Celebrate with us!
Come and join us for a heartwarming celebration of the 2023 Winter Solstice, hosted by 3HO. We can’t wait to connect with you and gather as a vibrant community to honor the end of the year and rejoice in the rebirth of a brand new chapter. This incredible event is all about embracing joy, transformation, and the deepening of our spiritual journey. Get ready for a delightful experience with uplifting music, captivating workshops, and Kundalini Yoga, White Tantric Yoga® and deep meditation sessions. The best part? Surround yourself with sangat/community and like-minded souls who share your passion for holistic well-being. Let’s come together, create a space filled with harmony, and set our intentions for the year ahead while welcoming the return of light. Save the date and get ready to be enchanted at the 2023 Winter Solstice Festival by 3HO in beautiful Florida!
December 16 - 22, 2023
An intimate gathering to rebirth our in-person events, and an invitation to be in community
We will gather in person for an intimate Winter Solstice Festival in Florida this year. You’re invited to the shore of the magnificent Tiger Lake, to build from the heart-up what is better and stronger than ever before. Our new event site is JUST down the road from the Circle F Dude Ranch and located on a beautiful lake, with a pool and permanent structures for teaching, lots of cabins for you and of course tenting for those who wish to camp!
We’ll have an opening and closing ceremony, morning Sadhana, regularly scheduled classes and workshops, chanting, and evening gong. Back by popular demand! We heard your feedback regarding your love for 3 days of White Tantric Yoga® and we are finally able to accommodate! At the same time, we will offer concurrent programming for those who wish to take a pause from White Tantric Yoga®. We support the all-women leadership of White Tantric Yoga® and welcome their new CEO Siri Simran Kaur. We acknowledge that many people worldwide value this practice. During the 3 days of White Tantric Yoga® (Dec.19th – 21st), 3HO will offer alternate Kundalini Yoga programming. 3HO also offers circle processes with trauma informed facilitators to support everyone. We welcome back all of you to our community to continue the many unique practices that we love deeply.
Enjoy a fun and enlightening programming, so that you have a choice of what you wish to practice! This is a precious time for our global community. May we breathe this new world into being
The Basic Details
What It Is:
A 6-day Winter Solstice Festival to reignite the flame of the communal heart. We are thrilled to reintroduce 3HO’s in-person Winter Solstice. This event, along with Summer Solstice, are the heart of our work and a chance to gather in a loving community. Solstice this December will be a return of the old, a birth of the new, and a joyous celebration of connection, sangat, and Winter Solstice bliss.
When It Is:
December 16-22, 2023
Where It Is:
This year’s Winter Solstice will be hosted in the beautiful campgrounds at Retreats by the Lake – At Camp La Llanada in Lake Wales, Florida – 90 minutes from Tampa and Orlando and 3 hours from Miami. There is a pool and a lake for swimming and kayaking, we can’t wait to celebrate the season with you again.
Learn more about the venue here.
This is our chance to reconnect in a familiar landscape! 3HO has hosted Winter Solstice in beautiful Florida for many years and we’d like to return there and see you again under the gorgeous oak trees and by the lake and pool!
Winter Solstice has always been a cozy gathering and we look forward to the chance to reconnect and hold one another in peace, joy, and connection. 3HO International is dedicated to continuing our bi annual Solstice gatherings.
Cost:
Please check out the Rates page for pricing and options.
Accommodations:
Accommodation options at the Retreats By The Lake include: lodges, cabins and campsites for your own tent camping. More info on the Travel/Stay page.
Travel:
Retreats By The Lake – At Camp La Llanada is approximately 90 minutes from Tampa and Orlando and 3 hours from Miami. The camp is situated on the shores of the beautiful Tiger Lake. Check out the Travel/Stay page for more details!
Come Home to Yourself at Retreats by the Lake
Retreats by the Lake is situated next to Tiger Lake. The property has an internal lagoon, perfect for boating, kayaking, rowing, among others. You’ll enjoy delicious and nourishing vegetarian meals in their spacious dining room or on the outdoor decks.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Information/Logistics
Yes! Please check out the Youth Camp page for more information!
Packing List:
- Government issued Photo ID (passport, driver’s license, etc), is needed to check in at the event.
- Your Confirmation Email (presenting this on your phone is best)
- Layered clothing appropriate for yoga practice, karma yoga, and playing is necessary for this chilly Florida weather in the winter.
- Hooded windbreaker
- Hat for sun and gloves
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Rain gear
- Warm Sleeping bag and or bedding/pillow
- Scarf or Headcover if attending Gurdwara or White Tantric Yoga®
- Flip flops or shower shoes
- Sheepskin or yoga mat
- Warm blanket or shawl, and/or coat for morning sadhana
- Toiletries (including sunscreen, lip balm, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.) and towels, these items are not for sale on-site
- Daypack to hold the things you will want to have with you over the course of each day. Please remember to keep valuables with you at all times, 3HO is not responsible for lost or stolen items
- Flashlight with spare batteries
- White cotton clothing and white cotton head covering for White Tantric Yoga®, if attending
- Cup or travel mug (for hot and cold beverages), and cloth napkins. *This year we are using compostable cups/bowls for food serving
- Water bottle
- First Aid supplies (band-aids, tweezers, aspirin/ibuprofen/acetaminophen, etc.)
- Feminine product supplies
- For those tenting, please bring a waterproof tent with a rain flap. Although rain is not common it does happen and when it does it can be torrential
- Earplugs
Please label your luggage with the following information: name, phone number, email and home address.
- Please refrain from wearing fragrances and scented products so that all may enjoy their stay.
- Please do not bring pets of any kind, including pets in your vehicle, unless you have a registered service animal.
- Alcohol and illegal drugs.
- No guns! This is a peaceful yoga camp and we do provide 24 hour security from the local sheriffs department. Any person participating in hate language, disruptive behavior or carrying a gun will be asked to leave this private event.
- Candles, incense, or any fire hazards/flames. Smoking is in designated areas only.
- Meat or meat products as this is a vegetarian camp.
Back by popular demand! We heard your feedback that many of you love 3 days of White Tantric Yoga®. We support the new all women leadership of White Tantric Yoga® and welcome their new CEO Siri Simran Kaur. We acknowledge that many people worldwide value this practice. Out of respect for survivors/thrivers in our community who do NOT wish to do White Tantric Yoga®, we will also offer deep meditations and other practices at the same time in other buildings on site. We welcome back all of you to our community to continue the many unique practices that we love deeply.
Yes, similar to every single yoga tradition, the 3HO community has been called out for various abuses and harms through our long 54 year history. We listened deeply to the pain filled stories from survivor / thrivers who grew up in this tradition as well as staff members who served this community. We have worked tirelessly with our parent company the SSS Corporation to bring in much needed changes in both policy and culture to ensure a brave space for generations to come. You can read more about the IHRP program (Independent Healing & Reparations Program) program here and we abide by all the policies implemented by the SSSC and our sister non profit organizations around ethics, anti harassment and creating a safe space and culture.
Yogi Bhajan is loved around the world by many people as a yogi and teacher from India who founded the Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma tradition back in 1969. Due to the narratives of abuse that emerged after his passing, 3HO chooses to decenter his personality, pictures and voice at this time out of respect for survivor/thrivers and for the ongoing continuation of our mission which is to inspire everyone, everywhere to realize their full potential through Kundalini Yoga & Meditation.
He is acknowledged as our founder and therefore as an organization, while we won’t center his voice at this time, we resist a culture war tendency to cancel him. 3HO International respects the right of each individual to make their own choices and to decide for themselves how they wish to participate or not in this process. We continue to offer ongoing restorative justice circles at our in person gatherings to process the complexities & layers of our community’s history and foster a healthy, brave and safe community that is welcoming to all.
Travel Information
Its best to fly into the Orlando airport and obtain your own transportation to the site, which is an hour from Orlando. 3HO will also add additional information in August about shuttle services to Retreats by the Lake.
Health and Safety
After consultation on best practices for health and safety in these times of continuing impact of COVID-19, 3HO has implemented the following protocols:
- Solstice is open to registered day and overnight guests only. Registration is required prior to your arrival at the retreat site. Currently, we are unable to accommodate walk-in guests.
- Vaccination is not required, but check your countries requirements if you are traveling into the US from another country.
- Staff are trained on best practices to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and other transmittable diseases.
- Retreats by the Lake uses cleaning products that meet EPA guidelines and are effective against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Common areas are frequently cleaned and sanitized. Guest Rooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to guest arrival.
- 3HO International will have COVID-19 test kits available on-site for self testing. If you are feeling ill and test positive during the event, we will ask you to depart the site. For this reason, you may want to consider purchasing trip insurance. If there is an outbreak during the event, 3HO may implement a mask policy to prevent further spread. If this happens, masks will be provided. This is to protect vulnerable community members and elders.
Retreats by the Lake permits service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go. Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered.