The cost to the organization on a per-camper basis is $700. If this is within your means, we welcome you to join us at this rate.

Because we know that being widowed often comes with financial strain, we welcome you to join us at a subsidized rate.

Includes access to Friday's workshops and evening social event.

Includes access to Saturday's workshops and evening social event. Also includes Sunday workshops and breakfast.

Thank you for your service to your local widowed communities!

Includes access to Sunday workshops and breakfast.

"Soaring Spirits Regional Group Leaders are invited to a Meet and Greet session. This is an opportunity to get to know the RGLs attending Camp, share our experiences hosting local events, take a group photo, and receive the thanks and appreciation from the Soaring Spirits Canada Team."

SPEAKERS: ??

Margo will take the group through several breathing techniques and a gentle restorative yoga practice to help find a sense of peace within. 

SPEAKER: Margo Sage

This workshop is focused on the needs of our widowers, and offered just for the men at camp. We will explore a variety of topics relating to being male and widowed. What are the challenges widowers face that are unique to men? How do you handle the people in your life who want to connect you with a new partner? Have you been told you are grieving too long or too much? No topic is off-limits, and your thoughts, comments, and questions are welcome.

SPEAKER: Greg Mais

Losing a spouse brings not only profound grief but also a ripple effect of secondary losses.

We experience shifts in identity, social circles, financial stability, and daily routines. 

This session will strive to recognize and process these hidden layers of grief. 

Through discussion and simple interactive exercises, participants will reflect on their personal secondary losses and use simple tools to try and move forward.

SPEAKER: Subibe Choudhury

Parenting while navigating grief can feel overwhelming and uncertain. This presentation explores how to support your children through their most difficult moments using the Connected Parenting Model. Participants will learn the Calm Technique, a neuroscience-based method rooted in empathy and compassion, providing practical tools that foster emotional safety, strengthen connection, and help children process grief in a healthy, supported way.

Speaker: Sonia Cacciacarro

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

Tired of talking about how your person died? Let’s talk about how they lived! I believe that most couples have one or two favorite funny or poignant stories that they like to tell about something that occurred during the course of their time together. This workshop will provide a safe and warm space to share those stories. We will celebrate those memories together.

SPEAKER: Shelley Roth

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.

SPEAKERs: Peter Wolf and Janice Martin

How do we continue our bonds with our person if we don’t have that genetic living legacy?

In this session is specifically for those who are Widowed Without Children, Kelley and Justine lead a heartfelt conversation on topics such as the fears and joys of not having children, continuing bonds with our person, dealing with judgement and feeling left out because you do not have kids.

SPEAKERS: Justine Silver and Kelley Lynn

Widowhood changes everything — including our relationship with our own bodies. Many of us find ourselves feeling untethered, overwhelmed, numb, or constantly bracing for the next wave. 

This workshop offers a soft place to land.

Rooted in trauma-informed care and lived experience, this session creates a compassionate, choice-based space where nothing is forced and everything is invitational. Together, we will explore gentle, body-centred practices that help regulate the nervous system, cultivate safety, and support us in meeting our grief with tenderness rather than urgency.

Participants will be guided through accessible practices to:

• settle and ground in the present moment
• recognize how grief and trauma show up physically
• restore a sense of internal safety and self-trust
• connect with the body as a source of support rather than overwhelm

No prior experience is needed — only a willingness to come exactly as you are.

This is a space for exhaling, for being held in community, and for remembering that even in grief, your body is capable of carrying you with profound wisdom and care 

SPEAKER: Lydia Knorr

Everyone struggles with the question, “What do I do with all the stuff?” This class will teach you WHY it’s so hard to downsize and declutter after the loss of your loved one AND give you an empowered mindset and concrete strategies to help you get your organizing project done!

SPEAKER: Julie Martella

In this workshop we will discuss the difficulties that we face after losing our partner of many years. We will talk about the many challenges of starting over, alone and losing the person who knew everything about you. That person who you raised a family with. that person who helped you find your career. That person who helped you enjoy life.

SPEAKER: Laurie Zymowski 

Lighten your heart by learning a few basic line dances. Enjoy music, movement, and laughter in this interactive workshop. Please wear comfortable clothes and footwear/stocking feet.

SPEAKER: Allison Fleming

The death of a partner from suicide brings unique challenges, complex emotions and circumstances, and difficult responses from society. This workshop offers a private and supportive space for widowed people navigating this distinct experience. Together, we will explore the way suicide impacts grief and create opportunities to connect with others who understand this specific loss. This workshop is designed to offer compassion, resources, and a reminder that you are not alone on this journey.

SPEAKERS: Vanessa Francis and Heather Couture

Everyone in this room knows the feeling-the shift from becoming a “we,” choosing to

share your life with someone, to unexpectedly or inevitably losing that partner. While

grief is more visible and often more understood, the shift in identity can be a silent

struggle. The unanswered questions. Who am I now? What am I supposed to do when

every plan has changed? Often live beneath the surface, carrying an undercurrent of

fear and uncertainty. In this workshop we will gently explore that space. Through

meditation, visualization, and journalling, you’ll be invited to reflect on your journey,

identify where you are within it, and begin to move toward what comes next. This is not

about having all the answers but about learning how to sit with the questions, and

slowly, compassionately, reconnect with yourself in a new way.

SPEAKERS: Vanessa Francis and Heather Couture

Need an early morning stretch? Join Margo Sage as she takes you through a variety of yoga movements to get you ready for the day!

In Permission to Live, Julie Martella speaks to widows who are still standing but unsure who they have become. Drawing from her own journey and years of working with widowed men and women, Julie names the disorientation and identity loss that often follow profound loss and gently asks the question many are afraid to say out loud: Is there still life for me here?

SPEAKER: Julie Martella

Digital Toolkit: Supportive Tech for Rebuilding Routines is a practical, beginner-friendly workshop on simple tools that can make daily life feel a little easier after loss, no tech experience needed. We’ll go step by step through a short list of free and paid apps for reminders, calendars, task lists, notes, meal planning, photo management, and light automation, plus safe ways to use AI for everyday help. Leave with a ready-to-use support kit and clear “start here” options.

SPEAKER: Jeremy Witchel

Parenting through grief can bring constant questions: Am I doing this right? Am I giving my children what they need while I’m struggling myself? This workshop offers a gentle space to explore the realities of raising children while grieving, including guilt, self-doubt, and the pressure to be everything at once. Drawing on both professional experience and personal insight, we will also consider how grief can show up differently in children across ages, and why their responses may not always match our expectations. Together, we will explore how self-compassion can offer steadiness in the midst of uncertainty. Participants will leave with simple, compassionate ways to support themselves as they support their children.

SPEAKER: Jennifer Vriend

Have you been on the receiving end of questions that are repetitive, hurtful or just plain unwelcome, such as “How did they die?” Did they have life insurance? or “Now that your wife is dead, are you going to date men again?”

In this interactive session, we’ll start by discussing how to deal with unwanted or hurtful comments and then flip the narrative to questions we DO want to answer such as “How did you meet?” What did you love about them? or “Do you have a fun vacation story to share?”

?SPEAKER: Justine Silver and Janice Martin

Finding hope and comfort when your belief system does not include an afterlife, a greater plan, or signs from deceased loved ones looking over us.

SPEAKER: Stacey Brown

Movement matters. Awaken your body and strengthen your mind while learning the basics of hula hooping in this playful movement class. Hula hooping is powerful movement medicine and can feel like pure joy. Discover this low-impact cardio activity and let your inner-child and dancer play. Let us creatively move together with great music in a safe community space. Zero experience necessary. Everybody is welcome. Wear comfy clothing you can move in.

?SPEAKER: Heather Couture

Not all marriages are perfect and not all deceased spouses are saints. Celebrating the normal, the flawed and the mundane.

SPEAKER: Steven Sousa

Julia will shine a light on the challenging and also positive aspects of navigating romance, sex, and dating after loss. Julia has spent 8 years in the dating world and has gained some key insights when it comes to navigating complicated emotions, the highs and lows of new desires, and the confusion that can come with cravings for love and affection. Dating culture can be intimidating and overwhelming. Julia believes in forward movement, community, and exciting new experiences in widowhood.

SPEAKER: Julia Sweetland

In this empowering workshop, board-certified Health Coach and Widower Christopher Batori challenges the notion that self-care is selfish. Participants will learn to reframe limiting beliefs, recognize their intrinsic worth, and take intentional steps toward personal joy and healing, paving the way for a revitalized sense of self and confidence.

SPEAKER: Christopher Batori

Widowhood is grieving the loss of a life-partner & the life that you lived together. How do we find new meaning and a new path in life that works? The Toolbox can help you explore and re-envisage your life. Through personal anecdotes, Rebecca & Neal will illustrate how these tools have helped them.

SPEAKER: Rebecca Simkin and Neal Abdool

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.

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SPEAKERS: Fiona Kay, Suza Hranilovic and Justine Silver

In this heartfelt and hopeful session, Lydia Knorr explores the idea that grief is not a sign of brokenness, but a reflection of how deeply we have loved. Lydia guides audiences through a compassionate reframe of loss, showing how moments of deep sorrow can become catalysts for personal meaning, healing and growth. With warmth, storytelling, and gentle wisdom, she invites attendees to honour their grief, embrace their capacity to love and step forward with renewed purpose and grace.

??SPEAKER: Lydia Knorr

Conferences are great, but none of us wants to be here. We all find ourselves on a road we never would have chosen to travel. Come to this presentation to find ideas and strategies to find your way down this road so hopefully you won't feel like you're lost forever.

?SPEAKER: Brent Bandhauer

In this interactive session, participants will discover how a simple summer bucket list can be a catalyst for change. Using a framework of HOPE: Honouring, Opening, Pursuing, and Evolving, participants will start creating their own intentional list blending together adventure, curiosity, courage, and personal growth. Leave with a clear inspiring plan to help get unstuck and create a meaningful summer. 

SPEAKER: Sharon Koch

Can you imagine yourself on a date? Do you even want to start dating again? What will your family and friends say if you decide to start dating again? Does it matter? What happens if you start dating and it doesn’t work out? Is it ok to choose not to date? What are your best hopes and worst fears about falling in love again? Join us for a panel discussion where you can hear from people navigating these issues.?

SPEAKERS: Catherine Stem, Suza Hranilovic,

Lighten your heart by learning a few basic line dances. Enjoy music, movement, and laughter in this interactive workshop. Please wear comfortable clothes and footwear/stocking feet.

SPEAKER: Allison Fleming

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

In this expressive arts presentation and experiential workshop, participants will explore the myths of two underworld goddesses: Persephone and Inanna. Through their journeys with grief, death, descent, and return, these goddesses undergo profound transformation. Using myth, archetypal reflection, expressive arts SoulCollage®, and journalling, participants will be invited to access their own inner wisdom and discover symbolic guidance for navigating grief.

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SPEAKER: Linda Shanti McCabe

The presentation will consist on some tips the presenter found while walking her way through widowhood. 3 questions form the framework of the presentation. The presenter continues to use these strategies today to live her best life. In addition, she has conducted informal surveys using these questions and will share results with the audience.

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SPEAKER: Margaret Andrzejewski

I was widowed at 34, and writing-memoir and poetry-helped me stand myself upright

again. I want to bring you the poetry of loss, and don’t let that sound too serious or

overly literary. Language is a powerful, flexible tool that can help us move through

emotion in ways we didn’t expect. In this workshop, we’ll go a little wild with words.

Through a series of playful, guided poetry exercises, you’ll get out of your head, quiet

your inner critic, and reconnect with your creative voice. You don’t need to be a writer-

you just need to be willing. Poetry can show up in unexpected places, and sometimes,

it’s there to catch you when you need it most. Come join me for a poetic journey

Please add this to your registration if you would like to bring a guest to the Saturday Banquet. All attendees at the banquet must have a ticket and are expected to be over 18. Selection of meal choice happens at the end of registration.

2.25” round custom tribute button featuring a photo of your loved one. This is a great way to carry your loved one with you at Camp and makes a unique keepsake of your Camp Widow experience.

Please log in to your event profile after registration to upload your photo.

As a heartfelt way to honour the spouses and partners we cherish, Camp Widow offers the chance to create a Tribute Tile. Each Tribute Tile features a photo you choose to honour your loved one. You can also include up to twelve words—whether it’s a meaningful phrase, a date, or a special combination of both. Our Memorial Coordinator will design and order the tiles, which will then be added to the Tribute Tile wall at Camp Widow.

Please log in to your event profile after registration to upload your photo/text.

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.