Where a Week in Summer Grows into a Lifetime of Belonging

Experience the Best of Summer
at Naramata Centre

Summer at Naramata Centre is something special. It's when our Community Life program comes to life, with fun and enriching activities for everyone! Whether it's our Child & Youth program, daily music, meditation and yoga, guided hikes, waterslides, or movie nights—there's always something exciting happening. Check our Community Life Calendar for full details!

During our 6 weeks of Summer, we offer adult programs with a different theme each week. Sign up for a week of Watercolour Painting or Poetry classes, join a Gospel Choir or immerse yourself into Music Week.

Community Life Program Full Week Stays
July 12 - August 25, 2025

It’s a time for guests, friends and family to gather together on our beautiful grounds and filling them with laughter, joy and play.

We invite you to explore a variety of family oriented activities and programs offered through our Community Life Program.

Stage 1: Reserve Your Dates & Accommodations
Select your preferred dates and book your accommodations.
Make sure to include every adult and child in your group to ensure they are included in our Community Life activities.

Stage 2: Register for Programs
Using the link in your follow-up email, register each member of your group for the available Registered Programs during Community Life Weeks. You’ll be able to sign up for all programs in one convenient step.

2025 Summer Program Offerings

July 21 - 25 (morning): Seeing Life Through Poetry with Tim Scorer
Explore how five mornings of shared poetry can open new ways of seeing, feeling, and expressing. Whether you’re reading, reflecting, or writing, this gentle community welcomes you into the transformative world of poetic language.

  • Poetry is no short form for sending messages; it’s a language ‘entire unto itself’. We might say that it’s the language of mystery, the language for expressing the inexpressible. It seems as though there is a moment in life when a person is ready to immerse in such a language. That might come in childhood, but frequently it’s later in life when there is a readiness for this other way of speaking and seeing how things are. Come for these five mornings (it takes that kind of time) and be part of a five-morning community of poetry explorers. In the safety of such a group, we will read poetry, feel its effect, and speak together about all that it evokes in us and, perhaps, even write some. Are you ready?

July 21 - 25 (afternoon): Gathering Words of Summer with Kelsey Andrews

Discover a five-day, in-person writing workshop designed for anyone who wants to write in a welcoming, supportive space. Through prompts, reflection, and gentle encouragement, we’ll explore our voices, celebrate each other’s creativity, and reconnect with the joy of writing—together. This workshop will take place in the Chapel, a place for quiet reflection and thought.

  • Summer (and a week at Naramata in particular) can go by so fast! Let’s gather some impressions, some thoughts, some of that wonderful summer-at-Naramata energy for later, by writing them down. This five-day, in-person workshop is for anyone who wants to write - in any genre or style -in community in an encouraging, gentle, and exploratory way. We’ll build our fluency and skill with carefully-selected prompts and exercises, as well as by learning to listen like a writer for what’s strong in each other’s work. We’ll connect to ourselves and each other and will remember why we enjoy writing in the first place. We will respond only with positive feedback, naming what’s working well in each other’s just-written work. We will treat all work as fiction, talking about the writing as opposed to the writer. We can always choose not to share, and the leader of the workshop will write and share along with everyone else. We will come away more confident in ourselves as writers - a writer being someone who writes.

July 28 - August 1: (Chapel) Everything Belongs: Singing and Praying with Chris Giffen and Allison Rennie

Join Allison and Chris for a week of experience, exploration, and fun through group singing and collective contemplative practice.  We hear and talk a lot about the importance of being in community, but we are being formed daily by a culture that values individualism.  Let’s spend time enjoying the connections and learning about who we are within the collective – with humans, with the earth, with the mystery of soul and spirit.

No previous musical experience is required.  Just bring your self and your curiosity, and your willingness to jump into the wonder of singing and praying together.  For everyone 16 yrs and older.

  • Join Allison Rennie and Chris Giffen for a week of experience, exploration, and fun through group singing and collective contemplative practice. We hear and talk a lot about the importance of being in community, but we are being formed daily by a culture that values individualism. Let’s spend time enjoying the connections and learning about who we are within the collective - with humans, with the earth, with the mystery of soul and spirit. No previous musical experience is required. Just bring your self and your curiosity, and your willingness to jump into the wonder of singing and praying together. For everyone 16 years and older.

July 28 - August 1 (Columbia Hall Gym): Tai Chi with Margaret Langston

Explore a beginner-friendly Tai Chi practice with just fourteen flowing movements—designed to build strength, improve balance, and bring calm to body and mind. Guided by Margaret Langston and taught through story to support memory and ease, this daily practice invites you to embrace Tai Chi as a lifelong tool for self-care and inner clarity.

  • This shortened and modified Tai Chi is great for beginners, easy to learn and has only fourteen repeated movements. Join with others in experiencing this meditative form of slow flowing movements that increase muscle strength, bone density, and range of movement, and brings with it a sense of relaxation and decreased anxiety. Margaret Langston invites you to join her in Tai Chi taught with a story to aid memory. She will lead you in daily practice to improve form with the intention that once learned, it will become part of your daily selfcare improving balance, mental clarity and emotional stability.

August 4 - 8 (mornings): Let It Flow Watercolours with Karin Richter

Click to discover a dynamic week of creative exploration with artist Karin, where painters of all levels are welcomed to grow their skills—from quick sketches to refined studio works. Through hands-on demos, inspiring talks, and supportive critiques, you'll deepen your technique, sharpen your vision, and reconnect with the joy of painting.

  • Watercolour is a wonderful medium as it allows you to use it for quick sketches, vignettes or serious studio paintings. This course will cover all the aspects of painting in this medium, from reference photography to different painting techniques, composition and\ design to colour choices and theory. Karin welcomes all levels of painters eager to explore, improve and perfect their craft. She will facilitate learning for newcomers and present challenges for advanced painters. Through demonstrations, talks and constructive critiques, Karin will help participants to realize their own vision.

August 6 /August 7 Afternoon:

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August 11-15: Lift Every Voice with Bruce Cable

learn more about this joyful program for children and youth, filled with music, movement, play, and community-building. Led by Bruce Cable, participants will explore age-appropriate choral music and faith-based activities that celebrate connection and creativity. The week culminates in a heartwarming Friday evening concert—a highlight you won’t want to miss!

Includes Music & Play and Joining Our Voices as part of Music Week programming.

  • Sing, dance, move and play! Come to enjoy age and stage-appropriate choral music, and all kinds of other activities, that focus on building our community, sharing our gifts, and strengthening our faith. This year, we will be led by Bruce Cable. Friday evening’s concert celebration is always a highlight of the week, when we share our week’s learnings. It’s time to lift every voice!

    *Children & Youth Programming will include Music & Play and Joining Our Voices during Music Week

August 18-22: Gospel Choir 101 with Lonnie Delisle

Join Lonnie Delisle, artistic director of Vancouver’s Universal Gospel Choir, for a powerful week of music, meaning, and connection. Through soulful songs, honest dialogue, and messages of inclusion, this experience invites people of all backgrounds to lift their voices in hope, harmony, and celebration of our shared humanity.

  • Lonnie Delisle is the artistic director of Universal Gospel Choir (UGC), Vancouver's longest running community gospel choir. UGC pairs beautiful music with powerful messages of justice and inclusion, and represents a broad spectrum of cultural and faith journeys. Join Lonnie for a week of singing that weaves together reflective dialogue on current events, 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.

Community Life Program “Mini Week” Stays
June 29 - August 29

Can’t make it to Naramata for a full program week?

We’ve got you covered!

Join us for 3-6 days of Child & Youth programming, drum circles, water slides, concerts on the lawn and more!

Want to stay over the weekend? No problem! Just select ‘Add extra nights’ to your accommodation choice to arrive early or stay late over the weekend.

Additional programs can be added to enhance your week including Children at Play, Youth Connection and Sailing Adventures on the Anam Cara.

Registration for Mini Weeks opens at 12-noon PT on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

Watermelon Sessions - Neurodiverse Camp
August 25 - 29

Watermelon Sessions is a social-based approach for neurodivergent individuals and is inspired by client-based research. Their camps offer a unique and tailored experience, meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs and abilities of their students. Watermelon Sessions takes pride in their commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to participate fully and benefit from our programs. Staff members are not only trained but are also passionate about providing a supportive and enriching environment. With a focus on personal growth and development, Watermelon Sessions camps aim to foster a love for learning and a sense of community among all attendees.

Other Summer Programs

Naramata Centre offers many programs throughout the summer for your family to make the most of their time in the Okanagan.

  • Child & Youth Programs

  • Adult Programs

  • Sailing on the Anam Cara

  • Healing House Programs

  • Spiritual Guidance

Registration for these programs will open on *April 12, 2025 for the local community and visitors staying nearby.

*date subject to change

Ignite! Youth Leadership Program – Now Rescheduled for Summer 2026

Ignite! continues Naramata Centre’s long-standing tradition of youth leadership development, weaving together themes of inclusion, social justice, personal growth, and civic engagement. Designed for young adults aged 16-25, this immersive experience helps participants deepen their self-awareness, foster meaningful connections, and explore the transformative power of servant leadership.

The program cultivates essential skills such as self-acceptance, effective communication, deep listening, empathy, and situational leadership—empowering participants to lead with compassion and purpose.

If you know someone who might be interested in joining next summer, add your email below to receive updates!