OUR PROGRAM
This year’s program leans on embodied leadership, the deep wisdom of Bell Hooks’ teaching to transgress, and pushing past the edges of our ‘ways of knowing”.
This year we go beyond, think different, practice at the margins, center traditional midwifery.
Our program will commence on the afternoon of Thursday, the 12th. Please book your flights to arrive in time for 3pm check-in. We will be together for two full days of speakers, dialogues, and practice and we will close the gathering on Sunday the 15th at 12pm.
Thursday, November 12 — ARRIVAL AND OPENING
3:00 - 4:30 PM: Vibe and arrive - Grab you check-in materials and then enjoy hors d'oeuvres and meet your fellow passengers joining you on the journey ahead! If you are staying at Lucky Arrow, you will also receive access to your room/cabin/yurt. (Deck area in front of Earth Room)
4:30 - 5:00 PM: Break
5:00 - 6:30 PM: Dinner (Tree Grove)
6:45 - 7:00 PM: Opening with Mama Haize, our Weaver of Resonance (Tree Grove)
-- Follow Haize as a collective down to the Water Room --
7:15 - 8:15 PM: Fadwah Halaby, A-APRN, CNM: ceremonial opening and presentation TBD (Water Room)
8:15 - 9:30 PM: Carey Chapman Glenn, CPM: an interactive journey using drums and percussion for regulating the nervous system in order to fully embody this work through ritual presence (Water Room)
9:30 - 9:45 PM: Closing for the night with Mama Haize Hawke. Please stop by the living altar prior to the following day's activities. (Water Room)
Friday, November 13 — DIALOGUE AND DEEPENING
8:00 - 8:30 AM: Opening libation ritual with Mama Haize Hawke to open this gathering in an intentional, sacred way for the purpose of honoring the original peoples of this land, connect with their enduring presence, and invoke guidance, protection, and alignment as the ceremony of the work begins (Water Room)
8:30 - 9:00 AM: Break
9:00 - 10:30 AM: Stuart Fischbein, MD: Topic TBD (Water Room)
10:30 - 11:00 AM: Break
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Marthita Arotingo: Topic TBD (with a custom song she has written for this unique gathering) (Water Room)
Saturday, November 14 — SIMULATION DAY
8:00 - 8:30 AM: Opening libation ritual with Mama Haize to open this gathering in an intentional, sacred way for the purpose of honoring the original peoples of this land, connect with their enduring presence, and invoke guidance, protection, and alignment as the ceremony of the work begins (Water Room)
8:30 - 8:45 AM: Break
8:45 - 11:00 AM: Morning simulation: hands-on practice for relieving breech dystocias on realistic mannequins, breech maneuvers. **Half of our guests will be assigned to attend this simulator session, and the other half will have break
- Bradley Meyer, MD
- Denny Hartung, MD
- Stu Fischbein, MD
- Rixa Freeze, PhD
- Elizabeth Beachy, CPM
- Nathan Riley, MD and Sara Rosser, CPM
11:00 - 11:30 AM: Break
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM: Lunch (Tree Grove)
1:00 - 3:00 PM: Doña Lina: a sacred demonstration of rebozo practice, offering participants an embodied way to recognize and honor the care, protection, and balance this skill and ceremony brings to birth. (Light Space)
3:00 - 3:30 PM: Break
3:30 - 5:45 PM: Afternoon simulation: hands-on practice for relieving breech dystocias on realistic mannequins, breech maneuvers. **If you were assigned to practice simulations in the morning, then you will have a break during this session. If you were on break in the morning, then you will be practicing simulations during this session.
- Bradley Meyer, MD
- Denny Hartung, MD
- Stu Fischbein, MD
- Rixa Freeze, PhD
- Elizabeth Beachy, CPM
- Nathan Riley, MD and Sara Rosser, CPM
5:45 - 6:30 PM: Break
6:30 - 7:00 PM: Nicole Morales, CPM (preface to fireside presentation), followed by guidance as a group in noble silence to dinner
7:00 - 8:30 PM: Dinner (Tree Grove)
-- Mama Haize to lead the group to the fire circle in noble silence --
8:30 PM: Nicole Morales, CPM: fireside storytelling exercise on ancestral wisdom, myth, and memory. When we feel complete, Nicole and Mama Haize will close the circle with communal prayers for mothers, midwives, and the next generation. (Fire Space)
Sunday, November 15 — INTEGRATION AND CLOSURE
8:00 - 8:45 AM: Check-out (lock your room keys in lockboxes, close up your living spaces, check-out with Sarah Tuck) (Earth Space). **PLEASE WEAR YOUR WHITE CLOTHING!
-- Mama Haize will lead the group to the Air Space as a collective --
9:00 - 9:45 AM: Morning Cacao ceremony with María Virginia to wake up the mind, body, and spirit followed by opening libations with Mama Haize (Air Space)
9:45 - 11:00 AM: Mama Sarahn Henderson: sacred exploration of ancestral knowledge and rituals for caring for twins and breech births. Participants will reconnect with lineage, engage in reflective practices, and learn how to integrate time-honored wisdom into modern birthwork. Through storytelling, ritual, and circle dialogue, this session honors both the spiritual and practical dimensions of birth in conversation with Sevonna Brown & Mama Haize (Air Space)
11:15 - 11:45 AM: Mama Haize: morning reflections plus farewell ceremony (Air Space)
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM: Closing: Sevonna & Mama Haize (Air Space)
12:30 PM: Snack spread and departure (Deck area in front of Earth Room)
Some Feedback From Our Last Event
"This was the best midwifery conference ever. Truly a trip. So wild and multi-fauceted. Very impactful!"
"I don’t have any words to describe what a transformative, powerful, inclusive, event this was. I get a little teary when I think about it."
"Thank you for organizing such beautiful event, I still cannot believe what was I just part of..."
"I truly loved this conference, it has lit a fire in me that was pretty dim."
"Often, birth is simple. But if it were always simple, we wouldn't need these events."
"Thank you! Wow! Amazing! Can’t wait for 2026!"
