We did it, all of us, all 105 participants of this year's LDC Manning Park Family Retreat!

This Olympic year was marked by the strong presence of young adults and youth attendees and organizers. Participants from Kelowna, Kamloops, Vancouver, Steveston, Fraser Valley, Vernon, Washington and Calgary all gathered to meet old friends and make new ones. This year you joined 54 adults, 30 youth (13-25) and 21 children (12 and under) and one lonely black bear to share an incredible weekend of great food, profound dharma sessions, exciting activities and most of all wonderful company!

Whether you participated in the morning walks through the forest, sat in on the services, sang along with "I Believe", took a dip in the pool, lit the campfire, flipped some steaks on the barbeque, threw a bocci ball, chased a ground squirrel, decorated a bike, attended a social, discussed the dharma, or simply gathered together in a cabin with your friends, we truly hope you had an extraordinary experience at our very own Olympic Games! 

Please take this opportunity to share the spirit of the weekend with your friends and family who did not have a chance to come out to Manning Park this year. I've attached a couple of pictures. Please also send your memories or pictures to retreat.vbt@gmail.com.

The poem, I am Thankful, read by Dr. Bob Akune in his Dharma talk is at http://www.joke-archives.com/inspire/iamthankfulfor.html

We all join in gratitude to the LivingDharmaCentre, BCJSBCF and Women's League for their financial and moral support of this year's event.

Your participation has inspired the members of the Organizing Committee with renewed vigor to make next year's retreat even better.  Please let us know if you would like to be a part of organizing next year's retreat.

Thank you for your invaluable contribution to make this retreat truly memorable.

Your LDC Manning Park Retreat 2010 Organizing Committee

Clear skies and warm rays of sunshine touched our bodies throughout the day and dark, chilly nights with bright twinkling stars brightened our evenings.

During the Manning Park Family Retreat everyone greeted each other with warm smiles. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, meeting old friends and making new ones.

This LDC (Living Dharma Centre) sponsored program took place May 16-18 at the beautiful Manning Park in BC. It was attended by 112 participants including 62 adults, 26 youth (13-25), 16 children (6-12) and 8 children (5 and under). We were also honoured to have the presence of six Sensei’s who prepared seminars and dharma talks. 

The LDC, JSBTC (Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada) and our BCJSBCF (British Columbia Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Churches Federation) graciously provided funding to have local Sensei’s and their families attend.

Everyone helped to prepare, cook, cleanup and eat the fantastic meals during the weekend. The menu was unexpectedly enhanced with Kaz's home made soup. The youth entertained with a scavenger hunt, hide and go seek "Sardine Tag” and a create your own story/solve the mystery game called “Mafia”. The sunny afternoon was filled with a sports tournament including bocce ball, bedrock golf, horseshoes and ping pong. Bicycle decorations lead up to a grand parade and, like so many others in the past, Sora and Courtenay celebrated cycling without training wheels.

Mornings started with Nature Walks with Sensei Akune with an astounding attendance of 62 participants. After sewing chickens, adults finished their evenings by letting their chins wag and wet their lips with some rotted grapes. Workshops included self-defence, quiet sitting mediation, dharma discourse, self lead dharma discussions and gatha review.