Equinox Open House with Jessica Dore
September 24, 2022
Thank you for joining us! It was such a pleasure to honor the transition into fall with all of you. Stay tuned for future events!
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REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.
In observance of this year’s transition into fall, Open Meadows is thrilled to offer our Equinox Open House. Join us for group riding, Tarot classes, art classes, and herbalism walks, plus an evening bonfire hosted by author, storyteller and social worker Jessica Dore.
Whether you simply want to stroll on a farm with a hot beverage and say hi to horses, enroll in some classes, or do all that and stay for the bonfire, we would love to have you. In the evening, Jessica will bring a good fall story to tell by the fire, and invite everyone to draw a card to set personal intentions as we make our collective descent into winter. Classes are priced a la carte, and are described below. If you have access needs or questions, please reach out to us directly so that we can work together to accommodate you.
Class sizes are limited. Programming is oriented towards adult participants (stay tuned for future teen/kid appropriate events!) This event is rain or shine, and will only be rescheduled in case of extreme weather conditions.
Courses
Welcome Picnic / BYO
Bring a picnic lunch and join us around the fire for a casual welcome hour.
Riding for Beginners / $55 (just a few spots left at 12:30 and 2pm)
In a small group setting, two instructors will take you through the basics of grooming, tacking up, and riding. We will explore english equitation and centered riding, a body-awareness technique for learning to ride. Max enrollment per session: 6 students.
Tarot as Ritual with Jessica Dore / $30
A talk and Q+A with writer and licensed social worker Jessica Dore, exploring one of many uses for Tarot as a component of ritual. Ritual itself has many functions, including the creation of liminal space for the emergence of new perspectives and as a way to participate in the mysteries of personal, seasonal and communal transitions. An appropriate offering for all levels, we will review basics–brief histories, key terms, the architecture of 78-card decks, methods for learning and interpreting the cards–plus philosophies of card work that support their use in ritual during times of change. Bring a Tarot deck if you have one. Max enrollment per session: 20 students.
Journaling Change with Symbols with Jessica Dore / $30 (limited spots remain)
A talk, guided journaling session, and discussion with writer and licensed social worker Jessica Dore. We will discuss symbols and processes of meaning-making and choose symbols to work with as we journal together on themes of equinox—change, release, descent, and so on. The session will culminate with an opportunity to share and discuss what’s emerged. Bring a Tarot deck if you have one, or any other symbols, charms, stories, or items you might like to use in your writing. Max enrollment per session: 15 students.
Four Elements in Medicinal Herbs: Tasting with Kelly McCarthy / $30
In this relaxing workshop, we'll look at how the four elements (water, earth, fire and air) express themselves in medicinal herbs. We'll sip some teas, what they taste like, and how they act on the body to give us some insight into their elemental nature. We'll slow down and see what your body already knows about a few medicinal plants. No herb experience necessary. Max enrollment per session: 15 students.
Four Elements in Medicinal Herbs: Walking with Kelly McCarthy / $30
Here, we'll meander around the area looking at where medicinal plants grow, and how they communicate elements of earth, air, water, and fire through their leaves, flowers, locations, color and more. We'll be building on themes from the herbal tasting workshop, but you can come to the plant walk even if you didn't come to the first part. No herb experience necessary. Max enrollment per session: 15 students.
Art: Fall Wreath Craft with Dana / $20
Pull from Dana’s collection of foraged dried plants and materials to create an equinox wreath. Max enrollment per session: 15 students.
Equinox Bonfire with Jessica Dore / Donation based
Grab a hot beverage and gather around the fire for an old tale of transition and letting go told by Jessica, plus autumn intention-setting for our collective descent into winter. Space is limited to 30 participants.
Our Team
left to right:
Kelly McCarthy is a clinical herbalist and Somatic Experiencing™ practitioner living and gardening on Lenni Lenape land in Philadelphia. She teaches about herbs and somatics in-person and online, and runs the Philly Herb Hub with Desiree Thompson. You can read more about her work at www.atticapothecary.com
Hannah Fisher founded and directs the equestrian program and summer camp at Open Meadows, teaching riding to all levels and ages. With a background in Hunter/Jumper, her teaching style focuses on principles of hunt seat equitation.
Jessica Dore is a licensed social worker, storyteller and author of Tarot for Change: Using the Cards for Self-Care, Acceptance and Growth. She has been studying and practicing Tarot, and the therapeutic use of symbol and metaphor more broadly, for more than a decade. She is an amateur vegetable gardener, horseback rider and potter.
Kat Kendon is a lifelong rider and Centered Riding instructor at Open Meadows. She currently teaches adults new to riding, and previously taught therapeutic riding. She's happiest out in the woods with friends and horses and dogs and nowhere to be.
Dana is a warm heart, creative spirit and long time friend of Open Meadows, regularly teaching art programming at barn events.