T hose looking for an alternative to your traditional Halloween activities may want to consider stopping by Heron Brook Haven in Pawlet this Sunday.
The not-for-profit Healing and Teaching Center will hold its first-ever annual Fall Event from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, at the center, located on 432 Kelley Hill Road.
The all-day family-friendly event will feature vendors, workshops, dance and musical performances, children’s activities and a variety of refreshments.
The event is meant to educate local residents about the services available at the center.
“I want to spread awareness about what is happening here,” said event organizer and the center’s founder, Jana Mason.
According to Mason, Heron Brook Haven is a spiritual, healing and teaching center dedicated to helping others recover and heal.
The center offers a variety of traditional and holistic healing methods for people who have experienced some sort of trauma or abuse.
“A lot of what I do is very earth-based,” Mason said. “It’s traditional and sacred.”
Mason said many people don’t understand what holistic healing is.
“I’d like to dispel the myths of what holistic healing is,” she said.
Many of the day’s activities will touch upon some of the programs the center offers.
Throughout the day there will be several workshops, including Self Massage, Nutritional Wellness, Soul Writing and other methods of healing.
“Soul writing is giving you prompts to write about,” Mason said. “It shows you ways to unlock some of the things going on inside.”
Other activities include Tarot Readings and Reiki throughout the day and a pair of live performances from the Shakti Tribal Dancers from Green Mountain College.
“There will also be a kid’s area where children can build fairy houses and dream catchers, color, paint, and play games,” Mason said.
However, the big event of the day is a workshop, and later a concert, by Telling Point.
Telling Point is a self-described “tribal rock” band from Cleveland, Ohio, consisting of two women who perform a variety of musical genres incorporating drums and guitar.
The group will lead a drum workshop in the afternoon and a concert later in the evening.
Following their performance, the day will conclude with a Community Fire Circle where people will have the opportunity to share stories, poetry and music.
Besides illustrating the services and programs the center offers, the event is also intended to serve as a fundraiser.
According to Mason, the center recently became a non-profit and she is hoping to raise money to fund a scholarship program.
She said many insurance companies will not cover holistic methods of healing, so she hopes to raise money to provide opportunities to those who are suffering and cannot afford the healing.
Her long-term goal is to establish a residential program that will allow people to stay at the center for longer periods of time while they heal.
Although there are several issues remaining, she hopes to start the residential program by next year.
The cost of admission is $20 for adults, $10 for anyone ages 7 to 12 and free for anyone six and under. Admission includes all workshops and presentations.
“It should be a lot of fun,” Mason said. “The more people, the merrier.”
