WisconSing Community Singing Adventures
Singing raises your vibration,
and is restorative medicine for your mind, body and soul.
Community Singing raises the whole group up,
it is a medicinal salve that restores us to each other and the Web of Life.
We are building meaningful community within our harmonies.

Singing Together: More Than Meets the Eye
All voices are welcome regardless of creed, color, background, gender or identity. We are an intergenerational community, building meaningful connections in song, learning to harmonize in every way.

"The main mission of Community Singing is to re-acquaint people with their birthright and natural ability to make beautiful and meaningful sound together. Most of the songs... are short, easy to learn, chant-like
songs with several layers that fit over and around each other in interesting and pleasurable rhythmic and harmonic challenges that make them fun to sing.

Group singing is one of the most ancient and primal “technologies of belonging” that we
humans have been using since our earliest times, possibly before speech itself. When
we make joyous and passionate song together, it nourishes our souls and offers an
enlivening gift back to the natural world that made us and gives us our sustenance and
our very being. When such an exchange is genuinely made, and the song finds its
natural ending, often there is a sweet, lively silence in which we simply stand and hold

the “enchantment,” the sense of deep and genuine communion amongst each other and
with the whole living world.”

Song leading in this context is sacred work, reuniting people who have lost their voices
in our culture with the simple pleasure of giving voice to their soul."

Laurence Cole - Community Song Leader, Song Writer, Grief Tender, Wise Elder

WisconSing offers 2 community singing retreats a year, a spring equinox gathering and a longer end of summer event.

Participants experience the co-creation of a “conscious singing village". All participants are encouraged to share their gifts, creating a rich and diverse experience for all. Coming together in this heart-centered way, with our primary intention being just to sing together, creates safety. In this container of safety we connect to ourselves, each other, the land and all that is.

We are intentionally an intergenerational gathering, babies to elders and everyone in between, intermingling as our hearts guide us. Currently our oldest participant is 89 years old. We share our meals together. We acknowledge the land and her previous caretakers together. We sing, dance, make art, connect with nature and each other on a deeper level.

You can’t do this wrong. Singing together in this way is healing, joyful, and teaches us how we can fit into the structure of our community. It literally provides life-long tools to empower and increase resiliency.

Anne Drehfal - WisconSing Equinox Retreat 2024

Feeling blessed by the beautiful land at Bethel Horizons (Dodgeville, WI) and lovely humans that I spent time singing with this weekend at WisconSing's spring gathering. I've never identified as a singer before, but it turns out that leaning into our collaborative voices bringing lyrics of love, hope, joy, connection, inspiration, and silliness into the space is a heart-opening and incredible experience.

WisconSing:
An Intergenational Community Singing Festival
Partnering Viroqua Aronia!

REGISTRATION LINK: https://forms.gle/gu5FA7VGe2JrjfyFA

Dates: August 21-24, 2025.

Check-in: Thursday 9-noon (Opening circle: 1PM)

Check-out: Sunday 2 pm
Location: Defiance Springs Lodge & Camp

Address: E6801 Dustin Road, Viroqua, WI

Welcome! We are excited to host WisconSing25: An Intergenerational Community Singing Festival!

We look forward to welcoming all of our wonderful songleaders and all of you as we co-create our WisconSing song village in our new home at Defiance Springs Lodge & Camp.

This summer we'll celebrate together in a festival of community song, dance, sound, artistic expression, connection and playfulness on 100 acres of beautiful land in the Driftless area. About 100 participants will gather at Defiance Springs, surrounded by the Driftless hills and bordered by creek and springs, to allow for peaceful enjoyment of water and nature. Oh what a glorious sound we will make in the privacy of this amazing place.

Our intention is to create a singing village connected to the land, where each participant, from the youngest to the oldest, can relax, connect, play and sing from the authenticity of who they are.

Singing in this way is an empowering collective response to the state of the world today. Join the returning WisconSing community to help weave the world together through songs of love, grief, celebration and spirit. We bring the medicine of song to each other, therein creating a place of harmonious community. We have experienced that when we gather together in this way a true sense of belonging emerges.

Come nestle into a beautiful setting amongst the bluffs of the Driftless, where we eat real food made with love, gather around the nighttime fire, and a living creek system winds through it all.

In addition to singing, there will be time to rest, create, relax, hike, dance, wander in nature, sauna, celebrate and recreate.

We have an amazing team of song leaders this year!

Paul Barton
Steph Drouin
Liz Rog
Lauren McElroy
Lia Falls
Sarah Burgess
Tatiana Berindei
Sarah Moore
Lucas Malson
Kva Mary Wajer
Beth Patterson

All voices are welcome at this family friendly event. We welcome people of all ages, races, backgrounds, genders, and identities. We are intentionally an inter-generational community.

We intentionally set up the children's space and most of their activities in sight of the main singing circle on the grass around us. Jennifer Keely Yonda, a Waldorf teacher, will be overseeing the children and their activities at camp. The children's role at the camp is to create beauty. They will be creating earth mandalas, and bobbles for the trees, nature based art projects, singing, dancing and more. The children are also invited to choose an animal or nature Being to Be during the festival.

Registration for the entire event includes:

4 days/3 nights camping or a space in the communal sleeping room.
9 real food vegetarian meals made w/love by Ruthie Hampton
access to outdoor shower, creek dunking, sauna
access to this beautiful Driftless land and all the weekend programming

There are also options to stay shorter periods.

The cost is $385 for a 4 day/3 night stay with meals and $255 without meals.

We have reserved 2 larger airbnbs for participant who want to stay off-site and there are a many choices of motels, VRBO and AirBnB offerings in the Viroqua area.

The price is dependent on if you choose the meal program or bring your own food. There are also choices to stay fewer nights, all detailed in the registration form.

There is more detail in the following pages. Your registration asks for your email, but you are not committed until you press submit at the end of the form.

Thank you for your interest in joining us to co-create this singing village in the Driftless hills!

Registration Fees:

Please note:
The prices listed below just barely cover your costs at the event. We set registration up this way to be more transparent with our costs. If you can contribute more to support scholarships, song leaders and the event as a whole, there will be a question at the end. We ask for your generosity in supporting the community if you are able. Thank you.

WisconSing's Meals:

You have the choice to take WisconSing's meal program with chef Ruth Hampton or to bring your own food. Ruthie will provide simple yummy vegetarian meals with gluten free, dairy free and vegan options from the kitchen at camp.

LODGING OPTIONS

Off grid camping in any designated area on the moved grass or fields. No electric.

Rustic-glam tents already setup in the WisconSing Village Glampground by WisconSing. (about 20)

For our older adults and participants who need it to be easier to attend and everyone else till we run out.

Private and 2 & 3 room tents ready for your arrival. 1 camp chair, a crate table and possibly a sleeping pad provided in the Village Glampgroud.

Communal Sleeping Room in Defiance Lodge

Upstairs - 3 queen bed spaces and 2 twin bed spaces - w/sitting area

WisconSing Community Airbnbs

We have reserved 4 airbnbs for the event.

A beautiful and very large 4 bedroom home on Main Street in Viroqua 4.5 miles from our Singing Village.

Sitting Pretty Farm's 3 bedroom Cabin and 2 tiny houses

3 miles from our Singing Village.

Prices are variable, starting at $170 for the full event. The amount per room at these lodges is in addition to the per person registration fee for the event.

To reserve a space at a community airbnb email Evangeline at ergarreau@gmail.com

Price/person - all prices listed are per person

4 days/3 nights Adult - Full event per person

Communal Sleeping Room

$435 w/ 9 meals

Tent Camping or Staying Off Site

$385 with 9 meals starting Thursday dinner

Bring your own food

$250

3 days/2 nights Adult

Camping or Staying Off Site

$300 with 7 meals

$180 bring your own food

2 days/1 night Adult

Camping or Staying Off Site

$185 with 4 meals

$120 bring your own food

Children 4-12 years (3 + under free)

First child 4 days/3 nights $140, each additional sibling $120

First child 3 days/2 nights $100, each additional sibling $80

Singing Together: More Than Meets the Eye​ All voices are welcome regardless of creed, color, background, gender or identity. We are an intergenerational community, building meaningful connections in song, learning to harmonize in every way.

WisconSing: An Intergenational Community Singing Festival Partnering Viroqua Aronia!

Singing Together: More Than Meets the Eye
All voices are welcome regardless of creed, color, background, gender or identity. We are an intergenerational community, building meaningful connections in song, learning to harmonize in every way.

WisconSing:
An Intergenational Community Singing Festival
Partnering Viroqua Aronia!