Hey-oh! Remember our winter retreat in the middle of a blizzard in March of 2019? Well after making all that snowy magic happen and TWO freaking weekends of Unglued: Summer Camp we really felt like the crisp leaves and cool air of Fall deserved its own celebration in the form of our first-ever Unglued: Fall Retreat!
We went out to Colfax, ND to check out Crooked Lane Farm and instantly knew this was the spot. Brent and Mary Jo showed us their adorable red barn from 1943 on a legit century farm and introduced us to their neighbors who just happen to be a winery! Am I serious? Hells yeah. We started to dream up all the flannel that smells like campfire goodness that makes fall the best.
We made all of our lumberjacky dreams come true with 120 retreaters on November 2nd. Retreaters made their way out to Colfax, ND (some of them in a fancy pants party bus, safety first yo!) to get spicy with us and retreat it up. Good thing everyone wore flannel and got their mimosa and cozy AF plaid blanket because yes. It was cold. And icy.
There were (Sandy’s!) breakfast rolls. Fresh to death coffee thanks to Thunder Coffee. AND LATTES!!!
After filling up with coffee and rolls and topping it off with whipped cream and unlimited pumpkin spice, Than and Emma got everyone up to speed on the #getspicy lingo, the dress code (flannel everything, obviously.), and handed things over to Ashley with a little line dance action to Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. Lasso-ing included.
The fine AF folks from Crooked Lane Farm joined us along with a bunch of their friends who are also their neighbors because their community is amazing!! HANK the farm dog got his 15 minutes of fame, too, and boy did he soak that in.
Retreaters chose from workshops with crazy talented local makers like paper quilling, copper pipe creating, salsa making, painted wooden beads & bangles, leather valet trays, bread baking, barn quilting, blanket ladder building (power tools for the win), and BLACKSMITHING!! WHAT.
After crushing out their first crafty project, retreaters loaded up on All. The. Soups. for the most belly warming lunch you an imagine. Carrie Feigum and the kitchen crew seriously killed it with this warm midwestern perfection.
Then we were serenaded by the morning Ukulele class and we spiked our HOT apple cider thanks to everyone’s favorite retreat bartender turned Fire Guardian, Kevin, was decked out with a fancy sash (super official) and a leather holster to whip out some FIRE by Proof to #getspicy with.
After lunch and another kick ass workshop session it’s time for a pie break! Finally, the sun peaked its sparkly face out and we got 2 glorious hours of golden sunshine, perfectly timed with our alpaca happy hour(s). That’s right. ALPACAS.
“Hank? Top 5 most adorable dog I’ve ever seen. He loves that effin’ basketball. The alpacas were amazing and soft, I haven’t changed my profile picture on facebook in like 3 years and that changed so that alone was worth it. The venue, I’d never been out there, very serene, very chill.” – 2019 Retreater
Drekker beers and oh my gourd signature cocktails from your fave bartender Kevin.
Hammerschlagen. Hayrides. PIES from Yeobo Sweet Shop!!! Tea sampling with Kanji Naturals. And a grateful station by Artist Nichole Rae.
“It felt like a mini-vacation, which I realized that I really needed. Spending the day only worrying about making and creating while eating really good food and being surrounded by really great people refilled my cup in a way that I didn’t expect.” – 2019 Retreater
Hank the farm dog played with his ball. Retreaters watched him. It was worth it.
We stretched like a heavily layered Gumby with Randi Kay during jeans + blanket yoga and kicked our feet to the beat of Old Town Road with even more line dancing Haylee Thompson. That one kicked our butts in the best way.
After a jam-packed day of making all the things and eating every comfort food known to man, and consuming every form of pumpkin spice possible, it was time to chill the heck out by the toasty fire. S’mores were made. Ashley & Justin led the most midwestern campfire sing-a-long to Lizzo!!! BOM BOM BI DOM BI DUM BUM BAY. And that one guy who knew every lyric of every song! That was lit.
“It was everything I needed right now! Fall retreat raised my spirits even while the weather was beginning to get cold, made me feel accomplished, and reminded me how wonderful life can be! It kicked-ass and I had an absolutely BLAST getting spicy with so many amazing humans!” – 2019 Retreater
While some retreaters chilled so hard by the fire, others took their lumberjack asses to the dance floor with Justin’s freaking unreal light show. You’ll have to take our word for that one, the photographer was busy getting down to the Git Up.
HUGE thank you to all Crooked Lane Farm for creating a magical space and hosting this Retreat!! We.will.be.back in 2020 with more fall spiciness! Until then don’t miss our Unglued: Winter Retreat March 7 with tickets opening Jan 23!!
Shout out to our local business sponsors Drekker Brewing, Proof Distillers, and Thunder Coffee for keeping our drink action hot, spicy, and wonderfully handcrafted.
These photo beauties are thanks to our retreat photographer M. Schleif Photography!