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Plan to join us for a trip of a lifetime to the Isle of IONA – the week of June 24 – 28, 2013.  Please study the information below and then let Christina know if you are interested.  Participants will be selected in the following manner.  Based on a first come, first served basis, we will take the IHTP Graduates first, IHTP Finishing Students second, IHTP Current Students third, IHTP PREP school students next, spouses and sig. others, next and interested people last.

As of this writing Jan. 1, 2012, we have 68 people who have indicated they may be interested in attending and have signed up tentatively.  There are 50 beds in the hotel.This Conference will be a combination Therapeutic Harp Conference with lectures in the morning and time for exploration of the island in the afternoon.  Our beloved Fionntulach will lead us   in the Sacred tradition of the Ceile De (known well to the island) for the first two days.

EICSE - Divine Inspiration at the Brink of the Waters

In Alwyn Rees’ CELTIC HERITAGE, “The thin line between opposites has essentially the same significance as the dangerous bridges that lead to the citadels of the other world… Irish poets deemed that the brink of water was always a place where eicse – ‘wisdom’, ‘poetry’, ‘knowledge’ – was revealed.” Rees extends this concept to the juncture between two seasons, or to a plant like mistletoe, which is neither a shrub nor a tree. To nimbly jump back and forth between this world and another would not be as spiritually significant as being aware of this supernatural juncture.

Greetings!

This is going to be such a wonderful time. What better place to bring the healing qualities of our therapeutic harp conference than to be on the Isle of Iona and be in the absolute centre of healing on the planet!  Our conference which usually runs 2 days in most years will be leisurely this time spread over 4 days – allowing us time for integration, for exploration of the island while incorporating the profound callings of why we are here on this planet.

Fionntulach, a leader in the Ceile De tradition, will guide us in the Sacred Ceile de Tradition that was the forerunner of the early Christian settlements by St. Columba. She will be guiding us into that thin place between the veils!

WELCOME – The St. Columba Hotel offers superb food and warm, friendly service in an environment of relaxation and comfort. Comfortable sun lounges and restaurant provide glorious panoramic views, in ever changing colors over the Sound of Iona to the Ross of Mull and the mountains beyond. An open fire warms the inner lounge.

St. Columba Hotel with organic gardens	Entrance of the Hotel
The Lounge at the St. Columba Hotel	The grounds at the hotel
The food is wonderful including veg. options	Looking out St. Columba Hotel window

ISLE OF IONA - The famous Inner Hebridean island is only three miles long by a mile and a half wide. The ferry from the Isle of Mull to Iona takes approximately five minutes. Even before the Christian era, Iona was considered to be a place of special spiritual significance – there are said to have been over 300 standing stones on the island. Today it is most famous for the coming of the passionate and renegade St. Columba from Ireland in 563 AD. The Saint founded a small Celtic monastery here, and for 34 years, carried on his work of introducing Christianity to the Scottish mainland until his death in 597 AD.

The Benedictine Abbey was built in the 12th Century, but fell into ruin after the Reformation. The buildings have now been restored.

There are many explanations of the origin of the word “Iona”, and some think it is derived from I-shona, the Blessed or sacred Isle. It is also curiously significant that the Hebrew word for Dove is “Iona”, the Latin ‘Columba’.Optional Trip – Local boats sail twice daily to the Isle of Staffa where you will find Fingal’s Cave. Wildlife including whales, dolphins, porpoise, basking sharks, seal pups, puffins and many other sea birds are often sighted on these trips.

Within walking distance of the hotel are a wonderful choice of beaches, mainly of white sand, others with multi-coloured pebbles and shells. It is hard to leave the island without a pocket full of treasures. Expect to enjoy sand dunes, rock pools, beach-combing and excellent swimming, when the sun shines, in crystal clear turquoise water. Packed lunches may be ordered in advance and bikes are available to hire on the island.

The Animals and the Flowers!

FINANCES

The prices include a per person accommodation for 5 nights, full Scottish breakfast, delectable evening dinner, taxes and leadership by featured speakers.

Arrival: Monday 24th June 2013 (check in – they aim to have rooms ready at 1 p.m.)

Departure: Saturday 29th June 2013 (check out by 10 a.m.)

Nights: 5

The following prices are in GB pounds. On the last payment, your finalized bill will reflect any change in the equivalency over the ensuing months (if you have pd in US$ or Euros). All rooms have bathrooms – some with showers, some with tub/shower.

There are:

7 single room(s) with sea view £750. per person per 5 nights
2 single rooms(s) on the back side £690. PPP5N
2 family room(s) with sea view (twin/double bed in room) £690 PPP5N
1 twin or can be a double with sea view £690 PPP5N
3 double rooms(s) with sea view £690 PPP5N
6 twin(s) with sea view £690 PPP5N
1 Superior room with sea view  £770.00 PPP5N
4 twins(s) back £640 PPP5N
1 family room back (twin/double bed in room) £640 PPP5N

I will be giving you a few tips on airline situations once we have communicated.

The above package price EXCLUDES the following: Lunches – but you will be so full that you’ll only want to get something at the little market or you can purchase lunch on your own. All travel expenses including your airfare, trains, ferries and buses.

You will want to get to Glasgow to get your train to Oban. There are 2 ferries with a bus ride across Mull. You can expect these estimated costs. As time draws closer, I will help you with the details of making the connections.It is likely you may need to have one night hotel in either Glasgow or Oban and I can advise a good clean reasonable place if you need it.

Estimated Ferries and Trains based on 2011 prices

Train from Glasgow to Oban Return Fare (RT) £32.50
Oban – Craignure Ferry Return Fare (RT) £7.55
Bus across Mull Return Fare (RT) £10.00
Fionnphort -Iona Ferry Return Fare (RT) £4.10
TOTAL approx. extra transportation charges £55.00 – £65.00 (with increase allowance for 2013).

Schedule of Payments

1. Contact me no later than February 20, 2012 with your 1st, 2nd and 3rd rooming preferences and I will assign single rooms, twin rooms, double rooms in the order you get back to me.

2. 30% of your payment is due by August 1st, 2012 – non-refundable  (this was changed from Sept. 1st due to Christina’s traveling schedule and the need to get the accounting done and sent to the hotel).

3. the next 30% of your payment is due by November 1, 2012 – non-refundable

4. the remaining 40% is due by May 1, 2013 – non-refundable

Refund policy: Each payment is non-refundable on the due date. In the event that Fionntulach or Christina Tourin are unable to conduct the workshops due to any cause outside of their control, including but not limited to death, injury or any other force majeure, the trip will not be cancelled and all attendees will be entitled to a 50% refund for each presenter of the seminar fees only.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please make your commitment by February 20th, 2012.

Let me know if you are seeking a roommate or contact someone you recognize from the email list below. This is indeed an event you’ll remember for a lifetime and who knows – perhaps your heart will call you back to Iona often!

Blessings,

Christina (Tina) Tourin

Here are some pictures from our group of 2009!

The list is in order of notification of interest - then status listed next to the name.  Do not despair if you think you might be doing the trip. I know that many who have indicated their desire are not sure if they can go but wanted to get their name on the list. The sooner you think you might be able to make the trip, the better to let us know. Then if you can’t come, we will start giving spaces to people on the waiting list. There are other programs of therapeutic musicians who are eager to be on this list but we are waiting until we hear from the IHTP family.

Barbara Crowe and Ross – instructor
Betty Truitt – vp – ihtp
Estelle Day – graduate
Beatrice Rose – graduate
Rachel Christenson – graduate
Laurence Marie – graduate
Judy Byron – graduate
Carolyn Worster – graduate
Cynthia Golfus – graduate
Dana Mosser – graduate
Jan-Joy Sax/husband – graduate
Bambi Niles and Rex – graduate
Julie Ann Smith – graduate
Gail Coon – graduate
Carol Johnson – graduate
Margaret Bell – graduate
Barbara Carr – finishing student
Jane McCabe – finishing student
Anke Arkesteyn – finishing student
Maya Hasan – current student
Rebecca Folsom-Wertz – current student
Jennifer Tucker – current student
Kevin Roddy/partner – finishing student
Shannon Schumann – current student
Tara Muma – current student
Callie Bates – current student
Irene Ryding – current student
Doron Peisic – current student
Marie Wabnitz – current student
Jan Mulrooney-Kuhn – graduate
Gricel Salazar-Lewis – interested
Bay Dean and partner – interested
Frances van Dorn – current student
Sheila Allen – interested
RuthiE Neilan – interested
Cheryl Angela – finishing student
Carolyn Ashburn – interested
Irene Sunn – interested
Claudia and Cristovao Miranda – Finishing Student
Kathy Morris – graduate
Bev and Gary Tyack – finishing student
Rhonda Ward – Current student
Masako Gray and husband – Finishing Student
Jan Hirsch – Finishing Student
Callie Bates – Current Student
Barbara Evenson – Prep Student
Catharine Scherer – Finishing student
Cathy Curby – Graduate
Anke Arkestyn and Dirk – Finishing
Jo Philpot – Prep
Debby Jennings – Graduate
Sandi Spalton – Finishing
Annie Silvestre (husband) – Current
Elizabeth Gilpatrick and Stephanie – Graduate
Esther Hackett – Finishing
Emi Higashiyama – Current
Melanie Lee – Interested
Jocelyn Obermeyer – graduate
Debi MacKay – graduate
Claire Guggenheim – Finishing
Jennifer Kneal – Finishing

To date – we have 30 Graduates that have first priority
14 Finishing students that have next priority
14 Current students who have next priority (who will be in the finishing cateogry after their classes this year)
5 Prep students who are entering the program Sept. who will have next priority
7 who are interested in joining us who will have the next priority

There is room for 50 people.  In February we will make the determination on how the rooms are lining up. You will be asked to state your choices.  Once we figure who will be coming, then we will create our waiting list. Non-refundable payments will be due August 1st 2012. Those not paying their deposit will come off the list and those on the waiting list will then be notified.

We chose this location because it is central to all of our mid-western states:   Ohio to Michigan to Minnesota to Kansas to Colorado. And because of the energetic and gracious hosting by Gaylord Stauffer.

The ESM (Experiential Specialty Module) will also take place in Iowa at the Dharma Retreat Center in Lansing from August 13-18 – the home and center that Judith Hitt – our Resonant Kinesiology Instructor.

And now, let’s hear from Gaylord Stauffer!

Welcome

Tina and I [Gaylord] are excited to welcome you to the Mid-West IHTP conference August 11 & 12, 2012!.  We are having it in beautiful Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Iowa means ‘beautiful land’,  Yes it’s a lot of corn fields now. However if you do fly in over the area the landside from the air looks like a giant patchwork quilt. More about getting here later.

I’m excited that we will have workshops by Tami Briggs, Sarah Schwartz, Melodye Eisele and possibly Betz Ulrich.  And yes,  If you don’t think Tina has been busy enough, she will be unveiling a new and exciting program here at the mid-west conference. Friday night will be socializing and the conference will run through Sunday and end about 4 pm for those who want to get back on the road. We still have a few more openings for workshops so if you are interested in proposing a workshop, please contact us. Tuition (excluding the cost of meals will be waived for your workshop presentation).

We are planning to provide meals for Saturday and Sunday noon and possibly an exciting picnic/banquet Saturday evening. These will be included in the registration fees which are set at $185.00  on or before June 15, 2012 and $200.00 after that date. You will be receiving your 20 hours credit with these workshops. And you will get to meet several Iowans that are in the program and many just regular ‘folk’.   We aren’t ‘hicks’ as some Politician’s would like to represent us as!!!

Our home for the conference will be the Clarion Hotel. www.clarionhotel.com/hotel-cedar_falls-iowa-IA188 Room rates are set at $89.00+ tax per night for 1-4 adults. Rooms have a small refrigerator and microwave and either full or queen sized beds. We will have the Gallery room for workshops that will be locked when we are not in it so that harps and other personal items will be secure.

You are responsible for contacting the hotel and making your room reservations and paying for them directly. When making your reservation, let them know you are with the HARP GROUP. If you need a roommate, BLOG below to see who else is coming.

There are a lot of other activities in the area, many museums, theatres, shopping areas, eating places, historic sites, tall grass prairies, over 75 miles of walking/running/biking trails, the University of Northern Iowa.  Any companions coming with you will have lots of things to do. I could even arrange a special opening of the Iowa Band Museum which houses the relics of the Cedar Falls Municipal Band that goes back a continuous 120 years. It looks like you step back int 1910 when you enter the rehearsal hall.  The list goes on. Please check out www.cedarfallstourism.org for more details.  If you need further information feel free to call me at 319-266-4657 or e-mail me at harpmpls2@mchsi.com and I will get back to you with the information ASAP!.

Airports,  I’m sorry we only have one airport, the Waterloo/Cedar Falls airport with two flights a day via O’Hare airport in Chicago.  The Clarion has shuttle service to and from the airport.   Another option with many more flights is the Cedar Rapids Regional airport; however, this airport is an hour’s drive to the south and you will need to furnish your own transportation from there.  They do have car rental options at both places.

I am assuming that most of you will be driving, since we here in the Midwest drive, lots.  The Clarion Hotel is less than a mile off of the Avenue of the Saints which connects St. Louis MO and St.Paul MN. Through Iowa north or south it is labeled as #27.  It includes from the north I-35, Hwy #18 and Hwy #218; and from the south Hwy #218, Hwy #380, and Hwy #20.

Local directions from the north as you are approaching Cedar Falls would be to continue straight south on #218 from Waverly/Janesville and ‘do not’ turn as 218 goes to Waterloo, but stay on #27 which then is #58 going through Cedar Falls.  Take the University exit and turn left at the bottom of the ramp.  From the south off of Hwy #20 go north on the Cedar Falls industrial exit. This is Hwy 58/27, and proceed through three stop lights and the next exit is University and you will turn right at the bottom of the ramp.   From both directions once you exit hwy 58/27 you will be on University Avenue going east.  The Clarion is less than a mile on the left hand side of the road. You will see the College Square shopping center on your right, a plethora of eating places, and the Clarion on the left just before University starts to turn.

From Minnesota, take I-35 to Mason City/Clear Lake and go south of town about a mile and the Avenue of the Saints cuts off on hwy #18, this turns into Hwy #218 in the Charles City area.  You do not need to exit anything, just stay on the road and then follow the directions above to University Avenue in Cedar Falls.

From the East you can either take I-80 to Iowa City and then north on 380 or Hwy #20 that goes off of I-90 at Rockford, Ill.  I would suggest the #20 route if you have time because believe it or not going through the Galena, Ill area is as beautiful as Vermont!!!  You can come on Hwy 151 through south western Wisconsin and it connects to 20 in Dubuque. And from the south #27 is 218 from Missouri.

From the south west Kansas City area, take I-35 through Des Moines or just West Council Bluffs/Omaha take I-80 through Des Moines to connect with I-35. When you go through Des Moines get to I-35 north [80-35 are the same road through  the north part of Des Moines]. Go past Iowa State University in Ames and further to Hwy #20.  Then take the 20 exit going east.  When you get to Cedar Falls it is the last [3^rd] exit or industrial street exit and then follow the directions above. When in doubt google!?!?!  And have a safe trip.

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