Friday, November 7 @ 12:00 pm – Monday, November 10 @ 11:00 am
We are delighted to invite you to register for the Armistice Day Writing Retreat held at the Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, California (80 miles from the Bay Area), Nov. 7-10, 2025.
This retreat has historically been called the “Veterans Day Retreat.” It was started by a group of veterans and writers several decades ago. The current organizers are not veterans, but we aspire to carry forward the flame of peace and inspiration started by that group.
Retreat theme: “Continuing Our Lineage of Peace and Writing”
Our intention is to make this retreat an inclusive, restorative, safe space for practicing mindfulness together, along with space to work on our own writing or other creative projects.
The program will offer the opportunity to experience many Plum Village practices: silent meditation each morning and evening, Dharma talks, walking meditation and mindful movement practice, eating meals mindfully together, Dharma sharing in small groups (see the description on this page), and other activities. We will observe noble silence from after the evening program until the end of lunchtime the next day. In the afternoons and evenings, there will be time for mindful conversation.
Quaker Center is a beautiful retreat among the redwoods and oak trees in the hills above Santa Cruz. It is a quiet, peaceful location where the Plum Village community has been holding retreats for many years.
Date/Time: The retreat will begin Friday, November 7 at 6pm PT and end Monday, November 10, 2025 after lunch.
There will also be a writing workshop facilitated by Maxine Hong Kingston from 10am – 4pm on Friday, November 7. You can register for the retreat alone, the workshop alone, or for both.
Retreat meals will be provided by the wonderful chef Tod Nysether, starting Friday evening through Monday lunch.
Teachers: We are excited that Maxine Hong Kingston and Wendy Johnson have agreed to be our dharma teachers for this retreat, with Maxine leading an additional writing workshop during the day on Friday!
Costs: The cost of the retreat will vary by sleeping arrangement.
- For a room with 2 beds the cost per person will be $500 for the entire retreat, food included.
- For a dorm room that sleeps 4-6, or for tent campers, the cost will be $375 per person for the entire retreat, food included.
- We are happy to be able to offer some scholarships for BIPOC, Wake Up, and Veteran retreatants. Scholarships of 25% or 50% are available.
The workshop will cost $60, and will help fund scholarships to the retreat. We also welcome donations to the scholarship fund.
Registration link: https://forms.gle/84xwNZwJYEYpGjgy5
Please fill out the information requested in this Google Form by Friday October 10. Sophie, Miles, Melanie, and Dylan will review all completed registration forms and confirm your registration by Friday, October 17. At this time, we will send details on payment and lodging.
We aspire to create a retreat body that represents the diversity of the many people and communities practicing in the Plum Village lineage, including race/ethnicity, age, and gender, with an aspiration to have 50% people of color and 50% young people at our gathering. Please be patient with us as we do our best to accommodate your needs and to create the conditions for a supportive and inclusive space.
If you have any questions about registration, you are welcome to email Sophie Landau (sophiel42@gmail.com) or Melanie Gin (melaniegin1@gmail.com).
Dylan Tweney
+1 650-315-9607
dylan@tweney.com