Events Archive - Page 56 of 61 - Rancho La Puerta
Events Calendar
Filter Gallery:
Show results
Types of Events:
Spa Services

If you’re ready to book all of your services, click the button below

Complete Spa Booking

Looking for something?

Use the search bar below to browse

Archives: Events

Stay Cool with Family Water Activities

Jenny McTaggart Laursen is a Personal Trainer, Group Fitness, TRX & Yoga Instructor.  She teaches Power, Gentle, & Yin Yoga, TRX & Bootcamps at The Bay Club Marin, in the San Francisco Area. She is passionate about helping people find the joy in their health and wellness routine and weaving it into their lifestyle. She first came to the Ranch when her mom brought her in 1993, and it has continued to be a place of retreat, reflection, and empowerment for her every time she visits. 2021’s blessing was that it allowed her to discover her love for personal training seniors. She was able to connect online and in person, allowing for fitness, and connection during a challenging time. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, weightlifting, & spending time with friends and family. She has three beautiful children, Ethan, Camilla, & Charlie.  Bring your family together and join at the end of the day for water activities, friendly competition, and tons of laughter!

 

Pickleball and Tennis

Jaimi Foster has been teaching tennis and pickleball in the US and Canada since 2012. Her family was one of the early adopters of pickleball and she holds several junior national pickleball titles. She first visited the Ranch last November and fell in love with the beautiful facilities and the welcoming community. She is so excited to be joining the coaching team this year for Family Week! In her free time Jaimi enjoys live music, paddleboarding and yoga. 

Exercise is Medicine for a Long and Healthy Life

Dr.  Robert Sallis offers four talks during the week:

  • Staying Safe with COVID at the Gym and Beyond
  • Exercise is Medicine: Why You Need to Take it Daily
  • Exercise and a Healthy Brain: What’s the Connection?
  • Fitness Vs Weight: What’s More Important for Your Health?

 

 

 

Robert Sallis, MD, FAAFP, FACSM is a family physician practicing at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, California, where he serves as Co-Director of their Sports Medicine Fellowship program.  He is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine.  He is a Past-President of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and currently chairs Exercise is Medicine™, a joint initiative of ACSM and the American Medical Association.  He also chaired the Healthcare Sector of the U.S. Physical Activity Plan and is the physician spokesperson for the “Every Body Walk!” campaign.  Dr. Sallis received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and his Medical Degree from Texas A&M University.  He completed his residency in Family Medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, CA, where he served as chief resident. He is the head team physician at Pomona College and Chairs the Ironman Sports Medicine Conference in Kona, Hawaii.  He is Board Certified in Family Medicine and also holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine.   Among his professional awards, he received the 2008 Community Leadership Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the 2009 Leonardo da Vinci award for international leadership in sports medicine from the Italian Federation of Sports Medicine (FMSI) and the 2011 Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Sallis was the founding editor-in-chief of ACSM’s clinical journal Current Sports Medicine Reports and currently serves as section editor for this journal.

Exercise is Medicine
Exercise and a Healthy Brain
Fitness vs. Weight
Managing Chronic Pain

Concert: Music, Magic and Mayhem

Marshall Chapman is a multi-hyphenated American treasure. The singer-songwriter-author-actress was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 7, 1949. To date, she has released fourteen critically acclaimed albums. Her 2013 release, Blaze of Glory, was hailed a masterpiece. And the Associated Press proclaimed her most recent Songs I Can’t Live Without (2020) “perhaps her best.” Chapman’s songs have been recorded by everyone from Emmylou Harris and Joe Cocker to Irma Thomas and Jimmy Buffett. In 2010, Chapman landed her first movie role, playing Gwyneth Paltrow’s road manager in Country Strong. During filming, her musical Good Ol’ Girls (adapted from the fiction of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, featuring songs by Matraca Berg and Marshall) opened off-Broadway. That fall, Chapman simultaneously

released a book (They Came to Nashville) and CD (Big Lonesome). They Came to Nashville was nominated for the 2011 SIBA Book Award for nonfiction, and the Philadelphia Inquirer named Big Lonesome “Best Country/Roots Album of 2010.” Of her three rockin’ albums for Epic, the Al Kooper-produced Jaded Virgin was voted Record of the Year (1978) by Stereo Review. Her album, It’s About Time… (Island, 1995), recorded live at the Tennessee State Prison for Women, drew rave reviews from Time, USA Today and the Village Voice. Chapman’s first book, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller (St. Martin’s Press) was a SIBA bestseller, 2004 SIBA Book Award finalist, and one of three finalists for the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. Chapman continues to land film roles:  Mississippi Grind (2015); Lovesong, which garnered glowing reviews at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival; Novitiate, which opened to rave reviews at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Marshall is a contributing editor to Garden & Gun. She’s also written for The Oxford American, Nashville Arts Magazine, Southern Living, W, Performing Songwriter, and The Bob Edwards Show (Sirius/XM). “But music,” she says, “is my first and last love.” Marshall was featured in “Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s” at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, through February 2022. Since Covid, Marshall has been livestreaming every Saturday at 1pm PT (4pm ET). Called “Perfect Imperfection,” these livestreams are free on FaceBook at ‘Marshall Chapman Music’.”

 

Concert: Music, Magic and Mayhem

Marshall Chapman is a multi-hyphenated American treasure. The singer-songwriter-author-actress was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 7, 1949. To date, she has released fourteen critically acclaimed albums. Her 2013 release, Blaze of Glory, was hailed a masterpiece. And the Associated Press proclaimed her most recent Songs I Can’t Live Without (2020) “perhaps her best.” Chapman’s songs have been recorded by everyone from Emmylou Harris and Joe Cocker to Irma Thomas and Jimmy Buffett. In 2010, Chapman landed her first movie role, playing Gwyneth Paltrow’s road manager in Country Strong. During filming, her musical Good Ol’ Girls (adapted from the fiction of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, featuring songs by Matraca Berg and Marshall) opened off-Broadway. That fall, Chapman simultaneously

released a book (They Came to Nashville) and CD (Big Lonesome). They Came to Nashville was nominated for the 2011 SIBA Book Award for nonfiction, and the Philadelphia Inquirer named Big Lonesome “Best Country/Roots Album of 2010.” Of her three rockin’ albums for Epic, the Al Kooper-produced Jaded Virgin was voted Record of the Year (1978) by Stereo Review. Her album, It’s About Time… (Island, 1995), recorded live at the Tennessee State Prison for Women, drew rave reviews from Time, USA Today and the Village Voice. Chapman’s first book, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller (St. Martin’s Press) was a SIBA bestseller, 2004 SIBA Book Award finalist, and one of three finalists for the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. Chapman continues to land film roles:  Mississippi Grind (2015); Lovesong, which garnered glowing reviews at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival; Novitiate, which opened to rave reviews at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Marshall is a contributing editor to Garden & Gun. She’s also written for The Oxford American, Nashville Arts Magazine, Southern Living, W, Performing Songwriter, and The Bob Edwards Show (Sirius/XM). “But music,” she says, “is my first and last love.” Marshall was featured in “Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s” at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville, through February 2022. Since Covid, Marshall has been livestreaming every Saturday at 1pm PT (4pm ET). Called “Perfect Imperfection,” these livestreams are free on FaceBook at ‘Marshall Chapman Music’.”

 

Get Healthier! Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Mediterranean Diet Resources

Get Healthier MEDI diet 2 sl page

 

 

Linda Illingworth, RDN, CSSD, is the Registered Dietitian at Lifewellness Institute, a medical practice specializing in wellness, where she provides clinical care and nutritional guidance for patients and corporate clients. An expert in functional nutrition, Linda is known for her practical advice to find the best nutritional path to achieve specific health goals.  As a certified specialist in Sports Nutrition, Linda also has specialized training in food sensitivities, supplementation, wellness, thyroid and cardiovascular nutrition.  Linda holds a B.S. in Nutrition from California State University Long Beach and completed her dietetic internship at St. Luke’s Hospital, Wisconsin. Linda is frequently consulted for her depth and breadth of nutritional knowledge, has developed nutrition curricula for popular destination health spas and National University. She consults for non-profit nutrition programs and can be found in print and online media.

 

Words with Rhythm- Hip Hop Workshop

Ever since Erin Miller was a child, he found immense joy in storytelling and acting. In 2009 he finally decided to attend the school of storytelling at Emerson College where he obtained his certificate of storytelling. He went on to apply his skills as a storyteller to his spoken word performances and eventually, into becoming a Hip-Hop emcee, producer, arranger, and band leader.  With more than 15 years of working in the music industry, Erin has honed his craft as a storyteller and modern day bard by turning spoken-word and stories into intricate sound productions and stage performances.  His fusion band, Subconscious Culture is still ongoing, and their new album, “What Separates Us” is out now on all streaming platforms. In the last three years, Erin Miller has been working on honing his skills as an audiobook narrator, voice actor, and producer. He is also the author and voice talent of his new podcast series, “Betwixt the Veil”.  A fantasy, in which once a month, will delve into a world where magic, mystery, and myths come to life. Prepare to embark on a journey through our known world, into those of the fey, and beyond! A world where creatures that were thought to be legends, walk among us; where magic, conjures, crafts create our existence! This showcases his talent as a narrator, writer, and storyteller bringing to you quality content that will keep you wanting more. Occasionally throughout this journey, you will have the opportunity to experience some dazzling and delightfully collaborative short stories written by a guest author, and narrated by Erin Miller alongside guest story tellers.

 

 

Talilo Marfil Is a West Bisayan, Filipino-American Hip Hop Artist and Teacher residing in The Rose City, Portland, Oregon. He has shared the stage with Afroman, Spice One, Andre Nickatina, Gift of Gab, Lighter shades of Brown, and Baby Bash.

For the past decade, he has dedicated his life to providing the next generation with the tools to express their own stories. In 2014 he was instrumental in throwing Stories from the streets at Pioneer square, a benefit show for NAFY’s music Program AMP serving homeless youth in the Portland Metro Area.  Combining his passions for music, video, and teaching, Co-founded Cypher Cure in 2016 and currently sits on the board of OTF.

He then started a youth center called Ascending Flow in Klamath Falls, Oregon focused on mentoring marginalized youth. He threw a celebratory grand opening bringing hip hop to their Third Thursday event for the first time in its Towns History. Now back in Portland, in partnership with New Narrative, he has opened up Ascending Flow on 122nd focused on mentoring Foster Alums aging out of the DHS system on their path to independence and connecting music and expression at the forefront of their work.

 

 

Gong Immersion Sound Meditation

Please dress in comfortable clothing. You are encouraged to create your own sacred space with crystals, prayer beads, a picture/item with special significance to you, or a favorite blanket/pillow in your space.

Whether you are lying down, seated, or quietly moving with breath awareness as the sounds/vibrations of the gongs reach you, our energy will journey inward as our thoughts focus on the myriad sounds of the gongs. Our body will move into a restful, relaxing journey as our spirit-self joyfully comes to the forefront to share its magnificence, stillness, and peace. Gong travelers experience a sense of release, renewal, and rejuvenation. Considering the beautiful and acoustically tuned space we’ll immerse in, Ken is beyond grateful to have the opportunity to open the portals to the music of the spheres with your being, intention, and the incredible tribe we’ll create as a community of sound travelers at the Ranch.

 

 

 

Kenneth Goff is a Gong Whisperer and percussionist whose connection with sound opens the portal to our hearts. He holds an Associate Degree in Asian Body Work/Massage from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. His training and experiences as a Holistic Health Practitioner, meditation guide, yoga instructor and Reiki Master drew his intuitive being to the gongs. Ken’s work in multiple healing modalities broadened his understanding of how sound affects our mind, body and spirit inner journey.

 

Ken’s sound therapy offerings utilize gongs, singing bowls, chimes and other percussion instruments to create a safe and supportive space to focus the mind, relax the body and connect spirit to your personal intention for the event. Ken has traveled the country with his gongs and has shared his sound offerings throughout the United States, including the Ranch in 2020, Healing Touch’s Worldwide Conferences in Chicago, Charlotte and San Diego, as well as at the Won Buddhism Meditation Temple in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Locally, Ken has offered sound explorations at San Diego’s Festival of Yoga and Fermentation Festivals, the Japanese Friendship Garden, San Diego Art Institute, and several San Diego yoga studios. In 2018, Ken was selected by MettaMindfulnessMusic.com to record his gongs for the Root Chakra Guided Meditation on the Voyage Through the Chakras CD set and The Deep Earth Chant on the 2022 Sacred Spiral CD. Ken’s immersions open a portal to connect those who journey with the gongs to the balancing/healing elements of the music of the spheres. Gong immersions can be meditative, clearing, releasing and openings to new shifts in life. Ken will ask you to set a personal/private intention to manifest, balance, or to release something that does not serve your journey.

 

Ken is the owner of InXlation, his San Diego based company, through which he offers gong immersions, massage, energy work, and meditation services.

Arts and Crafts

Silk Shibori Scarf Dying
Using shibori, an ancient Japanese dying technique, children will create beautiful silk scarves with a variety of patterns. Tie them around your neck or around your hair!

 

Picasso Cubism Portraits
Through turning geometric shapes into facial features, children will express their artistic vision in the style of Pablo Picasso. Plenty of examples will be provided for inspiration.

 

 

Rubber Band Jewelry
Children will weave unique bracelets, anklets, and necklaces from a rainbow of rubber bands and beads. A colorful gift for yourself, friends, and family!

 

 

 

Mallory Newbern is a recent graduate of Rice University and a long-time art lover. Drawing is her specialty, and she is fascinated by vibrant color and contrast. In 2021, Mallory assembled a one-woman show to hang in Little Rock, Arkansas. The show consisted of over 25 pieces, from colored pencil portraits to abstract resin paintings. Mallory enjoys working with children and sharing her passion with others.

Hands On Cooking Class with Theo Stephan

Theo offers hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta, our culinary center, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 4pm.

 

Tuesday Hands-On Cooking Class 4:00 PM Sign Up
Each class $125+tax. Class subject to change, check your weekly planner and schedule for updates. The maximum number of guests per class is 14.

Wednesday Hands-On Cooking Class 4:00 PM Sign Up
Each class $125+tax. Class subject to change, check your weekly planner and schedule for updates. The maximum number of guests per class is 14.

Thursday Hands-On Cooking Class 4:00 PM Sign Up
Each class $125+tax. Class subject to change, check your weekly planner and schedule for updates. The maximum number of guests per class is 14.

 

 

 

 

Theodora (Theo) Stephan was the first to plant olive trees in Santa Barbara county, California, for Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in 1996. She is celebrating her 24th harvest season this year and was awarded “Olive Oil Sommelier” (one of less than 300 in the world) in 2019. Theo’s brand, Global Gardens, offers 12 different varietal EVOO’s, 20 hand-crafted balsamic-style wine vinegars, organic snacks and a myriad of pantry items made from her formulas. She was the first in the US to create an olive oil subscription program. Educating people on the nuances of cooking and baking with fresh olive oil is a great passion of Theo’s. She specializes in creating full-flavored Mediterranean Diet (on which she was raised by Greek-American parents) cuisine. She has written two popular cookbooks and has been featured prominently in the Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Food and Wine, Bon Appétit, Mother Earth, Home and Family TV show, Oprah, Martha Stewart blogs and many more.

Concerts with Jim Buhisan

Studio and professional guitarist Jim L. Buhisan has been performing music for 46 years. You will be listening to Carlos Santana, Flamenco, Classical, smooth Jazz, and some originals that he wrote and dedicated to his second home, Rancho La Puerta.

Visual Fitness 4 All: Engaging Creativity & Insight®

Develop your visual fitness by exercising and building your creative muscles while greatly enhancing your observational skills. Enjoy unique interactive conversations and fun hands-on experiences that will engage you in SEEING MORE in art and life at Rancho La Puerta.

 

Reading Frida Kahlo: How Does Her Art Speak?
Experience an interactive, new way of understanding art by unlocking the unique ideas and feelings embedded in a painting by Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), one of the most influential Mexican painters of the 20th century. You will gain insight as you develop and quickly master essential observation skills by carefully reading the Form+Theme+Context (FTC) ® of Frida’s artworks to interpret Kahlo’s life and art.
FTC-Fridia-2022 2019 Conceptual Blockbusting Art and Other Subjects

 

Conversing with Mexican Art: Up Close and Personal (Day 1)
Engage in a hands-on, multi-sensory workshop to experience a guided, in-depth personal “conversation” with a postcard-sized reproduction to meanings in a Mexican work of art.  Using a packet of playful materials and creative strategies, each participant explores an artwork to reveals its layers of meaning.  This fun workshop concludes with an opportunity for lively group sharing of observations and discoveries.
Art and Other Subjects

 

Visual Fitness for Inner Strength: Hands-On Access to Your Creativity (Day 2 and 3)
Develop your innate creative skills in this hands-on workshop that uses Marking & Mapping® to discover your “visual voice” and “inner artist” as you engage in visual meditation and warm-up exercises.  Have fun making playful marks using unique art tools that help you create a “spiritual” life map of your virtues and intentions reflecting meaningful words, images, and events.  This eye-opening experience requires absolutely no previous art experience and results in a special souvenir to take home. Join us and surprise yourself!
2019 Conceptual Blockbusting

 

 

 

Inspired by her profound experiences creating art and presenting at the Ranch for over 20 years, Renee Sandell’s Visual Fitness program is the result of her over 45 years of art teaching experience in classrooms and museums. Believing in the power of art to facilitate human interaction, transformation and healing, Renee’s art, teaching, and research focus on Visual Fitness 4 All–as explored in her podcast podcast https://bit.ly/2FvKepc  A retired university professor, Sandell is the author of three books and multiple publications.  She was founder/director of SummerVision DC—a museum-based, intensive bootcamp program she led for a decade. Sandell has received awards for her Form+Theme+Context (FTC)® methodology as a Balanced Way of Seeing®.  Sandell’s Visual Fitness courses and “workouts” are dedicated to engaging Creativity and Insight® in everyone, everywhere.  She currently teaches for Smithsonian Associates Studio Arts, Yellow Barn Studio, and other organizations.  See her recent YouTube video interview.

Natural and Cultural History of our Region

Where Am I? The Fascinating Natural and Cultural History of Tecate, Baja California and Mexico
Have you ever been curious to know more about Tecate, Baja California, Mexico? Michael Wilken takes us on a whirlwind journey from ancient times to the present, including the formation of the peninsula of Baja California millions of years ago, the indigenous ancestors who thrived in local landscapes, the prehistoric civilizations of mainland Mexico, the history of European conquest and colonization, struggles for independence and revolution, the wild frontier of Tecate and Baja California, and the emergence of the modern republic of Mexico.

 

Plus Interpretive Nature Walks

 

 

 

Anthropologist Michael Wilken has developed lifelong collaborative relationships with native artists and traditional authorities to foster cultural revitalization and sustainable community development. Wilken’s fascination with native plants and the natural landscapes of the Californias has inspired him to explore the many ways that humans have interacted with their environments, from the ancient past, into the present. Mike is the author of Kumeyaay Ethnobotany: Shared Heritage of the Californias.

 

All-In with Lorraine – Texas Hold‘em Poker

All levels, come try your hand at Texas Hold ‘em Poker as Lorraine teaches the fundamentals of this popular game. Have fun and learn how to play confidently with friends and in tournaments. 

Fun with Poker – Basics of Texas Hold ‘em
The Introductory sessions will cover the rules and basic strategy, preparing Ranch guests for the open Hold ‘em tournament later in the week. Practice games will be included. 

More Fun with Poker – Beyond Basics of Texas Hold ‘em
The Intermediate session will explore more advanced topics that with practice can help get you ready for a seat at any poker table. Practice games will be included. 

Most-Fun Finale – Rancho La Puerta Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament
Class participants and other Ranch guests are invited to participate in the fun and friendly poker tournament. Prizes will be given for top placements. All skill levels are welcome! 

 

Lorraine Clayton is the co-founder of All-In Academy Poker LLC, running in-person and online poker training/tournaments, as well as the founder and a regular player in a long-standing monthly home poker game playing cash and tournament formats. She has played in various casino poker tournaments, including one at Rancho La Puerta in 2013, where she took 3rd place.

Board member and active participant in numerous charities, career in technical project management, volunteer at celebrity and PGA golf tournaments, recreational golfer, and poker enthusiast, Lorraine loves living in beautiful San Diego and has an adult son living in the Los Angeles area. She has also helped organize multiple charity poker events.

Violin Duets

A Chinese native, Jing Yan Boycott’s musical talent has taken her throughout China, Europe and the United States. Encouraged by her musical parents, Ms. Yan began playing violin at age seven and won her first violin competition at age 10. She later entered Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music and continued her studies with a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London. After graduating with top honor “Distinction” and Royal Academy’s highest diploma for her outstanding final performance, Ms. Yan continued her study in the US with world-renowned violin professor Mauricio Fuks at Indiana University. As an orchestra musician, Jing Yan has worked with orchestras including Beijing Symphony, London Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and Chicago Civic Orchestra. Her chamber music collaborations include Chicago Symphony Orchestra MusicNOW, La Jolla Music Festival, Orchestra Nova and California Chamber Orchestra. She is the winner of the 1st Neimeng Violin Competition, Winifred solo competition and the “Royal Academy Soloist” award in 1999 and 2001. Ms. Yan joined San Diego Symphony in 2005.

 

Pei-Chun Tsai, from Tainan, Taiwan, is two-time first-prize winner of the Taiwan National Violin Competition. She has performed in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. Pei-Chun has participated in many music festivals in the United States and Europe. After receiving Bachelor and Master’s degrees in violin performance from The Juilliard School, she completed her Doctorate in Musical Arts from the City University of New York. Pei-Chun is the founder and director of the Campanile Music Festival at San Diego State University where she curates innovative residencies of visiting artists from across the country. Recent guests include the Formosa Quartet and Brooklyn Rider. Pei-Chun has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2006. As a violin lecturer at San Diego State University, Pei-Chun performs with the San Diego State University Chamber orchestra regularly. She has recently released her solo violin album “Chaconnes” which you can find on Apple Music or Spotify.

Mexican Beat Outdoor Concert

Yam Beat is a duet from the bicultural city of Tijuana bordering San Diego. Yamel Kuri, soprano, and Erich Otero, pianist, have a culturally varied repertoire. For this occasion, they have prepared a set of special songs for Tuesday’s Mexican Fiesta.

 

¡Lotería! Origins and Practices of the Mexican Bingo

La lotería is known as “the Mexican bingo” in the US. Although this board game and the American bingo have a common Italian ancestor, over the centuries they evolved into two different games, being the most obvious difference the rich images of la lotería versus the numbers in bingo. These images make la lotería a very powerful and artistic game, but also controversial since they reflect the values, fears, and prejudices in Mexican culture.

This audiovisual program explains how la lotería and bingo evolved from the 16th-century gambling practice Il gioco del lotto d’Italia, into a family-oriented board game. It also traces the various sources of la lotería images, such as The Game of the Goose and tarot. Last but not least, it draws attention to the humorous, poetic, and occasionally “spicy” verses used by the card-caller —el gritón— to call the cards during a traditional lotería game session.

The program ends with a live performance of an early 20th-century ballad, Corrido de la lotería, composed by popular artist José Guadalupe Posada, the creator of the well-known Day of the Dead skeletons.

 

 

 

Dr. Gloria Arjona is an active lecturer on the little-known chapters of Mexico’s history and traditions, in particular those dealing with race and gender.   Dr. Arjona teaches Spanish language and literature at California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena. She is the author of Posadas Unknown Calaveras (Floricanto Press, 2020), ¡Lotería! (Floricanto Press, 2020), and her upcoming children’s book The Story of Selena Quintanilla (Rockridge Press, 2022). She is also a published translator and a singer.

Website: www.gloriaarjona.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gloria.arjona.7

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musica_y_cultura/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArjonaGloria

Artslb: http://artslb.org/artists/gloria-arjona/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GloriaArjonalastresraices

Get Your Nature Groove On!

 Be Dazzled by Signs of Wildlife Up Close and Personal
Examine a variety of nature items and explore some of nature’s mysteries. Learn about native plants and their uses for medicines, shelter and food by Native Americans. Be awed by this nature exploration presentation, as Naturalist Educator Extraordinaire, Judie Lincer, shares fascinating wildlife tales and tidbits. Examine Barn Owl pellets, peer through scopes to see a magnified world that we don’t get to experience in everyday life. Learn about what wildlife and native plants live around Rancho La Puerta. Be dazzled by what we so often overlook that is right below our feet!. Judie will also share her “Museum in a Box” where you can examine a number of interesting nature items found out on trail and strategies of how to identify what you find (e.g., coyote, bobcat and scat, Barn Owl pellets, wasp galls, and interesting native plants that were used for a variety of purposes).

Join Judie for:
Bird Nest Building (Family)
Nature Scavenger Hunt ( 7–9 years-old)
Birding with Binoculars (10-12 years-old)
Nature Journaling (13 -17 years-old)
Whose Scat is That and Other Signs of Wildlife (Family)

 

 

 

Judie Lincer, M.S. Ed., is a Naturalist Educator with San Diego Audubon, who has over 25 years of teaching experience and guides hikes teaching about ecosystems, adaptations, ethnobotany (the study of a region’s plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture). She is an enthusiastic speaker who teaches scientific-inquiry skills and inspires others to develop an appreciation of the environment and diverse ecosystems. Judie is a Workshop and Tour Director for the California Native Plant Society-San Diego, which educates the public about the benefits and beauty of using native plants in creating habitat in landscaping.

Concerts by am Meer Duo

Program #1 (Monday Evening): An Evening of Sonatas with am Meer Duo

Program #2 (Thursday Evening): A Musical Potpourri with am Meer Duo

 

 

The am Meer Duo, featuring pianist Ashley Zhang and saxophonist Andrew Steinberg, is reimagining instrumental repertoire in the twenty-first century. With a cosmopolitan taste that blends contemporary compositions with cornerstones of the past, the duo has performed recitals across the globe and premiered over a dozen works. Since its founding in 2016, am Meer’s pioneering efforts for new music have brought them to China, Russia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and throughout the United States to premiere major works by Vinko Globokar, Hayes Biggs, Ursula Mamlok, Hans Kox, Eric Moe, Tera de Marez Oyens, Steven Stucky, and John Worley. Most recently, am Meer performed at the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (Boston, MA) and Los Angeles City College. Alongside performance activities, the duo is active in education, presenting master classes and lectures at Lehigh University, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), the North American Saxophone Alliance, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Georgia State University. Upcoming engagements include performances and outreach activities in San Diego, New York, Paris, and London.

Meditation and Human Flourishing

Meditation is not what you think it is. It’s much more. Perhaps you’ve tried meditation, but you just couldn’t do it. Perhaps you couldn’t fit it into a hectic schedule, or you were overcome by a restless monkey-mind. You gave up more than once in frustration or boredom. In the news, media, and from friends you hear about the benefits of this practice, but you never experienced these for yourself. Dr. Elliott Dacher will share his unique perspective as a trained physician and lifelong meditator. He will demonstrate, with clear scientific evidence, personal experience, and precise instructions what wise women and men have long understood – effective meditation has the power to heal the body at gross and subtle levels, awaken your mind, and ignite your spirit. It offers that illusive “more to Life.” This experiential and five-session progressive program will provide you with the understandings and skills that will enable you to develop a successful meditation practice, experience its full benefits, and effectively integrate it into in your daily life.

 

  • Meditation: The Meeting of Science and Spirit
  • The Technique, Practice, and Three Stages of Meditation Practice
  • Overcoming the Overactive Mind Cultivating and Abandoning: Creating a Healthy Human Life
  • The Cause and Final Remedy for Mental Stress, Distress, and Suffering
  • Human Flourishing: Enduring Happiness, Serenity, and Freedom. Resources to Take Home to Progress in One’s Practice

 

 

 

Elliott S. Dacher, M.D. practiced internal medicine for 20 years before pursuing an extensive education in Eastern psychology and practices amongst the wise healers of Asia. His last book –Aware, Awake, Alive is the course text. He is a past fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a past advisory board member of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. A frequent presenter and seminar leader, his previous books include: Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing (Basic Books, 2006), Whole Healing (Dutton/Plume, 1996), and Intentional Healing (Marlowe, 1996). Currently he teaches and counsels individuals seeking a larger health and life.

 

Health Topics

It’s an ongoing journey to care for the Temple of our body/mind field. Since we are snowflakes, what is medicine for one person or in one chapter is not necessarily useful for another. Let’s spend these days having a discussion on low-hanging fruit, lifestyle hacks, ancient wisdom and modern opportunities with time for Q&A along the way.

 

Possible topics to explore:

Qi/ Prana/ Energy

Everything is information to our field…what to do with that info

The basics of air, water, food

The poop report and other biofeedback

Yang Shang, Chinese medicine insights into nourishing health

Dinacharya and Rituacharya, Ayurvedic medicine insights into daily and seasonal routines

Favorite apps, wearables, etc.

 

 

Erin E. Raskin, DACM, L.Ac.
Doctor Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
Director, Inpatient Integrative Medicine

Dr. Raskin has been with The Center for Integrative Medicine since 2014 setting up the Integrative Medicine services of acupuncture and massage for the inpatient setting of UCSDH hospitals. She delivers inpatient acupuncture weekly and piloted acupuncture in the Emergency Department. Erin orchestrated The MedSerenity Channel is available on all inpatient televisions providing relaxing music and nature images around the clock. Dr. Raskin also has an appointment as a clinician at UCSD Student Health Services.

In addition, Erin’s eco-friendly office is in San Diego where she is and has been in private practice since 1992. She joined the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine faculty in 1995 and was a clinical supervisor at San Diego Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine, Seniors Clinic and Veterans Clinic. Erin piloted acupuncture for pain management at Kaiser Permanente. For decades she has been a health and wellness educator to her patients, students and the public on various topics; a host for the Death Café and during Covid led many Self Care with Self Massage workshops. Erin has been involved in various aspects of meditation, yoga, nutrition, Ayurveda and Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) for over 40 years. In 1988, Erin was certified as a Hatha Yoga teacher and enrolled in the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco. She studied in China, India & America, apprenticed with Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan for 10 years and is a lifelong student of ancient Eastern healing arts and modern science, blending wisdom from different healing traditions. Erin cultivates her own Qi with many self-care activities including yoga, meditation, cooking, ceramics, singing, art, reading, solitude, nature, walking, time with hubby, family and friends.

 

Color Journals:  Learning to See Color with Fresh Eyes

This workshop will focus our attention on the color environment in and around Rancho La Puerta with the aim of increasing our observational acuity and color perception while examining the emotional, cultural and personal foundations of our chromatic preferences.  The workshop will be modular, with daily activities. The workshop will utilize simple materials and will be designed for non-experts to have success while stretching their understanding of how we see color and how it can be used.  Participants who attend multiple sessions will accumulate pages within a color journal that will be a visual record of their color experiences at Rancho La Puerta.

 

Hand Binding a Sketchbook
Participants will make an Italian-style hand sewn sketchbook/notebook that we will fill with the color exercises over the course of the week.  (Anyone who doesn’t attend the first session can still participate in any of the later sessions!) 90 mins

 

Color Perception:  New Eyes
We will discuss and observe the ways that our eyes and our minds collaborate to create the perception of color.  We will experiment with color combinations using paper collage to examine the ways that color can change dramatically based on context. 75 mins

 

Color Preferences:  Learning to Love All Colors
We will discuss our emotional reactions to colors and the reasons for those feelings.  We will practice recontextualizing colors to turn even the most disliked colors into combinations that we can appreciate. 75 mins

 

Complicated Color:  Looking Closer
We will experiment with optical mixing to color match the myriad complex color combinations that make up the colors of natural objects.  We will test our ability to remember colors accurately, then expand our color perception through extremely close observation of plants, rocks, etc., from the grounds. 75 mins

 

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Color:  Color Truths and Color Lies
We will discuss the differences between natural and artificial colors.  We will make watercolor paints out of locally found materials and natural pigments, discuss the various visual, physical and tactile qualities of “real” colors versus “fake” colors, and make a visual record of some of the colors found at Ranch La Puerta. 75 mins

 

 

 

Clayton Merrell grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. He holds an MFA from the Yale School of Art and received a Fulbright Grant for research and creative work in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1996-97.  His work is exhibited widely, with recent exhibitions at: the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Penn State University; Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh PA; the A+D Gallery, Chicago; the Westmoreland Museum of Art, and the Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua NY.  His work is in the collections of the American Embassy in Belmopan, Belize, the Smithsonian Museum, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and numerous private and corporate collections.  He was the 2005 Artist of the Year at The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and in 2016 was named Creator-of-the-Year by the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He has received awards and grants from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Skowhegan, The Millay Colony, Blue Mountain Center, Vermont Studio Center, and the Roswell Artist-In-Residence Foundation.  In 2015, the Pittsburgh International Airport completed a 69,000 sq. ft. terrazzo floor based on his design.  He is currently the Dorothy L. Stubnitz Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, where he teaches Color, Painting, Drawing and Concept Studios. www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~cmerrell/

INHALE LIFE! Breathflow Wellness

Let Christian guide you on a fantastical journey into the inner realms of your being, using the most powerful tool for transformation endowed to every person on this planet—your BREATH! Energize and relax the body, free yourself from emotional baggage, and open to the blissful connection to your higher self, your intuition, and creativity, as you are directed in the process of Breathflow Integrative Breathing. Learn the technique, be guided through the session, and share your experiences together at the end of the program. Bring something to lie down on the ground and a blanket or covering if you tend to get chilly.

 

 

For the past 15 years, R. Christian Minson has been an International Speaker, Best-Selling Contributing Author, Trainer, Coach, and the Founder of Breathflow Wellness International, a world-renowned transformational holistic health and wellness platform to share the life-changing techniques of breathwork.

A former Monk, Christian spent 10 years in the Yogic Monastery of Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogi), in Los Angeles to serve in the dissemination of Yogananda’s writings and teachings, including Kriya Yoga.

After years of searching for the deeper meaning of life in the Monastery, Christian now teaches and guides others to find meaning in their own personal and professional lives by delivering inspiration and practical real-world tools that result in higher levels of vibration, creation, alignment, fulfillment, and performance.

Christian was formerly the Resident Director of the Breathwork Program at RYTHMIA Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica, specializing in fusing ancient wisdom and modern techniques for healing and creating a life you love.

Christian has worked alongside the well-known thought leader, Gregg Braden, and has shared his message and techniques across the globe—including the Middle East, Europe, Mexico, Canada, and all over the USA. He has shared his message with entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, princesses, billionaires, celebrities and athletes, students, and everyday seekers of a better way of life.  Visit his website at www.breathflow.com.

Links
Website: www.breathflow.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/r.christian.minson

Facebook Biz Page: https://www.facebook.com/Inhale-LifeBreathflowR-Christian-Minson-118882114840992/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r_christian_minson_breathes/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeflowson

 

 

 

Writing Workshop

Writing Workshop: How to Tell Your Story
Have you ever wanted to write your stories for your family or for publication? Firoozeh Dumas, author of two New York Times bestselling memoirs will show you how can tell your story. Bring your questions! Bring your stories! Bring yourself! My classes are fun but thought-provoking and will stay with you long after you leave the room.

 

How I Became a New York Times Bestseller: A Very Improbable Story
An evening with Firoozeh Dumas

 

 

 

Firoozeh Dumas is a New York Times Bestselling author and humorist. She has written three books, articles for the New York Times, a one-woman show, pieces for National Public Radio and is currently working on a screenplay. Firoozeh is a storyteller who believes that everyone has a story to tell and everyone’s story counts. In addition to her writing, Firoozeh is active on the lecture circuit, traveling the world reminding her audiences that our commonalities far outweigh our differences, and doing so with humor.