PACT has rented an excellent retreat center for this very wonderful event.  Sevenoaks Retreat Center is known for its very comfortable accommodations, beautiful location, gourmet food and fantastic meeting rooms. The center is also easily accessible with close proximity to a variety of airports (20 mins from Charlottesville Airport, 1.5 hrs from DC/Dulles, 2.5 hours from Baltimore/BWI).

 

Please note: we advise no direct contact with the Retreat Center – please make your inquiries directly through PACT.

 

 

Natural amenities include:

 

—Hiking trails through the woods and fields

 —Swimming in the spring-fed pond or in the nearby Rapidan River

 —Large sand-lined fire circle for bonfires

 —Sweat lodges and medicine wheel for ceremony and purification

 —Sacred grove of huge, 300-year-old Oak trees

 

 

Accommodation

 

The comfortable facilities offer:

— Guest buildings, all centrally located and air-conditioned,

 —Overnight accommodations including camping

 —Meeting space for 15 to 100 people

 —Gourmet dining, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian

 —Bookstore and gift shop featuring books, music, art and jewelry

 —Some secluded rooms with beautiful mountain views

 

PACT is enrolled under the Co-op Service Plan.  This means that Sevenoaks provides linens and towels. Guests make their own beds upon arrival and strip their beds on departure.

 

Dining

Extraordinary gourmet meals, served buffet style, feature homemade breads and desserts, an abundant salad bar, and a variety of creative entrees, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian.  Please note: all meals will be served buffet style. This is based on the number of guests and is not an “all you can eat” buffet. Coffee, tea and snacks are available in all meeting spaces and are available throughout the rental period.

 

Meeting spaces

 

Light House

Our main Meeting room is the Lighthouse.  The upstairs sanctuary of the lighthouse is a circular 50-foot diameter room lined with windows and equipped with a top of the line sound system.  The spatial acoustics are amazing.  A wrap-around deck outside offers dramatic mountain and forest views. The 2,000-square foot sanctuary is perfect for any kind of gathering, from small meditation groups to dance activities, large seminars and meetings.  The lower level of Light House includes a smaller meeting room, an art gallery, and a coffee bar and mingling area.

 

Center Building

Center Building features a 30 X 50 foot light-filled dining/meeting room opening onto a large outdoor deck with picnic tables and views of the campus. This is where we will have all our meals. The building also has a smaller meeting room, sleeping space for nine people, and restrooms.

 

The Land and Outdoor Recreation

The Sevenoaks land is well known for its powerful energy.  The Oak Grove is a wonderful outdoor setting for rituals. A swimming pond and sweat lodges is a short walk from the main campus area. Further afield, visitors enjoy hiking through forests and meadows to the Rapidan River, which forms the western border of the center.  The land is home to abundant wildlife, including deer, beavers, and over 70 species of birds.

 

Small Sanctuary

Hidden in the woods just a few minutes from campus is an exquisite sanctuary, which is open for private or small-group meditation any time during your visit.

 

Also available for guest use are:

Pond with a small sandy beach (swimming)

Medicine wheel

River frontage (swimming)

Sand lined fire circle area

Forest

 

Smoking is allowed outdoors on the decks / anywhere where you see cigarette pots or ashtrays.

 

Camping: Campers receive a discounted rate of $12 off the package rate per night and may use the restroom facilities in the building closest to their campsite.  Individual campfires or fire lanterns are not permitted (to help preserve and protect the land).  Campers may use the fire-pit if needed, however.

 

Suggestions on what to bring:

 

Alarm clock

Flashlight/Torch

Hairdryers

Food supplementation if you have food allergies or if you like to eat larger than average-sized meals.

Complete camping gear if camping