A cohort-based retreat built to help people focus on creative projects.
Creative Weekend is grounded in 5 beliefs:
Support & honesty fuel creativity.
Creative Weekend gathers a small group of participants into a supportive cohort that offers suggestions, gives feedback, is willing to be silly and playful, and applauds breakthroughs. The cohort starts forming prior to the retreat but will hit its stride during the retreat itself. The cohort will have structured time together but otherwise each person is able to work independently. During the entire retreat there will be a facilitator present that manages the schedule and acts as a sounding board and support structure.
Genius can be cultivated.
Genius lives outside of us, and sometimes we need time and space to let it flood in. Genius can be honed and developed; it grows stronger as you spend more time with it. We want Creative Weekend to be a conduit for honing your Genius and letting it rush over you.
Turning down and self-selecting the noise helps.
Life is full of noise that breaks our attention or derails us completely. Creative Weekend helps you turn down that noise. Whether it’s the distance away from your everyday routine or because we help you to block out tech distractions (if requested), we want to turn off that constant hum. We want you to focus on your project and not worry about anything else. And if you (want/need- your choice!) distractions? Well, we want you to choose when you need a distraction. If you want to take part in an optional session then great! If you want to keep working the whole time, then that’s great too! It’s up to you. You know what you need better then we do.
The space in which you create is important.
In support of crafting an environment conducive to fostering creativity, the retreat will take place an hour outside of St. Louis – setting you apart from everyday life. The cabin will have everything you need (that we could afford): Sticky poster board, markers, indoor restrooms, coffee, and other accommodations that participants can elect to have in the space. The cohort is offered maximum time devoted to projects and additional support sessions are completely optional that you can enjoy when you’re ready to be distracted (i.e.: morning yoga, sunset/sunrise relaxation, feedback conversations, etc.). All sessions will be selected by participants prior to the retreat. The facilitator will also be in the space to offer help and support when needed.
Everyone should have a chance to participate.
It’s important that I make the price for Creative Weekend reasonable while still fulfilling most of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Want to participate but don’t have the funds? I will do our damnedest to find someone to sponsor you.
Simply put…
- Bring people to a interesting and comfortable space away from the usual stomping grounds for 2.5 days.
- Turn that space into a home base for creating
- You work on your passion project
- Leave the cabin with your project in hand, completed