Singing from the Well:
A Women's Day Retreat
Sunday, January 25th, 2026
10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Shadow Lake Centre
Stouffville, Ontario
(45 minutes from Toronto)
Nourish your soul, tend to your body, and uplift your spirit at this day-long wellness retreat for women.
Singing from the Well is about Nourishment with a capital “N” - filling up the well that feeds you through song, nature, community, and connection. We will gather at the stunning Shadow Lake Centre, a short 45-minute drive from Toronto. In between our morning and afternoon song circles, you’ll have time to explore the 300 acres of wilderness trails, enjoy a home-cooked organic lunch, or simply curl up by the fireplace and rest.
Throughout our day together, we’ll sing simple, soul-nourishing songs learned by ear, in the oral tradition. We’ll play with harmonies, layer songs, and ‘don’t make me think’ songs that move us out of our minds and into our bodies. In the spirit of a small village, we’ll come together on beautiful land to sing, share, play, connect, and rest in the timelessness of the present moment. As always, no singing experience is required.
Since ancient times, women have gathered together to sing songs – to celebrate the cycles of the moon and sun, to mark special moments in life and community, and to share in the daily gifts of tending to land, home, and earth. There is an enduring magic that happens when women sing together – through the weaving of our voices, we remember our power, our rhythm, and our purpose.
The songs we sing will speak to themes of belonging and connection, earth and water, grief and joy, courage and freedom, nature and community, to name a few. They are songs that you can keep tucked away in your back pocket for moments when you need them, and songs that you can weave into the rhythm of your daily life. More than anything, they are songs that were made to nourish and enliven us.
As a wellness practice, Community Singing is a simple yet powerful way to resource ourselves, and help to restore our sense of connection, belonging, and wholeness. Group singing is known widely to improve our wellbeing through the release of endorphins and oxytocin, which thereby reduce stress and increase a sense of joy and connection. Study after study has shown that singing helps with everything from increased lung capacity to reduced heart disease, boosting immunity and even a longer life span.
This retreat is open to all those with lived experience as a woman, including non-binary folx who feel comfortable in a woman-centred space. Please know that you are welcome however you are – tired and weary, fully ablaze in your brilliance, or anywhere in between. No singing experience is required.
Schedule of our Day
10:00 am - 10:30 am: Arrival, settle in, walk the land, and drink some tea
10:30 am - 12:30 pm: Opening Circle and Singing
12:30 pm-2:30 pm: Home-cooked organic lunch, hiking, relaxing, and connecting
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Singing and Closing Circle
Retreat Host & Facilitator
Mila Redwood is a Community Song Leader, Mother, and the Founder of Sing for Joy in Toronto. Mila uses song as a tool for building community, for restoring our sense of belonging and connection in a fragmented world. She is passionate about singing together in the oral tradition, in the simple yet powerful ways that people have done for time immemorial. As the Founder of Sing for Joy, Mila pioneered a Community Singing movement in Ontario that has grown exponentially over the past decade. To read more about Mila, including her personal singing story, click here.
Location
We are fortunate to hold this retreat at the inspiring and beautiful Shadow Lake Centre, a short 45 minute drive north of Toronto. The address is: 15041 9th Line, Stouffville, Ontario, L4A 3E4. In between our morning and afternoon song circles, you’ll have time to explore the 300 acres of wilderness trails, snowshoe or cross-country ski on their private lake, or simply curl up by the fireplace and rest.
Cost & Registration
Price per person: $165 (plus sales tax)
This price includes:
Facilitated group-singing sessions in the morning and afternoon
A home-cooked organic lunch made by the wonderful Annie
Tea, coffee, and an afternoon home-baked snack
A stunningly beautiful, natural setting to relax, connect, and unwind
A “basket” of songs to return home with
If the cost is a barrier for you, please email mila@singforjoy.ca for a possible work exchange or partial scholarship.
Cancellation & Refund Policy:
A refund will be issued if notice is received by December 21st, minus a $20 admin fee. After December 21st, your registration is non-refundable, but it is transferable. This means that you can transfer your spot to another person, and be reimbursed for your payment. If we do not have a waiting list, it is the responsibility of the participant to find someone with whom you can transfer your spot.
For those who are travelling from out of town for this retreat, please note that we are not able to cover any costs incurred by participants for transportation or accommodations. As such, please organize your travel with this in mind.
If the retreat is cancelled by the host, you will receive a full refund.
Colds, Flus, & Covid
In an effort to keep everyone healthy, we ask that you stay home if you are sick, or have tested positive for covid in the five days before, or have had an exposure with someone who has tested positive in the past five days.
The Shadow Lake Centre is equipped with two commercial HEPA air purifiers, and windows that will be cracked open for ventilation.
Masking is optional and welcome. For the purpose of creating a nourishing singing experience, Mila will not be wearing a mask.
As we continue to navigate these post-pandemic times, we warmly encourage everyone to check in with each other before hugging, hand shakes, and even close-talking. We all come with different comfort levels, and we trust that we can navigate this terrain together throughout our day.
Words from past participants…
“I am so delighted to have discovered Mila's retreats. We sang all day and it wasn't enough. Mila has such a clear, positive and down-to-earth energy. Grounded and uplifting all at once. Her calm presence really rooted the experience. She made it all feel so simple - I'm still marvelling that we learned those beautiful harmonies together in a way that seemed so effortless.” – Kate Keenan
“Mila holds some serious song magic, and has a beautiful ability of weaving song, playfulness, and deep meaning into her workshops. These moments of group singing are cherished, and feed my soul in ways that are palpable for days after. Singing in this way has helped me to feel ever-more confident in my own voice and ability to share songs.” – Sammy Tangir
“Mila holds space with warmth, wonder, and wisdom. The songs she offers seem to be carried in her bones, and her leadership approach is embodied, welcoming, and playful – always uplifting the voices in the room, embracing the gifts that each individual brings to the circle. I felt so deeply nourished by my experience in her retreat, being held by and with community, weaving harmonies, playing, laughing, and crying together – it was like protein to my soul!” – Michaela Bekenn
“Mila draws you in with authenticity and opens you up with her joy. Then, you remember parts of who you really are, and you come home to yourself. Connection and healing happen in the safe, thoughtful, exuberant song-scape that Mila creates. As she moves our group, I experience myself as an essential part of an essential whole, and I know that singing is everyone’s birthright.” – Sarah Vandenberg
“Thank you a thousand times for creating a space where I felt safe, seen, heard, honoured, respected and valued. I felt that I belonged in the most beautiful way in the circle of women that you invited on this journey. Every song resonated in its own unique way and felt like a balm to a different part of my soul, one I did not even realize needed soothing.” – Sacha Salenik
“Singing with Mila changed my life. Learning to sing with her group was a waking-up kind of experience. It felt like breathing. I now know that I’m going to be singing for the rest of my days.” – Parker Glynn-Adey
I respectfully acknowledge that this gathering will take place on the traditional territory of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinaabe First Nations. I also acknowledge the presence of the Chippewas of Georgina Island to the north of Stouffville, and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island to the east of Stouffville. I strive to learn to recognize my part in the ongoing history of colonization, and to understand how our community can work towards reconciliation, repair, and uplifting indigenous values and traditions.