Experience a weekend of workshops, herb walks, music, ceremony, storytelling and medicine making.
JOIN US!
Come for the whole weekend (Friday evening, August 9 to Sunday morning, August 11), or choose to join us for one day of workshops.
Early-bird prices end May 15.
Purchase your ticket here.
Connect with local herbalists, healers, local artisan vendors and fellow plant lovers for our second annual festival (carrying on from last year’s Wakefield Herb Gathering). This year’s theme is The Medicine of our Ancestors. Workshops and herb walks will be offered in both English and French.
LOCATION: Gratefully held on the unceded territory of the Anishnaabe Algonquin Nation near Shawville, QC - one hour west of Ottawa, at the farm of La Fee Des Bois. Limited camping spots available on site (reserve your spot quickly!) and local airbnbs/hotels available nearby. More info here.
The story behind the name
out · a · ouais
pronounced ou - ta - wey
The word Outaouais is both symbolic of the People: Indigenous, French & English, that are coming together in celebration - and of the Land: the plants that we are gathering to learn from.
The landscape of the Outaouais region is characterized by its extensive rivers and vast, rich forests. One of the region’s key rivers is the Ottawa River, or la rivière des Outaouais, that flows along the border between Ontario and Quebec. This brings us to the Anishinaabe meaning of the word -'to buy / to sell' - reminiscent of the era when this region was an important place for the gathering of people to barter and trade.
Friday
August 9
Join us around the fire at 7 pm for our opening ceremony, followed by our keynote speaker Gilbert Whiteduck.
Sunday
August 11
Attend one of our three-hour workshop Intensives, offered 9 am-12 pm: Intro to Herbalism, Intuitive Herbalism, or Herbs and the microbiome.
TICKETS & PRICING
Create a festival experience best suited to your schedule & needs.
ADD-ONS:
SATURDAY WORKSHOPS
(1 DAY PASS)
$95 for a day brimming with herbal teachings! Saturday has four work shop slots, with 3 topics to choose from. Stay for an evening of festivities.
THE FULL WEEKEND
(3 DAY PASS)
$150 for Friday night's opening ceremony, Saturday's full day of workshops & evening festivities, and Sunday's intensives.
SUNDAY INTENSIVES
(1 DAY PASS)
$50 for your seat in one of our in-depth (3 hour) workshop intensives on Sunday: Intro to Herbalism, Intuitive Herbalism, or Clinical Herbalism.
Saturday Dinner:
$36 Add on a ticket for Saturday evening's dinner: Vegetarian Chili, gluten free corn bread, salad and dessert!
Camping:
$50 Limited camping spots available for Friday & Saturday night. More details.
Speaker Notes:
$20 Purchase speaker notes from all our presenters sent to you as a pdf before the Gathering begins.
*Early bird prices available until May 15
SATURDAY EVENING FESTIVITIES
Come gather 'round the fire in community for an enchanted evening of music and storytelling about our ancestral connections with plants & the land. Our entertainers will include local singer-songwriter Chris MacLean, storyteller Luce Bélanger, and the kid's day program will present: Plant Spirit Theatre!
Musical Guest: Chris MacLean
Solo Performance & Circle Singing
Chris’s career spans 30+ years of composing, performing, and leading community choirs & workshops - all inspiring others to discover & reclaim their voice.
Circle Singing is a spontaneous, improvised 'voice-jam' or 'drum circle' for voices, with roots reaching back to the earliest tribal singing traditions. Is a ton of fun and it’s for ALL levels of ability!
Read more about Chris on her website >
Storyteller: Luce Bélanger
Over the past 20 years, Luce has deepened her indigenous ancestral knowledge, meeting and walking beside Elders promoting intercultural harmony and the respect for the environment. She shares knowledge that she has received from Elders, her personal life & ceremonial experiences with the goal to unify and reconnect the human to self, to unify the self to everything that surrounds us on Mother Earth, and also remember the ancestors that always walk with us. Read her full bio >
More storytelling by: Diane Perazzo, Abrah Arneson, Alberto Carbo
Vendor registration
Do you have a talent for making lovely plant-based medicine, art or anything else of beauty that reflects the generosity of plants? Vending at the Outaouais Herb Gathering might be fore you! For more information and to fill out the vendor's application form, click here!
Work exchange program
Through your participation in the Work-Exchange Program, you will get to attend some of the wonderfully rich and varied workshops that will take place throughout the weekend. We are looking to fill 6 Work-Exchange positions for the entirety of the event.
