Banff Centre 2019 Spring Writers’ Retreat

The blog has been a little quiet lately, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been happening. Back in March, I was lucky enough to be accepted for the 2019 Spring Writers’ Retreat at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. It was two intense, but wonderful weeks surrounded by artists, mountains and words.

Banff Centre is just a little ways from the town site (about a 15 minute walk) situated on the side of Sleeping Buffalo Mountain. There’s a full gym, pool, multiple theaters, several restaurants, an art gallery, two hotels, and more.

There’s even a library onsite. The Paul D. Fleck library is two levels of books, light, and stunning views of the mountains. Quite the amenity for the busy writer.

Although we could write anywhere we wanted on campus, most times, I opted for the solitary quiet of my room. Not a bad little writing space, if I do say so myself.

Occasionally, a few visitors walked by my window.

The most nerve-wracking event…Reading Night!

Meals were mostly spent in the Vistas Dining Hall. Although it was buffet-style dining, they did try to keep it interesting. This is baby cauliflower, which I’ve never had before.

Check out all of the wildlife footprints. My days were spent writing in the mornings and going for a hike in the afternoon.

Even though it was early spring and not much was blooming or even growing, there was still interesting things to take pictures of. I took a lot of pictures of moss on trees.

Throughout the week, there were events where we could check out what other artists on campus were working on. This is “The Club” where we got treated to a musical night.