Gatherings held at Wild Life Refuge
To participate in events here, we ask that you agree to our core principles and join with a free membership. For events requiring registration, follow the link for more information and to reserve your spot.
Paths to Belonging
$550
A two-day journey to explore what it means to truly belong — to others, to yourself, and to the world around you. Come ready to reflect, connect, and step into deeper understanding.
WolfWhale Retreats (Julia Yates and Cortney Arnold) and Tona at Wild Life Refuge have curated a two-day experience of community and union. During this retreat, we will take you on a journey of exploration. As a group, we will uncover what true belonging means and how we can live in alignment and authenticity.
Day of the Wild Woman
Join us under a New Moon to connect with our embodied creative flow, each other, and all the delightful elements at Wild Life Refuge.
Event cost: $200. Participants can choose to book separate overnight lodging to lounge into the night and enjoy Sunday morning here ($100 one night/$150 two nights).
Weather permitting, we’ll spend most of the day outdoors. Tona Williams and Silvia Lopez will be our facilitators. There will be rituals of spirit and form. There will be nudity. There will be wild, messy art. We will explore practices of embodied, energetic, and elemental connection.
This particular offering is for female-bodied folks only (we’ll do other versions that are open to all). Please message admin@wild-life-refuge.com to let us know you’re potentially interested in future versions of this event - we’ll be sure to add you to our contact list!
Art Connection
Artmaking social with Spirit Lake Arts
Join us for a lovely Saturday afternoon! Bring a portable medium you want to use; water-soluble paints, charcoal, clay, pastels, collage, knitting — or something experimental! We’ll have extra art supplies if you need them.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing. Just show up!
Choose your artistic adventure:
Possible live models (clothed) sitting for us - or we pitch in to model for each other
Grab a portable easel and head outdoors
Lounge on an outdoor rug, by the pond, or on the patio
Make music
Wander the forest trails
Learn from and share with other artists
Breath - Body - Spirit
$633
Join Valerie White Island at Wild Life Refuge for a weekend retreat to nurture your body through the life-changing practice of Transformational Breath®. Discover your personal breath pattern and explore the power that it holds for you. Gain a stronger connection with yourself and discover a deeper level of awareness. Leave the retreat empowered and equipped with new tools and techniques toward your holistic healing goals.
Elemental Play
Nature-based discovery in aerial dance, fire and flow arts, adornment, and music
Spend a glorious weekend flying, flowing, moving and expressing, in cultivation of beauty and wonder, within an intimate and restorative sanctuary.
This is an opportunity to learn from experienced teachers and one another, to hone your skills and try new modes of expression and play. You’ll have opportunities to fly on multiple aerial apparatuses on outdoor rigs, dance with fire and LED flow toys, and create adornment out of natural materials.
Relax! Enjoy! Soak in the forest, sit around the fire, contemplate the night sky, share and be inspired. Let’s see what we feel and what we create. We’re here for movement, connection, rest, and balance.
Breath - Body - Spirit
$633
Join Valerie White Island at Wild Life Refuge for a weekend retreat to nurture your body through the life-changing practice of Transformational Breath®. Discover your personal breath pattern and explore the power that it holds for you. Gain a stronger connection with yourself and discover a deeper level of awareness. Leave the retreat empowered and equipped with new tools and techniques toward your holistic healing goals.
Healing and Mantra
Event cost: $125, with options to stay overnight on-site ($100 one night, $150 two nights)
Souvik Dutta joins us for in-depth teaching and practice exploring the healing power of sacred sound.
Arrive as early as 2pm to explore and soak in the essence of the space. Activities begin at 5pm and end at 9:30, with dinner included. We welcome you to linger as long as you like afterwards for stargazing and enjoying the gardens and forest at night.
More info about the program is coming soon!
Art Connection
Artmaking social with Spirit Lake Arts
Free/By Donation for Members of Spirit Lake Arts - Join Here
Join us for a lovely Saturday afternoon! Bring a portable medium you want to use; water-soluble paints, charcoal, clay, pastels, collage, knitting — or something experimental! We’ll have extra art supplies if you need them.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing. Just show up!
Choose your artistic adventure:
Possible live models (clothed) sitting for us - or we pitch in to model for each other
Grab a portable easel and head outdoors
Lounge on an outdoor rug, by the pond, or on the patio
Make music
Wander the forest trails
Learn from and share with other artists
Foundations in Shamanism
From $399
Join Jessica Riphenburg to integrate shamanic practices and a shamanic way of experiencing reality into your daily life for your personal healing, evolution, empowerment and connection to the web of life.
There is a required application process to determine a good fit before registering. This course is a prerequisite for Jessica’s Shamanic Practitioner training, which will begin in 2026.
Art Connection
Artmaking social with Spirit Lake Arts
Free/By Donation for Members of Spirit Lake Arts - Join Here
Join us for a lovely Saturday afternoon! Bring a portable medium you want to use; water-soluble paints, charcoal, clay, pastels, collage, knitting — or something experimental! We’ll have extra art supplies if you need them.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing. Just show up!
Choose your artistic adventure:
Be inspired by the live, clothed models sitting for us
Grab a portable easel and work outdoors
Make music
Wander the forest trails
Learn from and share with other artists
Echo and the Ink
Cultivating wellbeing through sound, arts, intuitive knowing, and rituals of connection
Free/By Donation
This is a brand new series featuring a different group of practitioners each time. Come and enjoy! To prepare for your participation, please acknowledge our core principles and become a free member of Wild Life Refuge.
Arrive beginning at 1pm — Give yourself some time to settle in to the space of Wild Life Refuge.
Our opening circle begins at 2pm — We ask that you arrive in time to be present for this.
We go until the bonfire is out. Feel free to leave when you need to — we’ll wind down between 6 and 8.
In small groups, rotate through the offerings happening in our distinct indoor and outdoor spaces. Wander off on your own to stroll in the woods or contemplate the koi pond as desired. This event is meant to welcome you to the Wild Life Refuge space, introduce you to wonderful local folks, and take a restful interlude in comfort and community! Please message Tona with questions and to RSVP.
Our Co-Facilitators for April 12:
Leah Rachuj — Sound calibration, exploration, and rejuvenation
Gina Onderak — Shamanic healing ritual and meditation
Jake Hulce — Readings at the fire pit
Tona Williams — Intuitive artistic expression
Facilitators Connection Circle
This is a private gathering specifically for female event facilitators in the Madison area to connect and support one another.
Breath - Body - Spirit
From $555
Join Valerie White Island at Wild Life Refuge for a weekend retreat to nurture your body through the life-changing practice of Transformational Breath®. Discover your personal breath pattern and explore the power that it holds for you. Gain a stronger connection with yourself and discover a deeper level of awareness. Leave the retreat empowered and equipped with new tools and techniques toward your holistic healing goals.
What to Anticipate:
(4) 1-hour breath sessions with Valerie ☀ Daily guided meditation ☀ Daily guided movement ☀ Optional group activities ☀ Shared-room lodging included ☀ Nourishing meals ☀ An informal and intimate group setting with a maximum of 6 participants total