Children and Youth at Naramata Centre

Children and youth programs at Naramata Centre are rooted in the Centre’s purpose, spiritual identity and core values of collaboration, diversity, reverence, integrity, and resilience. Our leaders create welcoming spaces where young people can explore connection to self, others, the natural world, and the sacred. Kids and teens are not just along for the ride. They are part of the community.

Quick details

Morning program
Begins with all-ages singing, followed by age specific program time. 

Age groups
Child and Youth Programs for ages 5 to 17
Childminding for ages 2 to 4

Fees
Summer Session fee for ages 5 to 17 is $225 per child or youth per week
Childminding for ages 2 to 4 is an optional add on at $175 per child per week

A Day in the Life at Naramata

Mornings begin together. Children, youth, families, and staff gather on the Commons lawn for a joyful community welcome, filled with singing, movement, and shared presence. A grounding way to start the day.

Following all ages opening time, children and youth who are registered in a program head off with their peers and leaders.

Mornings are filled with creative, story based play, expressive arts, inclusive games, spiritual practices, Indigenous learning, and community building experiences that honour curiosity, creativity, and belonging.

At noon, children and youth reconnect with their caregivers to enjoy lunch together.

Afternoons are a time to find your own rhythm with friends and family. Whether it is playing at the beach, inventing games, reading a new book, making art, hiking, biking, or simply resting in the shade.

In the early evening, the wider community comes together again for all ages activities, offering playful, meaningful ways to connect across generations. A few nights a week, teens can also look forward to later evening gatherings, thoughtfully facilitated by their program leaders.

Children and youth are invited to participate in all-ages gatherings throughout the week. 

A detailed weekly schedule will be available when you arrive. 

Child and Youth Summer Programs

Join us for a Summer Session filled with play and rest, creativity and connection, familiar comfort and new discovery.

Across Children at Play, Youth Club, and Teen Connection, participants are guided by caring leaders through a rich blend of creative play, expressive arts, inclusive games, simple spiritual practices, music, outdoor adventures, and community building experiences. Participants are invited to co-create their week, while being supported through imaginative, nurturing programming that honours curiosity and joy.

Each program is intentionally designed so participants leave feeling seen, heard, connected, and reminded that they matter.

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PROGRAM OPTIONS

Age groupings may be adjusted depending on registration numbers to ensure the best fit and experience for all participants.

Children at Play (Ages 5 to 9)
Give your child the gift of a summer week filled with imagination, friendship, and joyful discovery. At Children at Play, we welcome and celebrate children exactly as they are. Our nurturing program leaders guide children through a vibrant mix of creative story based play, expressive arts, inclusive games, spiritual practices, and community building.

Play is not just fun. It is powerful. Children leave feeling seen, heard, and valued, knowing that they matter.

During Music Week (August 16 to 22), Children at Play includes an age appropriate choir experience for part of the morning

Youth Club (Ages 10 to 13)
You are invited to Youth Club. An inclusive, creative space where youth can be themselves, meet new friends, and have some fun.

Our caring leaders guide Youth Club participants through imaginative adventures, expressive arts, inclusive games, simple spiritual practices, and plenty of time to connect and build community.

Play is not just fun. It is powerful. Youth leave feeling heard, respected, and proud of who they are.

During Music Week (August 16 to 22), Youth Club includes Joining Our Voices Youth Choir for part of the morning.

Teen Connection (Ages 14 to 17)
Spend a week in an inclusive, relaxed space where teens can explore, play, and simply breathe. This program blends outdoor adventures, inclusive games, art explorations, music, chill time, and the kind of random, joyful moments that happen when great people come together.

Here, teens are not just participants. They are co creators. Bring your ideas, your energy, and your authentic self, and help shape a week filled with meaningful experiences, fun, creativity, and opportunities to discover new things about who you are.

THEME: Breathe In, Breathe Out, Find Home

It's the first thing we do in this world.  And it’s also the last. And from our first breath to our final one, we'll breathe billions of times and almost never give it a thought.  But when we see our breath, lose our breath, or something takes our breath away, there’s an opportunity to more fully inhabit our humanity. Come breathe together in song, reflect on the fragility in every breath, share the rhythms our breathing bodies can shape with conscious movement or enjoy the deep breath we share when we play & create together. Come and be at home in your own skin.

Songs of the Moment: Circle Singing, Vocal Improv, and Mindful Music Making (Samantha Fletcher)

Ages: 16+

Materials Fee: $40.00

Start your day by awakening your senses, body, and voice through circle singing and vocal improvisation. Each session offers participants a spacious, creative container for exploring rhythm, harmony, vocal textures, and playful improvisation. Together, we’ll create songs of the moment that emerge from attentive listening, shared breath, and the shifting energy of the group. Open to all voices, these flexible practices invite curiosity, experimentation, and personal expression. Discover the joy and restorative power of collective singing, and experience the unique connection of creating something entirely new together.

Legacy, Love Letters & Heartwill (iris paradella hunter)

Ages: 18+

Death comes to us all, yet our culture often avoids speaking of it. When we turn away from our mortality, we lose the opportunity for personal growth and for deepening connections with those who matter most. Using Willow’s heart-centred, inquiry-based approach, this workshop gently invites you to explore who you are, what you stand for, and how you hope to be remembered. By honouring the fragility of life, you create peace of mind for yourself, offer a tender gift of ease to those you leave behind, and open yourself to living your remaining days with intention and purpose.

Tai Chi (Hajime Naka)

Ages: 18+

Accessibility Note: Program will be adapted participant as needed.

“That was Zen, this is Dao.” or simply “Taiji-Qigong.” Join Hajime Naka (“Dancing Dragon”) for a week of intentional, healing movement practice. Through the ancient tradition of T’ai Chi, you will deeply return to your centre, finding a true sense of home within your own breath and body.

What is my Purpose? Creative Art Journalling (Kathie MacDuff)

Ages: 16 +

Material Fee: $40.00

“What is my purpose?” An ageless question that has inspired thinkers from Aristotle’s theory of teleology to today’s search for meaning. In our fast-paced, technology-filled world, discovering an answer to this question may be more important than ever. Let’s see where our shared wisdom and creativity can take us as we discern meaning and a sense of direction for both our art and our days with humour and (here comes a great word) perspicacity. In Creative Journaling, you don’t need to be an artist, just curious and ready to uncover your inherent creativity. Using words, images, and mixed media, we’ll explore themes together, unearth insights, emotions, and inspiration. Come join a supportive, welcoming space where imagination sparks, negativity fades, and connection, self-expression, and discovery thrive.

Children and Youth Program

Give your child a summer of discovery, friendship, and fun at Naramata Centre! Our interest-based programs are designed for kids and youth, providing a welcoming space where they can be themselves, explore their creativity, and build lasting connections.

Led by nurturing program leaders, children will engage in imaginative play, storytelling, art-making, music, inclusive games, and more—all in a supportive community that celebrates them for who they are.

Expand the sections below for program details.

Note: Groups may be adjusted based upon participation.

Theme: Everyday Sacred

It’s easy to feel disenchanted by so much that is happening in our world. It requires intention and attention to keep our eyes and hearts open. Sometimes we need gentle nudges that help us awaken to the sacredness that surrounds us in the most common everyday moments. Come and be re-enchanted by the profoundly simple sacredness that isn’t reserved for pilgrimages and holy sites, but is found in the delight of nourishing food, nurture in creative expression, the beauty of breath in the body’s stretch or by learning some of the sacred teachings of the land.

Nourishing Self Nourishing Community (Jenn Cockrall)

Ages: 18+

Join Naramata food writer and author Jennifer Cockrall to observe, uncover, and explore how food connects you to place, community, and each other. On the menu is a program that invites you to slow down and rediscover the wisdom woven through our gardens, kitchens, and tables. You’ll sample ideas that spark a greater shift from scarcity to abundance—recognizing how gardens overflow beyond the individual, how communities hold deep wells of culinary knowledge, and local food systems thrive through participation. 

Spend time in a permaculture garden, learn principles you can apply in your own home garden (or patio!) and communities,and in your life. Visits to local farms and wineries reveal how food choices deeply shape community resilience and economic outcomes. Forage and prepare simple seasonal foods to build culinary literacy to better nourish our minds and bodies.  All of this unfolds in a designated CittaSlow community, where principles in action resist the tensions and disconnection of contemporary life.  Balance practical skills with space to rekindle connections that feed body, community, and soul

Tapping Into Your Inner Wisdom Using SoulCollage® (Julie Eliot)

Ages: 16+

Materials Fee: $50

Come and experience how SoulCollage® is unique from other collaging processes. You are invited to: 

• freely express yourself without any pressure to make “art”

• access your intuition and inner wisdom

• have fun and be surprised

• be part of a supportive community where individual expression is encouraged and affirmed

Images are everywhere: books, magazines, calendars, cards, etc. Have you noticed how certain images grab your attention? This is the heart of SoulCollage®. You will respond to those compelling images by cutting them out, arranging them onto a card, and gluing them down. Then, you’ll let your card speak to you and reveal what it has to teach you. So simple and yet so profound!

Julie Elliot is delighted to offer this comprehensive program for beginners as well as those with experience who want to deepen their practice. This course also fulfills the prerequisite for facilitator training should you decide to pursue that in the future.

Yoga Everyday (Joi Kittredge)

Ages: 16+

Join with Joi to deepen your connection to body and spirit through movement, breath and stillness. Joi teaches many styles of yoga. Her classes are a somatic, rooted & grounding experience, and highlight heart connection. Joi helps students build a solid foundation ~ finding their stability first and then incorporating fluidity. She welcomes all abilities and every-body to join her on the mat. Pain Care Aware Certified.

Stories of the Land: syilx Teachings through Nature and Art (Anona Kampe)

Ages: 16+

You are warmly invited to join us for an immersive syilx Okanagan cultural experience that brings land, story, and creativity together in a meaningful way. Explore ancient Coyote markers though traditional storytelling, and learn the teachings held within the various landforms dotted through syilx Okanagan territory. Anona will share her treasured syilx artifacts and guide a sensory-rich walk to the Naramata waterfalls, where language, plants, and place come alive. You’ll create your own beaded spider with intention and good thoughts. Come learn, create, and connect with the land in a welcoming, engaging, and deeply rooted experience.

Register for Week 2:

Theme: Blessing the Now

We can bless a sneeze with ease while we sometimes forget to bless the graces that touch our lives each day: the tree that gives us shade, the soil that opens to feed us, the child that makes us laugh, or the stranger who offers a simple kindness. It’s just a matter of attention. No fancy words or mysterious gestures are needed to offer our blessing … just the gift of our undivided attention. Attending to what gives our lives beauty and meaning and then blessing it for being just what it is, we’ll find the wonder of being truly alive. We invite you to hone the habit of blessing the now with practices that will build resilience, bring joy in physical activity, explore your creativity or expand the power of story.

Spiritual Practices for Living Well in a Fractured World (Nancy Talbot)

Ages: 18+

Nancy invites you to explore a variety of spiritual practices using words, images, silence and movement. These practices will help connect to the wisdom and power within each of us to live well even when the world around us is fracturing. Do you desire to be more grounded in the present moment? This program can help support that desire both during your time in Naramata and on your return home.

What Now? Or Now what!? (Carmen Landsdowne)

Ages: 18+

As the speed and scale of changes, challenges, and opportunities increase, you might hear yourself saying, WHAT NOW?!  Or variations on that sentiment!  Join with past United Church Moderator Carmen Lansdowne to explore how our story and the stories of the Christian tradition help us stay attentive and responsive to the dramatic changes in our personal and collective lives.  Carmen’s own life is a testament to the pivots, surprises, gifts, and demands – or often deep questions – that become a pathway to learning and faithful discovery.  Join with others to listen, share, engage the NOW WHAT!? of our lives. 

Pay Attention Be Astonished (Allison Rennie and Neil Surkan)

Ages: 16+

Poetry is an art form of the present, in all its nuances and details. This is a workshop about the practice of poetry, that prayerful space in which our lives — and the words we use to understand our world — become especially precious. We’ll read and savour the particularities of select poems; pay attention to our surroundings, feelings, and hunches; then write our own poems in response to open-ended prompts. In gathering to explore this art form that begins in, and maximizes, wonder, we’ll enter the zone where language and experience meet: the bewilderingly vast time of now. 

Yin and Hatha Yoga (Jennifer Kanazawa)

Ages: 16+

The Space Between Broken and Beautiful

Yoga is not just a series of postures done on a mat. In our beautifully broken world, we can transcend the dualities we experience through everyday life through this wholistic science. A harmonious balance between body, mind, emotions, and spirit occurs within. We cultivate a dynamic sense of stability that helps us to go deeper into ourselves, into that place where we can flourish with ease. This week, Gentle Hatha and Yin Yoga asana sadhana will spark the inner interplay between effort and relaxation, enabling you to travel on that inner journey towards equanimity.

Register for Week 3

Theme: Heartbeat of the Earth

Rhythm is as primal for us as it is for life itself. It was rhythm that prepared us for life as we developed in sync with the rhythm of another’s heartbeat. We emerged from the womb well acquainted with rhythm into a world reliant on its predictable revolutions around our sun, its dependable orbit in space and the pattern of turning on its own axis.

Not only are we creatures of rhythm at our most cellular level but also in the most spiritual dimension of our essence.  Perhaps that’s why we know with every fiber of our being when rhythm is disrupted, patterns are endangered, and balance is disturbed. Join us to reconnect with the heartbeat of Earth, the mother we all share. You might find the beat in the legacy of inspired teaching, in the witness of the natural world, in seeing with new eyes, or in the pulse of daily fit-ness.

The Work that Reconnects (Christopher Giffen, Clara Lindstrom)

Ages: 18+

Christopher and Clara will lead Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects (WTR). Developed over decades, this is an invitation to you to reconnect with earth, with self, and with others through interactive group processes. During the program you might…go on a blind trust walk to find a willow mirror; speak as a mountain, a quail, or a river; listen to the fears and pains of future beings; dance the elm dance; feel the joy or the sorrow of a heron or a raccoon. We will be on the land, singing, listening, feeling and thinking with each other and the more than human world.  You will experience the breadth of moral imagination, and find that through facing this difficult time for Earth that we can kindle our spirits, and emerge with new connections, softer hearts, and bolstered courage.

Seeing with the Heart: A beginner’s guide to photography through fresh eyes and new perspectivesusing camera or phone (Owen Law)

Ages: 16+

This beginner friendly photography course invites you to slow down, look closely and  discover beauty in both the Naramata landscape and the candid moments happening  around you. Together we will explore simple fundamentals such as exposure,  composition and basic editing, whether you use a camera or a phone. Each morning  includes guided instruction followed by hands-on practice outdoors. Throughout the  week you will learn how to capture meaningful moments and tell a story through  images, from wide open scenery to spontaneous everyday details. Curiosity is the only  requirement.

A Habit that Fits (Denise and Paul Mend)

Ages: 16+

Whoever you are, whatever age, physical abilities or limitations you have – there is a path for you to a fitness habit that fits. This program will give you a daily dose of fitness activity wrapped in a plan that works for you, your goals, your body, your wellness.  Join with Paul and Denise to get your body moving, your heart beating, and your path to a daily fitness plan activated!  Some elements of activity may include body weight exercise, no special equipment needed, stretches and strengthening, fun. Put me in coach. Put me in!

Register for Week 4

Theme: Attune to the Spirit

While we hear through little openings on the sides of our head, listening requires our whole being. Most of us are born with the capacity to hear and all of us arrive with the ability to listen. It may take a lifetime of practice to truly learn to listen: to give our attention in the midst of so much that will take our attention, to settle and focus our presence with one another, with the bird at our feeder or the song in the wind. What if we refuse to hear too quickly and choose to listen in, under, and around the words that are spoken?

We live in a time that needs listeners … those leaning in to hear the spirit in all things: in the voices of our rivers and oceans, air and atmosphere, soil and seeds … to those who have lost their voice and become invisible. Come and practice listening with us. Attune to the presence of spirit in the songs that have carried the hopes and dreams of generations struggling for freedom, in the long and deep wisdom of land that ever seeks to speak to us, or in finding your balance. 

Gospel Choir (Lonnie Delisle; accompanist Johny Tobin)

Ages: 16+

Join Lonnie for a week of singing that weaves together gospel singing techniques, powerful messages of justice and inclusion, meaningful lyrics, and beautiful music, leaving you feeling hopeful and inspired. Celebrate our diversity and be part of a community and musical experience that is accessible to all people from all walks of life.

Stand Up Paddleboard (Paul Mend)

Ages: 16+

Bought a board, but still feel wobbly? Never tried this but think it looks fun? Have some skills but avoid the waves and wind?  Want to try out before investing? Join Paul to build your skills and confidence on the Stand Up Paddleboard.  Whether you are just beginning or have some experience this will be a great opportunity to take your level up a notch or two. Successful mastery of the SUP requires reasonably good quality equipment. After registering you will receive information about assessing the gear you may already own, a complete checklist of gear required, and contact information to rent board and gear through Naramata SunNSup.  

Stories of the Land: syilx Teachings through Nature and Art (Anona Kampe)

Ages: 16+

You are warmly invited to join us for an immersive syilx Okanagan cultural experience that brings land, story, and creativity together in a meaningful way. Explore ancient Coyote markers though traditional storytelling, and learn the teachings held within the various landforms dotted through syilx Okanagan territory. Anona will share her treasured syilx artifacts and guide a sensory-rich walk to the Naramata waterfalls, where language, plants, and place come alive. You’ll create your own beaded spider with intention and good thoughts. Come learn, create, and connect with the land in a welcoming, engaging, and deeply rooted experience.

Register for Week 5

Theme: Practise Makes Perfect

When we see great athletic talent, hear an amazing orchestra, experience a thought-provoking play, stand in the presence of an inspiring artistic creation, we know we are reaping the reward of someone’s extraordinary investment in the habit of practicing.  To be deeply and fully human also takes practice. It asks us to be committed to the practices that keep our hearts pliable with wonder, tender with compassion and responsive to pain and joys of the world.  We invite you to come and discover purpose in the practice of placing your voice with others in song, making music in community on your favorite instrument or cultivating balance in an ancient practice of gentle and intentional movement. 

Adult Choir (Graeme Langager; accompanist Liz Paynter)

Materials Fee: $40

Youth and Children Program (Kim Denis; accompanist Dennis Norland)

Description Pending

Bumbleberry Jam Circle (Don Wade and Yanti)

Bumbleberry Jam is made up of all and any of the fruits. The Bumbleberry Jam Circle will be a fun gathering of all the instruments! Bring your instrument - guitar or ukulele, flute or trombone, violin or tenor sax...and enjoy making music together! Don and Yanti will provide music charts, guidance, and joyful encouragement. Whether you've been playing for a long or a short while - you are invited to join the bumbleberry jam circle! Repertoire may include folk, blues, gospel...and more! Why play alone, when you can play with friends!

Qigong: Dynamic Meditation: Vitality Cultivation (Gord Oakes)

Qi Gong (“Vital Energy Practice”, an ancestor of Tai Chi) is an ancient practice of aligning breath, meditative movement, and awareness, designed to cultivate health, harmony, and vitality. In this relaxed, practical program, you’ll learn foundational theory, postures, traditional movement sequences, Qi self-massage, and Medical QiGong breathing—all aimed at increasing energy, flexibility, mental clarity, and overall balance.

This moving meditation invites calm, focus, and a deeper connection to your body, mind, and spirit. Through gentle sitting, standing, and lying practices, you’ll experience renewal, relaxation, and invigoration, while tuning into the subtle rhythms of life. Each session encourages mindfulness, self-healing, and inner playfulness, creating space to slow down, recharge, and cultivate a sense of well-being from within.

Theme: The Next Faithful Step

Perilous times can be paralyzing at times. While our hearts have not lost their way, the map to a more just and compassionate world can feel impossible to find, especially on our own. Together, we can generate enough light to see a single step that we can each take that is faithful to the compass of our highest values. Come and find your footing with us in a journey into reenchantment with the natural world, in rediscovering creativity as our natural state, in exploring the landscape of intentional community or in engagement in our collective life for the common good.

Where Earth Speaks: Kinship Listening and Wild Spirituality (Michele Walker)

This five session experience into whole-being listening and wild spirituality introduces many forms of listening—through the body, senses, intuition, rhythm, and inner stillness—opening a deeper sense of kinship with the Earth. The program invites these forms of listening to awaken, allowing kinship with the land to become more intimate, embodied, and alive.

Participants explore practices that attune the body, widen perception, and welcome the presence of the more-than-human world. As these pathways deepen, a wild, rooted spirituality unfolds through connection with place and the subtle languages of the living world. This journey offers a gentle yet transformative reconnection with Earth.

Rooted and Rising: How our Stories help us meet this moment (Charlie Clark)

“The shortest distance between two people is a story.” Hasidic saying

We are living in very uncertain and often dehumanizing times, when it can be hard to know how to connect with others who appear to be rooted in totally different values or beliefs. You want to make a difference; You want to work with others for a just society. But where to start? One of the most powerful sources of strength and clarity in moments like these is our stories. As Maya Angelou said “You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.”

We each carry a story that has shaped our unique role and values in the world, and our stories are woven together with the stories of our families, our neighbours and our shared history. What if engaging in the public sphere of change making could begin with story, instead of politics and opinions?

In this workshop we will explore the power of weaving our individual stories into a larger story to help us rise to meet the challenges of this moment.

Your Next Creative Step (Cameron Fraser-Monroe)

I’ve been fortunate to train with inspiring creatives, from Governor General Award–winning playwrights to Principal Dancers at the National Ballet of Canada. While their processes differ, they know how to start, and how to keep going when things get stuck.

In this course, we’ll explore practical ways to get creativity flowing through gentle movement, short writing prompts, and guided reflection. Designed for all ages and experience levels, this class offers a supportive, low-pressure environment with no expectation to perform. It’s simply a chance to engage with the creative process, build momentum, and discover tools you can use wherever you are at in your creative journey.

Going Deeper Together: Exploring Intentional Christian Community (David and Marilou Sherwin)

" ... 'you shall love the Lord your God ...’ [and] ... ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

There are many things that cannot be done in isolation and practicing the Christian faith is one of them, its foundational teaching is about our relationships with God, with others, and with ourselves. Intentional Christian communities are about living this truth. This program will explore some of the ways in which we can gather in community to support and encourage one another in practicing faithful living.

"If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together."