Thank you for your service to your local widowed communities!

Includes access to Sunday workshops and breakfast.

Grieving the loss of a primary relationship causes us to struggle in almost all aspects of our lives. Finding new coping strategies and full-body self-care techniques is one way to manage our profound emotional reactions. Come prepared to stand up and learn some basic movements of Qigong and Tai Chi Ch’uan as an approach to build grit and resilience to help you move through grieving.

SPEAKER: Brent Bandhauer

Parenting is hard enough when there were two of you but to find yourself a grieving solo parent of grieving children feels just about impossible!

How do we raise, support and care for our child(ren) after the death of their parent? Where do we find the words to help them navigate their grief? How do we differentiate between normal childhood behaviour and behaviour of a grieving child and how can neurodiversity impact this experience? How do we help our children to not only survive this tragedy but to thrive and grow from it?

SPEAKERS: Marny Williams and Carolyn Jenkins

Using the analogy of a caterpillar entering a chrysalis, I offer the transformative process of grief in helping us redefine ourselves after losing our loved ones.

SPEAKER: Kathy Gleason

Restorative yoga encourages us to relax and focus on the present moment, creating a more tranquil state of mind. A regular practice has been proven to create an overall sense of well-being, calm and a more positive sense of self. The physical and mental symptoms of grief can wreak havoc on our mind and body. Through breath work, meditation and yoga it is proven to help reduce the stress reaction, which in turn will quiet our mind and soothe our spirit.

SPEAKER: Margo Sage

Grief after an imperfect marriage can leave you feeling a whirlwind of emotions—guilt, anger, and relief. These feelings are natural and part of the healing process. In this workshop, we’ll create a safe space to articulate these emotions and explore the power of self-forgiveness. Together, we’ll work towards a balanced view of your past relationship, acknowledging both the good and the bad. Join us to find peace and reclaim your narrative. Step into a space of understanding, where imperfection meets healing, and discover the strength to write your next chapter.

SPEAKER: Julie Martella

Need a laugh for your widowed soul – come laugh at the widowed life. This session includes improvisation games, comedy and participation. Remember what it was like to laugh? No? We forgot too but over time we learned to laugh again. Come share a laugh and have some fun using improv techniques used at the Second City with Alumni Lois and Melissa. Warning : May contain widowed humour…. Just like your life.

SPEAKERS: Melissa Martelli and Lois Tucker Keating

Change is hard even under the best of circumstances but the changes we don't ask for, they can feel unbearable. Losing someone we love can bring us face to face with overwhelming fear of the unknown and all that lies ahead of us. When we are facing this uncertainty and trying to find a way to push through, what can we turn to navigate our way through? We can turn to GRACE to transform our lives into one rooted in acceptance, awareness and resilience.

Speaker Lydia Knorr

This workshop is for people who are neurodiverse and are navigating their widowhood with those additional challenges - and super powers! We will focus primarily on ADHD and Autism, but we welcome anyone who identifies as neurodiverse. We will learn about how the characteristics of neurodiversity intersect with the impacts of grief, and how you can find ways to support those challenges, and embrace your strengths at the same time.

SPEAKER: Carolyn Jenkins

This hands-on workshop, originally created by Sarah Trenor, takes us down memory lane deep into our relationship with our person. Envisioning how to stay connected to our person when rebuilding our life can be hard. This craft-style workshop prompts participants to visually express what restoring their heart means to them. Making arts and crafts about loss makes grief tangible. Art experience not required. 

Moderators: Justine Silver and Fiona Kay

We typically think of a traumatic death as sudden, violent or unexpected but any death can be a traumatic. Trauma is subjective and individual to each person - what is traumatic to one may not be to another. This is an educational workshop is designed to guide on the complexities of trauma. Knowledge is power and the more we understand how grief impacts our well being the better we can nurture ourselves and those we love. Let’s learn how we carry, how we feel and how we can support ourselves.

Moderator: Marny Williams

This workshop will offer support for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, and Queer community and consists of small group discussions among those with similar situations. Through a series of rotations, you will find others who you share parts of your unique grief with such as type of loss, time in grief, and type of relationship. The exact number of rotations will be determined by the number of participants on the day of the workshop.

Speakers: Bobby Moss and Peter Wolf

Dance both moves our bodies and frees our souls. In this workshop Allison will be providing basic moves and terminology for several ultra beginner line dances. While we learn to dance we will also be learning the importance of self-care and being introduced to great ways of including movement in our daily lives. Join us for a fun workshop that will provide you with dance skills you can use when you get home.

SPEAKER: Allison Flemming

Being widowed is an isolating experience and can be further exacerbated by living in an empty home, all alone.  We will be discussing the unique challenges faced by widowed members of our community who do not have children. This workshop is for you whether you were unable to have children with your person, or together with your partner made the choice not to add children to your family. Take this opportunity to connect with other campers who share your experience of being widowed without children.

Moderators: Justine Silver and Devin Shyminksy

This will be an interactive workshop where we explore writing poetry as one of the many ways in which we can capture thoughts, feelings, memories, and all the precious moments that are part of grieving, and our future. We will look at examples, and we will bravely create with each other. 

Speaker: Richard Lappin

Grieving takes grit. Life needs vitality. Grieving people often struggle to tackle daily tasks and face the world that presents a new and unwelcome reality. With purposeful effort, we can find the strength to get through the rough days and move forward with our lives while grieving. This session will offer strategies to build grit and add vitality to your own life to start or keep moving forward.

Speaker: Brent Bandhauer

In this presentation, we will explore the "Art of Grief." You will see examples of paintings, affirmations, and collages made by Dr Linda and other grievers after their person died. This will be followed by a guided meditation inviting you to explore the colors and shapes of your feelings, and wisdom from your own personal inner grief guide.

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Speaker: Linda Shanti McCabe

We have all experienced the immediate rejection of our widowed life. The objective is to have participants explore ways to mitigate the worst parts of their widowhood experience and to have people come away with the hope that they can find genuine happiness living a widowed life. 

Moderator: Stacey Brown

With grief, the only way out is through, and for me, the only way through is with humor. Stand-up comedian, author, and viral TED talk speaker Kelley Lynn will take you on a ridiculous ride through grief using her best coping tool - laughter. Lynn's workshop features a unique experience that is tailor-made for this audience. Part-stand up comedy, part-therapy, and part-storytelling, Kelley will combine personal stories with original jokes, allowing you to feel the relief of laughing once again. 

Speaker: Kelley Lynn

Includes all evening functions and Sunday breakfast.

*Selection of meal choice happens at the end of registration.

Give the gift of Camp Widow® to someone who might otherwise not be able to attend.

Give the gift of Camp Widow® to someone who might otherwise not be able to attend.