yarn, a crochet hook, and a half-empty bowl on a red fabric cushion with pleats, all on a red surface.
Close-up of hands knitting with red knitting needles using cream-colored yarn outdoors.

Lodging Options & Cost

  • Commuter

    Includes meals and programming.

    Limited number of spaces available.

    $595

    Not available

  • Lower Ocean View Tower

    This unique semi-private room offers an ocean view. It is connected via a stairway to the Upper Ocean Tower. It has a queen bed and shared bathroom.

    SOLD OUT

    Not Available

  • Private Single

    A sweet private 2nd floor room with a view of the yard. Single bed with shared bathroom.

    SOLD OUT

    Not Available

  • Private Master Suite

    This 1st-floor room includes its own private porch and direct access to the downstairs bathroom. Full bed for a couple, cozy friends, or a spacious single.

    SOLD OUT

    Not Available

  • Ocean View Master

    This vaulted ceiling room has a view of the ocean. 2 twins and 1 king bed, shared bathroom.

    SOLD OUT

    Not Available

  • Yard View Master

    This second floor room overlooks the yard with 1 twin and 1 full bed, shared bathroom.

    SOLD OUT

    Not Available

  • Upper Ocean View Tower

    Wake up to a 360 degree ocean view in this extremely unique semi-private room that is accessible via stairway from the Lower Ocean View Tower. Twin bed with shared bathroom.

    SOLD OUT

    NOT AVAILABLE

Retreat Facilitators

A collaboration rooted in a shared passion for practice, community, and connection to land.

A woman sitting by a large open window knitting with yarn and needles under bright sunlight, with a scenic green landscape outside.

  • Spiritual Ecologist. Fiber Artist. Practitioner.

    Sarah is the founder and director of The Interwoven Institute. She is an experienced program designer, passionate maker of soft and beautiful things, and an ordained member of the Order of Interbeing in the Plum Village tradition of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Learn more about Sarah here.

A woman smiling outdoors with green foliage and a clear blue sky in the background.

  • Mindfulness Facilitator & Mentor

    Forest is a mindfulness facilitator, coach, and mentor with over 30 years of personal practice and more

    than a decade of guiding others. With a background in mind-body practices, health coaching, and public

    health, she creates spaces that invite reflection, connection, and deep presence.

    Having spent years studying dance, Forest carries a lifelong love of movement and embodied creativity,

    threads of which continue to weave through her approach to mindfulness. She has guided programs for

    educators, youth, caregivers, and those navigating life transitions, always centering relational

    mindfulness and cultivating a sense of belonging.

    Forest is most inspired by witnessing the profound shifts and connections that can emerge when people

    gather in practice, each presence adding to the fabric of community. At this retreat, she will offer daily

    mindfulness sessions—gentle, grounding invitations to support creative flow, nurture self-awareness,

    and deepen connection to one’s self, to others, and to the salty, sandy Cape Cod she loves.

FAQs

A coastal landscape with sandy dunes covered in sparse, dry grass and shrubs, a cliff in the distance, and the ocean beyond under a blue sky with a few clouds.

  • Absolutely not - everyone is welcome. The term “artist” can sometimes make us feel like there is some kind of hierarchy of creativity to attain. The reality is that we are all deeply creative beings. Whether you have an established artistic practice, or you are looking to be inspired, you only need curiosity and a willingness to enjoy this retreat.

  • The meditation and contemplative practices offered at this retreat are suitable for all levels of experience. There will be light facilitation and guidance provided for those who are new, and sufficient spaciousness for those who are established practitioners. Everything offered during this retreat is optional and you are encouraged to bring in elements from your own practice that are nourishing for you. 

  • We will do our best to make reasonable accommodations for dietary restrictions. If you have significant needs or would like to discuss personal options, please reach out to Sarah at info@theinterwoveninstitute.org to explore what we can make possible for you.

  • While we encourage you to stay onsite if it is possible for you to allow yourself the most opportunity to benefit from the complete retreat experience, we understand this is not accessible for everyone. We are offering a limited number of commuter spaces to those who would like to commute. Due to the importance of creating a sense of community, commuters are asked to commit to attending the entire retreat.

  • August 31 is the last day to cancel and receive a refund. We strongly recommend you take out travel insurance to cover any unexpected schedule changes.

Move slow and make things.

I'm ready.