A late June Saturday afternoon is a fine time for a lawn party ukulele concert and scavenger hunt hosted by Roots of Wellness June 27th from 1 to 3 PM at Healing Circles Langley–HCL–located at 534 Camano Ave.
Roots of Wellness, as described on its webpage: “…is a program of Healing Circles Langley. The mission is to help improve individual and community well-being by creating a supportive atmosphere that encourages people to make positive life decisions, build community, and learn ways to improve health and wellness. Roots of Wellness programs are free and take place both at Healing Circles Langley, and the Soundview Center on 3rd and Park.”
Previous Langley scavenger hunts, along with Advent season lantern walks are designed to invite community connection. This year’s event will host a lawn concert by the South Whidbey Uke Jammers, a popular and fun ukulele class that meets Wednesdays at the South Whidbey Community Center, and taught by musician David Licastro. His program is part of the affordable classes provided by Create Space Langley.
Create Space’s website notes: “David Licastro is a celebrated local musician who has been teaching private music lessons and classes since the age of 17. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in classical guitar from California State University Sacramento in 1979. After moving to Whidbey Island in 1980, David has performed in various musicals and groups including the Secrets, Western Heroes, Deja Blooze and Pete. He is currently teaching private music lessons at Whidbey Island School of Music and Dance.”
I met recently with Shannon Arndt and Jennifer Renehan, board members of the Roots of Wellness program, and learned more about what they do.
Along with annual scavenger hunts and lantern walks, Roots of Wellness hosts regular tai chi classes, Sound Bath sessions with Deborah Koff-Chapin, and more. Click on Healing Circles calendar page, hover over the day and the cursor will reveal a tree logo and Roots of Wellness class descriptions.
“This summer event is simply about bringing our community together–the more we do that, the more we build resilience. It is truly for everyone from little kids to our elders,” said Shannon Arndt, owner of Soundview Center, which opened in 2019. “Our focus is to create connection, meaning and belonging, the HCL mission, and have fun doing it.”
Soundview Center, with its view of Saratoga Passage, “…is a collection of distinct, independent, businesses and practitioners who are all dedicated to improving individual and community well-being,” as noted on its webpage.
“Roots of Wellness offers classes at little to no costs,” added Jennifer Renehan, manager of Soundview Center. “People donate to the classes if they choose. The party we’re having June 27th is an event for the entire community. We’ll have a digital format for the scavenger hunt.”
Healing Circles is offering a number of summer socials promoting get togethers.
In keeping with promoting well being the same weekend, Healing Circles will feature a talk by Leslie Boies, Sunday, June 28th on “The Life Changing Magic of Socks & Pockets” from 3:30 to 5 PM. The website calendar notes: “Join us for a Community Conversation with Leslie Boies on different perspectives on personal and collective agency. What is agency? How do we cultivate agency both personally and collectively, and why does that matter? And what do socks and pockets have to do with it? Space is limited, so please be sure to register.”
Roots of Wellness’ website notes its programs “…focus on 10 ‘roots’ of wellness – exploration/creativity, lifestyle/daily practices, social connectedness, stress/resilience, emotional/mental health, finances, purpose/meaning and environmental. To make Roots classes accessible to all, all Roots classes and programs are free to the community.”
Healing Circles’ approach to wellness is inspired by author and expanded consciousness explorer Michael Lerner, founder of Commonweal, a “center for healing ourselves and healing the earth.”
From Commonweal was born Healing Circles. Healing Circle Langley founders Diana and her late husband Kelly Lindsay were a part of the Commonweal community in the San Francisco Bay Area. She recovered from a near fatal lung cancer diagnosis and co-authored with her husband: Something More Than Hope/Something More Than Everything: surviving despite the odds, thriving because of them.
Michael and Diana are co-leaders in the international healing community, co-founding Healing Circles Global during the COVID pandemic. Michael Lerner will speak July 19th at UUCWI—Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island in Freeland–as part of the celebration of Healing Circle’s founding.
The roots of Roots of Wellness, Shannon explained, were formed before Healing Circles was formed.
“Diana and I talked about building a space that looked at health,” said Shannon. “People who are healthiest longest have a strong community. That was our vision. Healing Circles started. When we decided to do the Soundview Center, we learned that so many people are isolated. We looked at bringing people together in a setting with no religious or political affiliation at no cost.”
Roots of Wellness is looking for new high school students to serve on its board, following graduation of the board’s current students. Visit this webpage for more information.