2022 Workshops

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One Show at a Time: Recovery Support Group

with Carly and Steven Parlante

We will be meeting every day of the festival! For those who have made the conscious decision to abstain from the use of alcohol and/or mind-altering substances, it can be challenging/triggering to attend an event that is in a party atmosphere. The goal of the workshop will be for those like-minded individuals to meet and support each other not only during the workshop, but throughout the weekend. This workshop was offered in 2021, and it was well attended. It allowed not only the facilitators to know they were not alone, but the other group/festival participants as well.

Carly and Steve are a music loving couple who also both happen to live a life free from the use of mood or mind altering substance. Carly and Steve are recovering addicts who actively participate in their own recovery by regularly attending meetings.

Woodland Tea Blends

with Erika Quarton

Basic identification of five native species commonly used for tea blends. Erika will also go over how to harvest ethically and consciously and how each plant must be processed to be used for tea!

Erika Quarton-Neiderhofer is a lifelong South Jersey resident with a B.A in Biology from Stockton University. They have strong personal interests in forest restoration, food equity, and self empowerment through holistic care practices. She is Permaculture Design Certified, a Rutgers Master Gardener, Garden Manager of C.R.O.P.S. N.J., and owner and founder of Starseed Services. They offer Birth Doula Services, Permaculture and Garden Design/Maintenance, as well as Mindful Home Organization. Tea blend making is an integral part of many of the services she offers. Erika truly enjoys sharing how to respectfully use nature's gifts to treat ourselves and loved ones.

Primitive Arrow Making

with Tim Wills of Warpath Archery

Sign-ups are necessary for this workshop, which will be held 4 separate times on Friday and Saturday at the Warpath Archery vending area. Participants will learn to make a primitive arrow using Stone Age techniques. This will cover straightening of the arrow shaft, tying on the feathers, and using pitch glue to attach the point. Once finished, everyone will have a handcrafted arrow that they can take with them for display and/or bragging rights.

Tim wills has been involved in the archery community for over 40 years. He has worked in T.V. and cinema in regards to historical accuracy regarding archery equipment along with teaching newcomers the basics of shooting a bow and arrow. His accomplishments include winning many tournaments along with a number of successful hunts to put food on the table for his family. Making his first bow at age 4, his interest in the manufacturing of archery equipment grew from there leading him on the path of exploring this ancient sport.

Haiku Writing for Social Justice

with John Wojtowicz

Haiku capture everyday moments and connect them to the eternal. In this workshop, we will examine classic haiku and then pivot towards contemporary senryu (non-nature haiku) that explores themes of social justice. Participants will examine three-line explorations of war, poverty, racism, and civil unrest. After this craft discussion, we will write our own haiku or two and share around. Participants will choose to eschew or embrace the traditional 5-7-5 model. Haiku is an opportunity for, in the words of Nicholas Virgilio, "the illumination of our being through an experience expressed in simple language." Hopefully, our haiku will help us process our dissonance with a world that can be so easy and hard to love and provide us a small truth to share from the highest hill in the Pine Barrens or perhaps display throughout the festival grounds.

John Wojtowicz grew up working on his family’s azalea and rhododendron nursery in the backwoods of what Ginsberg dubbed “nowhere Zen New Jersey.” Currently, he works as a licensed clinical social worker and adjunct professor. He has been featured on Rowan University’s Writer’s Roundtable on 89.7 WGLS-FM and several of his poems were chosen to be exhibited in Princeton University's 2021 Unique Minds: Creative Voices art show at the Lewis Center for the Arts. His debut coffee-table-style chapbook Roadside Attractions: a poetic guide to American Oddities was published in 2022. John serves as the Local Lyrics contributor for The Mad Poets Society Blog. He lives with his wife and two children in Upper Deerfield, NJ. Check him out on the web at: www.johnwojtowicz.com

Cultivating Inner Joy Through Art and Nature

with Laurel Fae

In this workshop, we will be discussing mindfulness through present awareness, the patterns and beauty in nature, and cultivating inner joy through them. I will be facilitating a short discussion and meditation . Afterwards we will be going on a short nature walk collecting items that appear to us in nature and mindfully meditating on its patterns, colors, shapes . And then creating a piece of art around that piece in whatever way the person feels. Whether it is a small sculpture , a drawing , a painting . Anything. At the end we will also take found nature objects to create a group mandala. Closing the workshop by discussing how everyone felt through the process. This workshop will an art therapy workshop!

Laurel Fae is a Full time Fine art and visionary painter. For her, creating art at the end of the day is a healing modality - a place to cultivate inner peace and joy. For her- it is a way to turn any pain into light and nature is also the source of that inspiration and light .

Shamanic Art Journey

with Lindsay Jamison

Learn how to embrace your intuition, unique imagination and creative expression.
We will begin our time together with a breathing technique & meditation and opening ceremony to get grounded and centered into the moment. After, we will create sacred space to embark on a shamanic journey to connect to our compassionate helping spirits for guidance, wisdom and healing. Using the beat of a drum, we will shift our brain waves and consciousness into a trance state to traverse into realms beyond time and space. After the journey, we will take some time to create an intuitive drawing of whatever wants to be expressed from our unique experience. The intuitive creation is a continuation of the trance state where we bring our other-worldly experiences into tangible form.

Lindsay Jamison is a visionary artist, holistic wellness educator and psychic medium. She bridges art with ancient healing practices to support her patrons in positive lifestyle transformation. She specializes in combining meditation, shamanic journeying and art as therapeutic tools for self-healing and meaningful personal growth. Lindsays artwork is an energetic transmission often including mandalas, sacred geometry and natural elements. You can find her live painting and vending art at events, teaching transformative workshops and private sessions, hosting creative ceremonies and offering psychic readings and energy healing to her community.

Lady Jame's Tarot Workshop

with Jamie Albert and Jenna Jones

This workshop will guide individuals to understand the basics of Tarot which can be used as a self-empowering tool to deeply transform their lives. By discussing the ‘Fools Journey’, numerology, and artistic imagery, I aim to help individuals use Tarot as a way to connect with others, self-reflect, and find answers within the messages from the Universe. In addition to teaching and discussions, I plan to pair participants together to read Tarot for one another as a way to provide experiential learning and to shed led light on this wise art form that has been around for centuries.

Lady Jame considers herself a born healer and a witch. She has been reading Tarot cards for herself, friends, family, and on occasion, strangers, for over 5 years now. While she is deeply intuitive, she considers herself at heart to be a teacher first and foremost. She has degrees in Communication Studies and Public Health, which has enhanced her passions for connecting with and empowering others to achieve optimal health and wellness in body, mind, and spirit. A lover of all things nature, astrology, gardening, yoga, and travel, she considers herself to be a multifaceted soul with an insatiable curiosity for life.

Intuitive Painting for Self Discovery

with Bernadette Trendler

Participants will be introduced to the concept of intuitive painting and engaged in a discussion about using art for self discovery, self trust, and acceptance. Intuitive painting asks us to release judgement and embrace the process. Everyone will be provided with canvas boards and paints to play and complete their unique artwork in a safe space. No prior painting experience necessary. Afterwards, reflections will be shared to explore insights and feelings that came up during the process. And of course, everyone may take their artwork home!

Bernadette Trendler has a degree in Psychology and managed a wellness center at a mental health non-profit organization where she guided support groups for over 3 years. Her favorite groups to facilitate in the community were creative arts groups, as it opened unique perspectives and insights for her clients. Now, she is now embracing her own healing through intuitive painting and hopes to share her love for soul expression through art with all of you.

Social Action Organizing for Community Power and Justice

with Jason Howell of Pinelands Preservation Alliance and Our Revolution

Community power is the essence of Democracy, yet the practice of harnessing the power of community is not a subject that is encouraged or taught in most institutions. The methods and tactics of over-coming the power of the establishment status-quo is a craft that needs to be shared widely. In this workshop, you will learn how to harness your own power and the power of your community to achieve a social justice or other important community objective.

Jason Howell is a populist and environmental activist and organizer local to Atlantic County. He works to protect the land, water, air and the democratic rights of County residents. Jason also works for the Pinelands Preservation Alliance as Public Lands Advocate.

Run a Tabletop Game NOW!

with Patrick Tessenholtz

In this workshop, you'll learn how to create and run Tabletop Games with limited resources and limited planning. The workshop will focus on alternatives to "Standard Array" dice for number generation, and methods for creating scenarios on the fly.

Patrick Tessenholtz first played "D&D" with just a notebook and pencil on a camp-out back in 2012. Then a deck of cards. He's used Monopoly Boards and lawn darts to play narrative roleplaying games, and enjoys coming up with more.

A Holistic Guide to Parenting and Pregnancy

with Samantha Magpiong of Magpi Midwifery

This is a workshop for any & everyone desiring a pregnancy in the future, those who have given birth, those interested in getting into birthwork, & those interested in learning about our maternal healthcare system & the politics that go along with it.

We'll cover a range of topics such as what to know before you grow (preconception/fertility awareness), herbs for the childbearing years, options for birth & pregnancy, postpartum healing, holistic support for new families, paths to becoming a birth worker, & more!

Samm is a local homebirth midwife who has been attending births for the past 10 years. Starting first as a doula and then opening her midwifery practice in 2019. She has attended births in a variety of settings including hospitals, international birth centers, & at home. She now has a moderate - high volume practice in Philadelphia & focuses on building community amongst like-minded families & providers.

Motivation for Songwriters and Composers

with Ben Levin of Bent Knee

Ben Levin will go through a list of 10 useful that make the songwriting/composition process more enjoyable and productive. Some of them are a little weird!

Ben Levin is a music YouTuber and touring musician with over a decade of experience making educational videos and courses. He has released more than 20 albums of original music with his band, Bent Knee, and as a solo artist, and really knows how to get songs completed. Most importantly, Ben has found many ways to make the process of making music more enjoyable and has helped thousands of people share in that joy.

Composting 101

with Michael Green

Come join in on the composting fun! We'll be going through the many different ways that YOU can get composting starting TODAY! We'll talk backyard bins, worm composting, community based composting and the ins and outs of it all. We will be getting our hands dirty making a few vermicomposting (worm) bins that a few lucky participants will be able to take home with them. There will also be worms available for other participants to take home and make a bin of their own.

Michael Green has been teaching in the alternative high school science classroom for 6 years now with an emphasis on project-based learning. He's been composting for nearly a decade now, experimenting with backyard bins, home-scale vermicomposting, and community based compost collections. He runs workshops locally around fermentation and composting and is fascinated by the micro-world that surrounds us. In addition to his teaching and workshops, he's also been a guest lecturer at Hundred Fruit Farm's Permaculture Design Course with an emphasis on social permaculture and invisible structures.

Gifting Circle

with Hallie Zeller

**Gift offerings are warmly welcomed, but are not required for attendance** Why is it that in today’s world, we dream of abundance, yet our choices reflect an attitude of scarcity? How can we consciously choose to co-create a new world of abundance? Learn to identify your own gifts and needs, and then participate in sharing them with the community in a celebratory gifting circle. It will be a vulnerable, joyful, illuminating, and deeply nourishing experience. We’ll all leave the circle richer than when we entered. And most importantly: you’ll take the abundance here at Beardfest home with you to share with the greater human family!

Hallie Zeller is a perpetual student of life. She is a creator and appreciator of beauty, a lover of earth and spirit, and an active participant in the collective rewriting of the story of humankind.

Socratic Method and Perspective-sharing Circle

with Alexis Sellers

I would like to facilitate a Socrates Cafe workshop. Here we will get together to exchange philosophical perspectives based on our different experiences. We will delve into a question using the Socrate method of inquiry (finding deeper truths by asking more questions). This isn't a place to argue, debate or to seek to persuade others, instead we explore, interrogate, investigate and seek to persuade ourselves. I encourage anyone who is interested to come to the workshop with some questions in mind they would like to bring to the group to look deeper into.

Some example questions:
Are we born with a purpose in life or is life really a random arbitrary galactic spew?
Do freedom and security go hand and hand?
Is it okay not to be all that we can be?
Does what you do define who you are?
Is government a reflection of human nature?
If the truth hurts, should we lie?
Is the gap between human desire and human possibility unbridgeable?
What is the soul?
Are we all completely unique?

Alexis works with teenagers in a self-directed learning center, and this is where she first stumbled upon Socrates Cafe. She is excited to bring it to Beardfest with hopes that people take it home with them and continue on the philosophical pursuit with others. Some of her favorite things are playing banjo and hand drums, being in natural bodies of water, camping, and dancing - all that she gets to do in the Pines. She looks forward to dancing with everyone under the treetops.

Decoupling: Resetting the fight/flight/freeze/fawn response

with Elyse Matthews of Witchwookie

This class begins with a demonstration of the meditative decoupling process that rests the fight/flight/freeze/fawn response followed by partner work to allow attendees to practice the technique on each other. Find the pathway to peace and freedom in an environment that encourages creativity and connection to spirit.

Elyse Michelle and her partner John taught qigong at Bearfest over the years. A certified yoga and qigong teacher with a variety of healing certifications from reiki to emotion resolution to subconscious reprogramming, Elyse most recently studied with the 4 Winds Society, adding more healing medicine to her offerings.

Partner Massage

with Shane Matthews of Witchwookie

Participants will learn several massage techniques and have time to work with a partner to offer and receive healing.

Shane studied massage at Barberio School of massage therapy and is reiki 2 certified.

Journey Through the Chakras: Sound Healing

with Kimberly Vogt of Avant Calm

“Chakra” refers to energy points in your body. They are thought to be spinning disks of energy that should stay “open” and aligned, as they impact our emotional and physical well-being. There are seven main chakras that run along your spine: Root: Foundation, Stability, Grounding; Sacral: Sexuality, Pleasure, Creativity; Solar Plexus: Self-Esteem, Confidence; Heart: Love, Compassion; Throat: Communication; Third-Eye: Intuition, Imagination; Crown: Awareness, Intelligence.
Sound healing helps shift energy that is out of alignment and bring it back into balance. This workshop will combine a guided meditation and sound healing session with charka-aligned, crystal alchemy bowls for clarity and tranquility. Sound healing practices can alleviate stress, develop physical & emotional balance, and facilitate harmony.
Just bring a yoga mat and yourself for a unique experience that will take you on a sensory journey to enhance your mind, body, and spirit.

Kimberly Vogt is the founder of Avant Calm. She first used sound healing as a way of coping with her own stress and anxiety. Through this practice, she has been able to create a more balanced, peaceful life. She creates her programs as a way to share this practice and be of service to others.

A New Jersey native, she has degrees from both Rutgers University and Rowan University, and currently works as a college counselor. She is a certified vinyasa yoga instructor (RYT 200) and has training in integral sound healing with Tibetan singing bowls. In 2021, she completed her Level I certification as a Crystal Alchemy Sound Healer through The Sound Healing Academy in Santa Monica, CA.

Somatic Self-Healing: Bodymind and the Nervous System

with Lezlee Bredell

The process of working towards mental and emotional balance is supported by engaging mindfully with the physical body. We will discuss the role of the nervous system in trauma, the applications of bodymind philosophy, and play with a blend of proven somatic practices including yoga asana, breath control, intentional self-touch, and visualization. Our goal is to develop self-regulation skills and strategies to restore the nervous system and bring balance to the emotional, thinking, and feeling bodymind.

Lesley is a Hatha Yoga Teacher guiding yoga asana, meditation, and breathwork in substance abuse and trauma recovery. A student of Philosophy & Religion and Social Work, Lesley first engaged with yoga in 2009 in both asana and Eastern philosophy classes at Stockton University. Yoga has since become the cornerstone in Lesley's own recovery journey along with making music, dancing, hiking, and learning plant medicines and local ecology. Understanding the anatomy of healing Self is Lesley's happy place, and it is their joy to share what they have discovered with you.

Self-Actualization through Communicating with the Subconscious

Damian Miller of Hello Subconscious

Whats a more important part of any relationship but connection and communication?

What about the relationship with out self?

Through direct and clear communication with our subconscious mind we can access and learn from our hidden wisdom, expand our consciousness, actualize untapped power and potential and naturally transform dreams into reality.

Are you ready to access your true self and purpose?

Participants will leave this workshop with a vision of live fulfillment and learn tools to let their greater consciousness lead the way into an adventure of self discovery.

Damian Miller has been studying hypnosis and the subconscious since 11 years old, after became a certified clinical hypnotherapist in 2004 and after quitting a corporate pharmaceutical job in 2011 and working with 1000+ people he has created a system of subconscious communication. This system empowers people to connect and communicate with their own subconscious so that they can learn who they are and what they are capable of, to learn and grow faster and transform their own lives through deepening their relationship with their greater self.

He has taught workshops on exploring past lives, exploring dreams, tapping into ancestral wisdom, finding your true self and realizing your true purpose.

Symbiotic Pleasure: Communication for Partnership

with Harry Bo and LaVina D'Anjolell of Soul Connection Collective

What is desire? What do you want and what do you not want? Consent boils down to Yes & No. Pleasure is energy that can be given, received, taken, and allowed. With simple, straightforward communication, consent enables safety & comfort, creating a symbiosis of pleasure. We begin with a discussion on the dynamics of energy exchange and discover which roles feel most comfortable and which feel more edgy. Through interactive exercise, we will find how pleasure can be accessed in each dynamic - learning how to transform shadows & triggers into opportunities for greater connection & intimacy.

Since 2018, LaVina and Harry have been navigating the wonders and challenges of being both romantic and business partners. Early in their relationship, they dedicated themselves to learn from every conflict and deepen in love every day. This journey has taken them through a range of trainings and educational pursuits, centered around somatic awareness, sacred sexuality, and dynamics of relating/intimacy. In 2020, they founded Soul Connection Collective with a shared mission to facilitate workshops, courses, counseling sessions, and retreats designed to empower people in developing relational intelligence and emotional mastery.

An Ecstatic Dance Journey & Cacao Ceremony

with Joy Okoye and Serenity Entity of Sound Sirens and Fyrefly Yoga

Begin with a potent drink of cacao, known for opening the heart, cacao will allow you to connect with yourself, and others, in a deeper way than before, with Serenity Entity.
Joy Okoye will safely and skillfully lead you into an altered state of consciousness using JourneyDance™, guided imagery, and vocal empowerment. This is an intimate encounter and a beautiful sacred self- healing experience. In JourneyDance™ we are given space to tell & release our current stories without words. We let our bodies become the prayer and make quantum shifts through ancient + intuitive movement. We dance without mirrors to release judgement of ourselves and others while revealing and re-discovering our natural, intuitive movement. We activate our imagination and utilize diverse forms of improvisational dance to a soundtrack of inspiring music, guiding us through a process of freedom. Through breath, connection and expression, gain a palpable experience of yourself as pure, powerful energy and joint celebration of the human spirit!
Concludes with channeled sound immersion experience with the soulful vibes of Sound Sirens. an improvised vocal and multi-instrumental trio that fuses world and experimental music invoking harmonic sacred sound and multi-sensory states of awareness.

The Sound Sirens (April Centrone, Joy Okoye, Serenity Entity) are an improvised vocal and multi-instrumental trio that fuses world and experimental music invoking harmonic sacred sound and multi-sensory states of awareness. Enjoy this mystical sound ensemble that incorporates elements of soundscape, music meditation, sound healing, and performance art.

Party Smart: A Dialogue on Harm Reduction

with Raven Stein-Lucente

This is a participatory, educational experience intended to raise awareness for, share knowledge about, and provide resources for harm reduction practices in the festival community, especially when it comes to the use of psychoactive substances. This is not intended to encourage nor dissuade the use of substances. Harm reduction is defined as “a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with risky behaviors.” The goal of this workshop is for those who participate to leave with a new awareness of the importance of harm reduction, more comprehensive knowledge of harm reduction practices and resources available, and the inspiration to share this valuable information with our peers so that we can cultivate a safer and more educated community. The structure of this workshop is an open dialogue and brainstorm, guided by open-ended questions about different aspects of harm reduction. As the participants reflect on the answers to these questions together, we will share knowledge and experiences to come to the most informed conclusions about why and how we can practice harm reduction as individuals and as a community. Together, we will write down the most important takeaways from the conversation on a large, colorful poster which will be displayed to spread awareness to the community. Info sheets, handouts, and a list of resources will be made available for participants to take with them.

Raven has attended Beardfest for the last few years, and they have found great joy in being a part of this community. Their goal for this year, and hopefully for years to come, is to bring greater awareness, education, and resources to the festival community regarding the topic of Harm Reduction. Raven has recently graduated with a degree in Psychology and has since become a volunteer for DanceSafe, an organization dedicated to providing harm reduction resources and education to events like Beardfest and to the general public. Raven wants to do their part to make sure everyone has a great time while keeping themselves and each other safe. They can also be found flowing on the fire stage with Tamed Flame.

Womb Activation

with Sofiya Mariya of Womb Alchemy LLC

All genders welcome! The Womb Activation workshop leads you through a journey of releasing blocks from your womb’s energy, helping you access your creative life force and manifest your desires. The womb becomes blocked by unprocessed emotions, which create imbalance within the body, mind, and spirit. This hinders one’s ability to fully access their truth and empowerment, causing them to feel stuck, disconnected, and overwhelmed. Activating your womb helps you release the layers of dense energy that you have been carrying, freeing you and reminding you of who you truly are. In truth, we are creators. We are here on Earth to play with creative life force, and see what magic we can materialize. Most of us have forgotten this truth, and the womb is the gateway home to this remembrance. When we activate our womb, we activate our creative life force energy which acts as a magnet for our desires. It brings us into alignment with who we truly are and what we truly want. It is the shift from surviving, to thriving. This Womb Activation workshop is an immersive experience that helps you merge with your truth and your power, all through the portal of the womb. (This workshop is inclusive of all genders).

Sofiya Mariya is the Creatrix of Womb Alchemy LLC, a licensed Acupuncturist, and a Priestess of the Magdala Rose Mystery School. Her Womb Alchemy coaching business is dedicated to helping women reclaim their womb as their sacred portal of creation by transforming their pain into power. She weaves wisdom from many traditions creating a deep life-changing experience for her clients. Sofiya works deeply with Divine Feminine energies and has supported hundreds of women through coaching, women’s circles, retreats, and energy healing. She is fiercely dedicated to helping women embody their true and most empowered self.

Guided Shamanic Journey to the Cosmic Garden

with Jenna Jones

This workshop will be a ceremonial guided shamanic journey to bring participants on a journey to meet their higher self. We will discuss the basics of journeying and shamanism to deepen the awareness and appreciation of this practice before we begin. Once we have begun, the group will engage in some breath work and embodiment practices to bring them into their bodies and the present moment. Once we have settled into our space and energy, I will guide participants with my drum on a journey to the Cosmic Garden to meet their higher self, power animal, or work with angels and beloveds. This deep meditative state offers relaxation and healing.

Jenna Jones is a medicine woman of the Aquarian Age. She has been facilitating breathwork, teaching yoga, and holding ceremony for five years but the healing arts has been a walk of life since the day she was born. Jenna believes that life is ritual so she uses her talents for curating safe intentional spaces to experience the beauty of life. She is deeply intuitive, using her gifts to uplift the collective consciousness. Jenna received a bachelors degree in Communication Studies as well as studying with many teachers of healing modalities from around the world. Jenna believes your life is your medicine and brings that intention to all her offerings.