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We are so excited to invite you to a weekend-long community singing retreat from April 10-12 at Camp Courage in Maple Lake, MN!! We’ll gather together to sing our hearts out, deepen community and relationships, and spend time in the woods as the Minnesota winter thaws into spring. Organized by Sarina Partridge and Sarah Abbott, and featuring songleaders Sarina, RiYo Amini, and Annie Schlaefer and Linnea Champ, this will be a welcoming weekend of simple, satisfying community singing – all voices are welcome! No prior musical experience is necessary, just a desire to sing with others. Spring Sing prioritizes connection, joy, making new friends, and time in nature.

We have heard from many of you that you want a longer retreat! This year, we’re experimenting with a slightly elongated schedule and adding two song sessions. Arrivals will begin at 1:30pm on Friday in advance of our 3pm opening circle. We will end at 3pm on Sunday April 12. 

Program

Much of our time will be spent in sessions in which we’ll sing simple songs together in harmony. We will have breaks to walk in the woods or hang out, we’ll eat meals together, and we’ll have fun evening activities. 

What will we sing? Expect to learn lots of original songs by the songleaders and other songwriters – mostly fairly simple songs, often with a few parts that layer together. Sarina might end up also teaching a more complex song in a non-english language, woohoo! Songleaders will teach by ear (no sheet music). The focus of our song-learning will be the experience of singing together – it’s all about connection, not performance or perfection.

Will we be singing every minute of every day? There will be 3.5-5 hours of singing sessions per day. There will also be activities in-between these sessions, many led by participants - things like movement practices, craft activities, outdoor games, hikes, square dancing etc. - as well as meals and down time.

Do I have to be a “good singer” to come? Let’s try this on: “There is no good or bad singing, only free or less free.” - Orion Johnstone  So in answer to the question: the only kind of singer you need to be is someone who wants to sing! We welcome experienced singers, newbie singers, choir junkies, curious and shy singers, nervous singers… we strive to create and foster a space that is affirming of all voices.

Attendees

We plan to have between 80-90 people in attendance. We welcome adults and teens of all races, religions, genders, sexualities, abilities, and identities.

Location

We will be at Camp Courage, a 1-hour drive northwest of the Twin Cities, which lies on 305-acres of lakeshore, woods and fields with walking paths and some indoor and outdoor facilities. We will have our own area of the camp, and there will be other guests on other parts of the campus who we will overlap with in the dining hall. 

Lodging will be in dorm-style cabins, in rooms of 2-4 people, and a hotel-style dorm building, with mostly 2 people per room. There is also a camping option for hearty early-spring campers! 

Cost

We offer this retreat on a sliding scale of $250 - $425, and the break-even cost per person is $320. Registration includes lodging for Friday and Saturday night and 6 meals (Friday dinner - Sunday lunch). We have some lower-cost registrations available on a sliding scale of $155-245. We want the retreat to be as accessible as possible, so please choose an amount on the sliding scale that reflects what is affordable and generous for you. Any money you contribute over $320 will make it possible for other people to pay lower on the sliding scale. 

Meet the Leaders and Organizers

Sarina Partridge is a musician, songleader and educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs -- especially songs grown out of time spent in wild places. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; and performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song with her duo, Lutfl.  Sarina has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses singing as a modality to help folks develop a sense of wonder and belonging in this wild world.

Ríomas (RiYo for short), previously known as Shireen Amini, is a queer, trans masculine, Puerto Rican-Iranian artist, facilitator, and culture builder creating at the intersection of music, soul, and liberation. They are guided by a belief that music, especially voice and rhythm, can reawaken in us what modern culture has forgotten: how to move together, grieve together, and rise together. Ríomas crafts artful, inviting songs designed not only to be heard but to be entered. Drawing from roots, pop and folk textures, Afro-diasporic and Latin lineages, their work honors cultural hybridity while inviting realness, tenderness, and transformative power. In facilitated song circles, they hold healing space while leading joyful, groove-based songs that engage participants in the rhythm and ritual of it all. Through their educational offerings, Ríomas empowers people to trust their musicality and engage music as a living practice for cultural healing and social change. They are the founder of Sing People Sing!, a queer and BIPOC-led community song circle series in Portland, author of the course Drum Song Reclamation, and leader of an emerging band collective bridging high-level musicianship with community participation. Their first community song album, Gather Your Resilience: Medicine Songs for Liberation, is set to release in early 2026.

Artist website: shireenamini.com

Community offerings website: shireenaminimusicmedicine.com

Annie and Linnea co-facilitate a weekly local community song circle, “Sing As You Are”, in Minneapolis. These two singers and songleaders have been friends, and have loved singing together, for decades - and love the way that singing invites all people to jump in and try something new. Let’s sing!

Sarah grew up singing in southeastern Minnesota and currently resides in Minneapolis with her partner and her many houseplants. She has been community organizing for 20 years as part of social change movements, often singing along the way! She loves to bring people together in creative and meaningful ways. Along with being the co-creator of Spring Sing, she is a somatic practitioner, facilitator and consultant.

Contact

With questions, contact Sarah Abbott and Sarina Partridge - sarahtabbott@gmail.com, sarina.partridge@gmail.com 

We can’t wait to sing with you in April!