Spring is here, the clocks have changed, April is almost upon us and we've been having the classic extremely changeable seasonal weather. This Spring Newsletter is mostly in celebration of the incredible 2022 Winter Recovery Festival that we have been running over the past three months, supported by Devon Communities Together and reaching out to the recovery community in Devon particularly impacted by the pandemic.
Sharing the joys of the Festival, from Ali Chapman
Spring is sprung, little shoots popping up and emerging instilling us all with hope and joy – when feeling overwhelmed with the craziness and horror of what is going on in the world, I find solace in the quiet places and reflect on how I can make a difference in my community if nowhere else.
I wanted to write a little piece for this newsletter celebrating what a fantastic Winter Recovery Festival we have had. Giving thanks to all in the community who helped to make it such a special time. We had an Experience Day on the moors after storm Eunice, a glorious day in Hakeford Woods in North Devon where the land was just coming to life and our new online Multi Addictions meetings amongst other events.
The weekend Recovery Conversation and evening cabaret / spoken word event was a highlight for me – I felt so proud to be part of a community that attracted so many inspirational speakers and guests. For many years Caspar has dreamt of putting something like this on and to see it come to fruition was such a joy, the tribe made such an awesome job of welcoming in guests, the public, managing stalls, catering, ticket sales and more. Thank you!! The feedback from the event reflected what a truly welcoming group we are, building bridges between the recovery community and the wider community. Our professionalism shone through and is instrumental in changing perspectives, breaking down stigma and highlighting the need for this kind of work. Thank you all – with a massive commitment from our community and staff team we really did a beautiful thing.
More on the Recovery Conversations Weekend, from Dave Perrin
During the weekend of the 26th/27th of February, I was very privileged to be able to volunteer at the Rite to Freedom’s “Recovery Conversations Weekend”, held at the Ashburton Arts Centre. For me the highlights of the weekend were the wealth of speakers, who were able to share their considerable knowledge in their area of expertise. There were conversations about plant-based foraging, connecting to nature, a biologist and presenter, Daoist philosophy, poetry and performances.
I would really like to thank Caspar for the amazing conversations he held on stage with the guest speakers. I came away from this event brimming with enthusiasm for the insightful knowledge I had gained. My road to recovery has been enriched by joining the Rite to Freedom organisation. The love and care I have received from this group is second to none. Rite to Freedom is a family, always there when you need them and always willing to accept new people into their family. My heartfelt thanks to this amazing team.
"From arriving to the warm room of artists and volunteers breaking bread together around the table, to the live experimental music that sent us dancing freely between the pews at the end of the night, the Recovery Festival Cabaret Evening was a truly joyful and transformative experience throughout. This was no doubt down to the excellent team of organisers and volunteers who even drove me 23 miles home at the end of the night. It is so rare to attend, let alone perform at, cultural events that are held with the clear ethos of care and playfulness which Caspar Walsh has cultivated at Rite to Freedom. It is even more rare as a young artist of colour working in Devon, to be met with such immediate respect and good feeling. Even the most highly-funded cultural bodies elsewhere in the South West are not operating at this high standard of producing and delivery.
The variety and quality of work programmed made the evening thoroughly fun and rich with emotion, including the very generous (and hilarious!) MCs. I was also blown away by the successful live streaming of top artists I would not otherwise be able to access and experience.
The event as whole was a total success, not only in its delivery, but in doing the vital work of bringing otherwise unconnected communities together through the arts. Rite to Freedom is a shining light in the South West doing the real work of healing, uplifting and connecting people together. I certainly look forward to seeing what they do next." ~ Charice Bhardwaj
All the incredible talks from our Recovery Conversations Weekend are now available to (re)listen to here >>. Our weekend guest speakers were Robin Harford, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, Emma Cunis, Gillian Burke and George Thompson. These talks are freely available until the end of April.
Next Dartmoor Residential
Our next Dartmoor 'New Tribes' Residential runs April 29 - 1 May.
We have had a lot of interest but still time to put in an application to join. A clean time of 6 months is required. More details and application here >>
Creative Pathways to Healing and Meaning
Our first full Creative Pathways weekend residential will run 8-10th July. Our Creative Pathways to Healing and Meaning programme explores addiction recovery through the Jungian Archetypes and is open for those in established recovery. Bookings will open soon. More information here >>
Have a look at our latest film introducing our work with the Lover Creator Archetype. The Sovereign Archetype film will be available soon.
The Archetype illustrations below are from our Creative Pathways to Healing and Meaning Programme.
Original artwork by Philip Harris. Concept and design by Caspar Walsh. Click an archetype to see their overview and poem.
Available to buy at our events, and online very soon.
Support
We have different ways that you can support the work that we do at Rite to Freedom. We rely on a variety of income streams and are working hard to diversify these to ensure the longevity and sustainability of our work. Every little bit helps enormously with what we do.
See our Donate page here where we have an easy new facility to make a monthly donation, for as little as £2 a month - the price of a cheap cup of coffee!
For 2022 we are one of the Co-operative Group's charities. If you are a C0-op member you can choose for your dividends from your shopping to go to us (still registered under the old spelling of our name, but change in progress!!) More here >>
