Plainly said, as a woman, there is something distinctive about being in the company of other women. Whether in small or large groups the atmosphere changes and one can easily obtain a relaxed, let your hair down kind of feeling.

The first ever Her Festival which will take place from October 11th through the 14th and held at the beautiful event venue of Mountain Star Estate, aims to harness this feeling of sisterhood by bringing women together for a long celebratory weekend.  A maximum of 50 women will gather at the estates lake view property where gatherings focused on creativity and collaboration will take place in between shared meals and inspiring conversation. It’s a chance for many to get a reprieve from their day to day work life or urban setting. After enjoying a large variety of both mental and physical workshops, participants will enjoy the scenic walking trails, the fire pit, and of course the good company. All of this will be in the hopes of building upon their sense of community while also serving to bring forth a clearer vision of their own inner traits as sources of both strength and beauty.

Stephanie Chee Barea, a yoga practitioner and educator for 20 years, founder of Her Festival, as well as the founder, owner and operator of mela.yoga, a sacred learning space in the San Francisco Bay area, seeks to create a community of lifelong learners and practitioners. Having grown up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, she comes from a long maternal ancestry that dates back to Maine as far back as the 1600s. In addition, she is very familiar to the Rangeley area where she spent a good deal of time visiting her aunt and uncle, Priscilla and Brian St. Louis of Sunrise View Farms. During her youth she spent countless hours playing in the woods with her cousins Jonathan Adkins and Heather Adkins Downey. Having learned how to ski at Saddleback and how to canoe on Rangeley Lake she has come to fully appreciate the benefits of learning in a wildly beautiful and natural environment.

Her Festival founder Stephanie Chee Barea

 

Having led her first yoga retreat back in 2004, she has since then brought groups of students to exotic locations such as Bali and Costa Rica. Then, in 2018, while leading a women’s weekend, her beliefs on the power of creating “a brave space to tell our stories and heal the wounds that separate us as women”  became the spark for her idea for Her Festival.

When asked if she intends to make this an annual event she responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes, without a doubt. I love this area and want to continue to uplift and empower this community, bringing others here to experience it and weaving us all together in sacred appreciation for nature, joy and love”.

At the time of writing this piece there are only a handful of spots available. With discounts for year-round residents, there has been a great local response. For more information you may contact Stephanie Chee Barea, founder of Her Festival by email at stephanie@her-festival.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.