Workshops/Entertainment/Education

The Prayer Arrow is something that you create with intention. You can either write a goal for yourself or a prayer for someone you know, or it can even be a thank you put out into the universe. Tim provides all the supplies to make the prayer arrow; a stick or branch, yarn, crystal, feathers, […]

Yarn Painting is a celebrated folk art of Mexico that is admired and collected around the world. Our very own Tim Hinchliff is probably one of the few non Huichol art masters of this beautiful artistic expression.

We don’t just help you feed your mind and soul at Rancho La Puerta. More than sixty years of culinary creativity, experimentation and dietary research in our kitchens have culminated in a superb, all-natural diet. Largely vegetarian, it is low in fat, sodium, and refined flour and sugar — while high in energy, fiber, and […]

Each week, we invite noted guest speakers, talented performers and workshop leaders—authors, politicians, musicians, artists and other leaders in their fields—to present afternoon learning experiences and evening lectures. Our own staff members are experts in many fields and may also present exciting evening lectures. Recent topics, for example, include a travel narrative and slide show […]

Friday night farewell dinner featuring live music and dancing. Our own Ranch Band performs every Friday night during dinner, after which we all push back the chairs and let loose.

Movies every night: First-rate feature films are chosen by our staff are shown on a giant screen television in the library lounge.

Bingo! A hilarious event with a cult-like following, the evening is part stand-up comedy routine and part game, where everyone gives themselves permission to have fun and laugh at themselves and with one another.

Evening entertainment at the Ranch includes guest-star performers, most often virtuoso musicians and singers. Broadway veterans, songwriters, dance troupes, and others present cabaret-like shows after dinner.

Encounter your own creative genius at a jewelry-making class, where you’ll be dazzled by giant bowlfuls of colorful, eclectic beads from which the creative possibilities are nearly endless. Twist some wire and you’ve got a pair of earrings. String some beads and you’ve got a necklace. Incorporate both and you’ve got a zipper-pull. No need […]

What better place to learn to sketch a landscape than at Rancho La Puerta, with its abundance of trees, rocks, wildlife and proximity to Mount Kuchumaa? Erase the idea that you’re not artistically inclined –guests will learn strategies on “seeing clearly” – how to observe light and dark and build a composition from sketches before […]

Described by resident artist Jennifer Brandt as “the medium of happy accidents,” watercolor is a class in art and patience. Students will learn abstract techniques and will create up to 10 small paintings per class – the smaller the paper, the lower the anxiety level for anyone who has always wanted to create art but […]

You won’t be slapping together mud pies here. Unlock the mysteries of molding clay at one of our Sculpture classes. You will be instructed on how to form heads and torsos out of a shapeless mound of clay and learn the techniques and tools of the trade. (This class uses a non-hardening clay, so you […]

Open studio is an opportunity for self-guided creative work, with help and encouragement from our resident artist.  Guests are welcome to work on any unfinished projects from the week’s art classes (sculpture, watercolor, yarn painting, etc.).  An assortment of supplies will be available for sketching or watercolor painting.  Render a still life of fresh produce […]