Events
Tu B'Ave Shabbat Retreat
Tu B’Av Shabbaton:Celebrate community, nature, and love!
Join us for a transformative weekend celebrating Tu B’Av (the Jewish holiday of love) with a special Shabbaton on the Living Tree farm.
What to Expect
Friday evening. Experience a warm, family-friendly Kabbalat Shabbat featuring traditional songs and prayers as we welcome the Sabbath together. This special evening will also serve as the culminating celebration of Valley Teva Camp, where campers will share the sparkles and gems from their week in nature.
Saturday morning. Deepen your spiritual practice through:
Uplifting communal singing
Guided meditation and contemplative practices
Meaningful Torah study and discussion
Prayer in community
Children’s programming
Experience includes
Friday evening: Community potluck dinner (Living Tree provides challah, farm-grown salad, and simple pasta for kids—guests bring vegetarian dishes to share)
Saturday: Breakfast and farm-fresh lunch provided by Living Tree
Beautiful Vermont farm setting for reflection and connection
Jewish wisdom teachings brought to life
Opportunities for both solitude and community
Family-friendly environment welcoming all ages
Optional camping under the stars in the Living Tree field
Our formal program ends after lunch on Shabbat, but you’re invited stay the day and enjoy our hiking trails and private Mad River swimming spot! You’re also welcome to camp an extra night.
Sugar & Schmooze
Celebrate early spring in the sugar bush!
Join us as we gather in the Living Tree sugar bush to wake up Mother Earth and honor the Jewish month of joy and Vermont’s great miraculous thaw. Hibernation season is over, so let’s celebrate!
We’ll have lots to do at this all-ages seasonal celebration:
See an old-school maple sugar operation run by the Crowley family at Living Tree
Have fun with flower wreath making and face painting
Enjoy music and food by the fire
Revel in our community theater pageant—an “everyone plays a part” production
Share in the joy of fresh sap, syrup, and the new season
A few more details:
Admission is by pay-what-you-can donation ($18-54 suggested)
Be prepared for lots of mud (muckboots and waterproof pants recommended), as getting to the sugar house involves a walk.
Fresh maple syrup will be available for purchase—cash only!
Please leave your dogs at home
This event is co-sponsored with Jewish Communities of Vermont, with generous support of Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Tu Bishvat: a Celebration for the Trees
Celebrate the deep beauty of mid-winter with Living Tree Alliance as we gather to honor the holiday of Tu BiShvat, the birthday of the trees. With programs for all ages, we’ll build our relationship with the earth and with each other.
Program includes:
4:30 p.m. Sledding down the big hill
5 p.m.: two programs offered in the field at dusk
Family Outdoor Tree Celebration with games and observations
Adult Contemplative Sunset Tree Connection with prayer, song, and reflection
6 p.m.: Shabbat candle lighting & tree poetry at the Common House, followed by dinner and deepening our commitments as earth stewards as part of the birthday for the trees and mini Tu BiShvat seder.
A few more details:
Be sure to dress warmly for outdoor activities from 4:30–6 p.m.
Bring sleds, skis, and snowshoes for outdoor fun on the property.
Soup, salad and challah will be provided for dinner. You are welcome to bring a vegetarian side dish to share.
Please join us!
Tu BiShvat falls approximately halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. As the trees become another year older, this holiday invites us to consider the ways we can live in reciprocity with Mother Nature.
Celebrate Sukkot with Living Tree!
Now in its 11th year, our Sukkot on the Farm festival brings together song, learning, nature, community, delicious food, and fun—all centered around the abundance of the fall harvest and the shelter of our creatively designed temporary dwelling, the sukkah.
This year’s highlights include:
Harvest Festival on Saturday afternoon, with sauerkraut making, apple pressing, and more
Saturday-night musical extravaganza, with harvest veggie soup from the farm, spirited havdalah, and a barn concert with Vermont’s own art-rock global spirit band, Billy Wylder
Come for the day, or bundle up and camp overnight! Note that event and camping tickets are separate—please read through the ticket options on the registration page carefully. Limited indoor sleeping accommodations are also be available; if you’re interested, please contact usdirectly for more info.
We’re delighted to have Rabbi David Fainsilber, of Jewish Communities of Greater Stowe, and Rabbi Aaron Philmus, of Ohavi Zedek, back this year to bring their voices and music to our programming. We’re also delighted to have Jewish Communities of VT with us for a pop-up sukkah-building contest on Sunday morning.
We’re grateful to our sponsors: JCVT, JCOGS, Ohavi Zedek, and Beth Jacob Synagogue, with support from Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Sukkot On The Farm
Celebrate the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot at the Living Tree Alliance as we come together for a weekend filled with song, learning, nature, community, delicious food, and fun. Our festival is geared for all ages, so bring your family and friends! Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere under the shelter of our creatively designed temporary dwelling, the sukkah. Whether you come for the traditions, the teachings, or the farm fun, you’ll find a weekend of inspired conversations, playful activity, and joy.
Campout Retreat
Enjoy the beauty of connecting with the earth, your food, and rest as a form of cultural revitalization. There will be time to explore the woods and river and immerse in the beauty of summer in Vermont, with family-friendly programming as well as contemplative time for adults; time to get your hands in the soil and to interact with the farm animals.
Community Work Day
Work and Play on the Farm with us!
Join us for meaningful day of work—growing and harvesting food for the Mad River food pantry and community programs, caring for farm animals, and enhancing Living Tree’s event and field trip grounds—while we build connections with our community, the earth, ourselves, and our spirits. All are welcome!
Upcoming dates:
June 25, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Featuring field games!
July 16, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. In addition to farm work, we’ll be building a yurt!
Aug. 20, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. With a live band!
Oct. 10, 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Shavuot on the Mountain
oin us on Shavuot as we hike to the Mountain Chapel on Mt. Mansfield to celebrate this holiday of first fruits and receiving the Torah!
We’ll gather at the Stowe Mountain Resort, then make our way up the mountain, finding the first fruits of Vermont (spring wildflowers like trout lilies and trilium) and enjoying community, contemplation, and the beauty of nature. At the Mountain Chapel, we’ll share in a bikkurim (first fruits) parade and songs in the chapel with Rabbi David and JCOGS educators. Seeking musicians to help support the parade with joy.
Statewide Jewish Teen Retreat
An overnight experience that creates social connections while pushing teens to explore and develop character traits inspired by the tradition of counting the Omer. These retreats are hands on: allowing connection through putting hands together. We will canoe, cook and build a pizza oven with Backyard Bread while enjoying the social connections of a sleepover in Brattleboro.
Mothers Day On The Farm
We’ll start the morning with song and movement under the tent with Miss Andrea from Musical Munchkins.
Then, we’ll have fun on the farm
Teaching Your Kids About Money
Click flyer for registration. $5, or contact us for comp tickets!