Welcome to the logistics page for your upcoming COR workshop!
This page includes all the information you will need to prepare for your time with us, including:
◇ Important Dates & Times
◇ Questionnaire Link
◇ Travel Information
◇ Carpooling Information
◇ What to Bring
◇ Pre-Workshop Connection Call
◇ Follow Up Program
◇ Logistics FAQs & Contact Information
Please take a few minutes to look over all the information, and bookmark this page for your reference.
◇ Please plan to arrive between 4:45 - 5:00 pm on Thursday, October 9th, and to stay on site until we complete at 2:00 pm on Sunday, October 12th.
◇ With the deep inner work you will be doing, arriving at the workshop sober is very important. You’ll also be asked to abstain from all substances during the workshop.
◇ We request that you turn off your cell phone for the duration of the retreat to limit distractions and maximize the benefit of the experience. Please give loved ones our Event Manager’s phone number in case of an emergency:
Natalie Vartanian (626) 773-6390
◇ Plan to arrive on site between 4:45 - 5:00pm to check in. Dinner is at 5:30pm, and we’ll begin at 6:30pm.
◇ The drive from both Los Angeles and San Francisco takes about 3.5 – 4 hrs. If you are flying into LA or SF, your flight will need to arrive by 1:00pm in order to arrive at the site on time.
◇ It is very important that you arrive on time, so please do all you can do to be there at 5:00pm on Thursday night. Please do not arrive before 4:45pm, as we will not be able to receive you.
◇ If you have not arrived at the workshop or contacted our event manager by 7:00 pm, you will forfeit your participation in the entire workshop, and not receive a refund or transfer.
◇ You must stay on site for the entire workshop- until departure- or your workshop will not be considered complete, which will affect your ability to staff or participate in future workshops.
◇ If you are coming from south/southeast of Arroyo Grande, DO NOT take the 166 route/Cat Cyn Road exit, even if GPS tells you to as there are gated roads you will not be able to access. Use the 101, drive through the village of Arroyo Grande.
◇ From the 101, take the exit 187A (CA-227/E Grande Ave, Arroyo Grande). Drive through scenic Arroyo Grande village past the antique mall and Last Chance Liquor, continue on Branch street. At the first stop sign veer to the RIGHT on Huasna Rd following the sign toward Lopez Lake.
◇ In 2 miles, Huasna Rd turns RIGHT— do NOT continue toward Lopez Lake. Follow the signs to Huasna Valley heading 10 miles (the road takes a few turns so make sure you stay on it!) Once you reach Huasna Townsite and the 'Welcome to Huasna Valley' sign, take a RIGHT.
◇ Continue past the old schoolhouse, keep going about 3-4 miles until you pass the dinosaurs on the left. After a mile or so, you'll reach the end of the road —at the mailboxes, turn LEFT on Huasna River Road. Cat Canyon is the first LEFT.
◇ Drive down Cat Canyon until you reach the end of the cul-de-sac. It is an unpaved road so please drive slowly (there are deer and rabbits that often run in the car’s path).
◇ You will see a big white gate and the security key pad is on the left side Press the code to enter (Gate Code: 1620). Follow the driveway to the big house on the left: Brownbear Lodge.
◇ Parking is available on the right side of the house (if additional parking is needed it’s ok to park around the perimeter of the house).
6605 Cat Canyon Road
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
(415) 999-8703
◇ In case you get lost, please call our Event Manager, Natalie Vartanian
Parking is limited, so we highly recommend carpooling with other participants.
Please use our ride share spreadshare to post a request for a ride, or to offer up a space in your vehicle to someone who needs a ride.
Please review our Cancellation Policy
◇ Please also bring a special outfit with you in which you feel fabulous, alive, vibrant, and/or beautiful. You can also bring any special jewelry or accents for this outfit. It’s good to note that you do want to be comfortable in this outfit–you’ll be sitting and moving around while wearing it.
It is natural to have various feelings when trying something new and going somewhere near. This is exactly why we have a Pre-Workshop Connection Call that you will be invited to. During this Zoom call, you can see who will join this weekend, hear what to expect, and ask questions.
Please do your best to join us live; a recording will be sent to you the next morning if you cannot make the call.
Date: Monday, October 6th, 2024
Time: 6:00pm - 7:15pm PT
Integrating your workshop experience into everyday life is a big part of the transformative process.
We invite you to participate in our COR Woman Integration Program to support your process. This program is included in the price of your workshop and consists of weekly 90-minute video/conference calls for 4 weeks following your workshop.
Please arrange your schedule so that you can be on the calls; we will email you a recording if you cannot make it.
Dates: Tuesdays, October 21st, 28th, November 4th and 11th
Time: 6:00pm - 7:15pm PT
We handpick our venue sites for comfort, accessibility, and a concentration on the natural beauty around us. Each site is different, but all feature stunning locations with comfortable accommodations for each participant. Most rooms are shared with one or two other participants. We put a lot of thought and effort into making sure each participant is comfortable and well-resourced, asking for sleeping preferences before the workshop. An on-site event manager is there to see to any concerns that come up.
We have an on-site chef present to cook healthy meals for all participants, who attempts to cook with as much organic, natural food as possible. We ask for any food allergies or restrictions in the questionnaire, and we can accommodate most needs, including dairy-free, gluten-free and vegetarian. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or concerns, and we will do all that we can to accommodate those needs. In the rare case that we are not able to, we’ll make sure to communicate that beforehand and provide space for you in the refrigerators on site.
Yes absolutely! Many people choose to complete their workshop with a close friend or family member present, and it’s a very bonding experience. We encourage you to invite anyone who you are close to, and who might also benefit from the weekend.
Each process of the weekend is incredibly important. It’s key that you be on site before the workshop starts at 7pm, and that you are able to stay until the very end. If you have not arrived at the workshop by 7:00pm, you will forfeit your participation in the entire workshop, and not receive a refund or transfer. Please plan accordingly when booking your travel. We cannot accommodate late arrivals or early departures.
Please refer to our cancellation policy for more information on this, and contact our Client Care Specialist if you need to discuss a transfer.
Tabitha Nieto is the Executive Director of the COR Community Foundation. She is a Certified Hypnotherapist of over ten years, a Life Coach, and an experienced Facilitator to women. She is trauma-trained, having spent hundreds of hours of study for Complex and Developmental Trauma, advanced leadership development, and group facilitation courses.
Tabitha is an experienced workshop facilitator trained to support others through deep emotional explorations. Tabitha has worked alongside hundreds of women and has participated in, facilitated, or produced dozens of in-person and online events through COR Experience, COR Community Foundation, and her own business, Root + Rhythm Experience. At Root + Rhythm Experience, she combines all of her healing modalities to support her clients in expanding on their self-connection to live life more fully. She is also the founder of Circle a VIDA, a community focused on honoring child-free and childless women.
In previous times, Tabitha held a successful, six-figure “Corporate America” career inside a sprawling, male-dominated Fortune 500 organization. She left this during the pandemic to explore a deeper connection to her life, heart, and body, heal her past, and share her journey with women who want the same.
Tabitha is mixed-race and proudly identifies with her Colombian, Latina roots. She also acknowledges the racism and white supremacy that have shaped our country and is committed to continuing her work and raising her voice.
Some words from Tabitha:
“I've learned there is strength in softness. And that opening to softness requires vulnerability and courage. I help create spaces where women can feel safe enough to lower the armor -and the weapons- that we use for protection in order to explore living a life with an open heart, feeling like we belong, and celebrating our lives. Through workshops like COR Woman of Color and Diverse Cultures, I hope to share this work with hundreds of women. I can’t wait to meet you all!”
Freida is a Workshop Facilitator, Wedding Venue Coordinator and Wedding Planner. She lives in the Bay Area and loves dancing, all things Brazil, cats (especially orange tabbies) and really good food.
She has been involved in healing and personal development work for nearly three decades and believes wholeheartedly in people's ability to overcome adversity and experience bliss in their lives.
She has transformed her own childhood trauma and knows firsthand the possibility to thrive and feel pleasure. And as a woman of Color she is eager to create a space of safety, inclusion, and freedom to be and say whatever is necessary for other women of diverse cultures.
Kelsey is a dreamer who explores how being limitless can show up in daily life through intentional practices of surrendering to the unknown. They are assionate about bringing creative expression to the everyday--keeping the spark connected to one's internal fire always within reach. She is skilled at prioritizing self-care, as her generous spirit is only accessible from a full cup.
Over the past 15 years, Kels has devoted themself to personal growth by seeking mentorship in various transformational organizations. She has discovered that her soul's purpose in this lifetime involves understanding the unseen aspects of our complex human experiences, so that she can effectively be with others and hold space for them. Kels brings emotional intelligence, sensitivity, and grounded communication to conversations, supporting people in exploring points of intersection within their identity.
As a dancer, they are inspired by somatic inquiry and healing through body awareness and movement. Kels feels most alive when she can focus attention on her heart's desires, which currently includes studying Astrology, Tarot, and Zouk!
Kels is of Philippine heritage, born and raised in the SF Bay Area. They are a mama to two young children, an advocate of home birth and midwifery, and continually opening to the nuances of being in an interracial relationship with their life partner.
Shandra is the Director of Programming at the COR Community Foundation (CCF), a certified Lead Facilitator for COR workshops and has been leading workshops since 2015. She is also one of the founding members of the CCF as she was passionate to make the rite of passage work she experienced at COR Experience more accessible to underserved communities. (COR Experience is the licensor of the COR workshops).
Shandra started her career as a middle school special education teacher in Oakland and has always been passionate about making emotional and mental health support accessible to all. She recognizes the many privileges that she has been given as a middle class, white woman and aims to use her privilege, experience, and access to uplift and support others in dismantling the systems that have propped her up while oppressing people of color.
She has been leading COR Woman for over 8 years and her role at this workshop is to support the other facilitators in whatever they need so they can fully serve and hold the participants, and show up in their fullness. She has engaged in her personal anti-racism work since 2009 and she has been trained in a variety of educational, coaching, and therapeutic modalities—including but not limited to complex trauma healing practices, mindfulness, communication best practices, emotional and physiological regulation, self-compassion, and parts work.
Along with facilitating workshops, Shandra is mother of twin toddlers, a family systems coach, COR Experience’s Director of Training, and a facilitator of Stanford's Cultivating a Compassionate Heart course.
