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Founded 1982, Cortes Island, Canada Profiles | ||
Hollyhock Retreat is a new-age retreat located on Cortes Island, British Columbia. It also offers programs in Vancouver at the Hollyhock Room which is located in the Gastown neighbourhood.
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History
Hollyhock was founded by Rex Weyler and 30 friends and colleagues from Greenpeace and the Humanistic Psychology Association in 1982. They purchased the abandoned Cold Mountain Institute—a former learning centre known for its Gestalt therapy practices. Eventually all of the 30 founders donated their shares of the property and in 2010, Hollyhock’s Leadership Institute became a registered charity.
Programming
Over the years, Hollyhock has offered a wide range of personal, spiritual, and corporate development programs to an international clientele, serving 1,800 to 2,300 guests per year. The Centre hosts education and training on topics including activism, video production, creative writing, group facilitation, singing, cooking, painting, drawing, entrepreneurship, dance, photography, leadership, social ventures, woodcarving, storytelling, kayaking, animal communication, relationships, tantric lovemaking, mindfulness, nonviolent communication, spiritual chanting, meditation, Tibetan Buddhism, Kabbalah, hara hachi bu, yoga, morphic resonance, holistic approaches for dealing with cancer and integrative medicine.
Prominent instructors at Hollyhock have included Robert Bateman, Gabor Maté, Jane Siberry, Patrick Lane and Nick Bantock. Hollyhock operates a scholarship fund. In 2008, the centre distributed CAN $97,000 to attendees.
Garden
Hollyhock operates a renowned one-acre French-intensive garden on the property. Flowers and food from the garden are used in the retreat centre's meals.
Political links
The CEO is Dana Bass Solomon, and the board chair is her husband, Joel Solomon, both of whom have connections to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Robertson was the treasurer of Hollyhock Centre Ltd. in 2003 and 2004, and served on the board. A number of connections have been drawn between Vancouver City Hall and Hollyhock, in part due to the number of people hired by the City of Vancouver who have connections to the retreat centre. Board chair Solomon has responded to such claims stating that Hollyhock provides space to network for like-minded people around social and environmental topics, and have the possibility of making business connections. He has also stated that Hollyhock's programs attracted attendees from across the political spectrum.