Hollyhock Lifelong Learning Centre is a not-for-profit educational institute in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It offers programs in "health and wellness" "creativity", "wisdom teachings" and "leadership development" on its

Cortes Island Cortes Island is an island in the Discovery Islands archipelago on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The island is long, wide, and in area. It has a population of 1,035 permanent residents (2016 census). Cortes Island lies within Electora ...

campus. It also offers programs at various locations in Vancouver throughout the year.

History

Hollyhock was founded in 1982 by

Rex Weyler Rex Weyler (born September 10, 1947) is an American-Canadian author, journalist and ecologist. He has worked as a writer, editor, and publisher. In the 1970s, Weyler served as a director of the original ''Greenpeace Foundation'', and as campaign ...

, Siobhan Robinsong and Lee Robinsong who met at

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

. While beach walking on Cortes Island, they saw the abandoned hand-crafted buildings of the former Cold Mountain Institute. Siobhan drew Rex's attention to crimson hollyhocks peeking over a hawthorn hedge. Days before, Rex was given that same vision by an intuitive seer at the

Vancouver Folk Music Festival The Vancouver Folk Music Festival (VFMF), founded in 1978, is an outdoor multistage music festival, located at Jericho Beach Park on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia. It takes place annually, on the third weekend of July. The fes ...

. Friends Peggy Taylor, Rick Ingrasci, Torkin Wakefield, Charles Steinberg, Yvonne Kipp and Michael Moore joined to purchase the land. Many others invested over the years, and in 1982, this group of 30 'founders' purchased the abandoned Cold Mountain Institute. Dana Bass Solomon joined in the late 1990s as board member, soon as CEO. With Joel Solomon, Board Chair, (whom she later married), together they have led two decades of mission advancement. In 2008 the partner group donated full ownership and Hollyhock Leadership Institute became a registered charity.

Programming

Over the years, Hollyhock has offered a wide range of personal, spiritual and leadership development programs to an international clientele, serving 1,800 to 2,300 guests per year. The Centre hosts education and training on topics including

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

, group facilitation,

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

,Solomon, Linda and Moreka Jolar. "Hollyhock Cooks", 2003.

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

,"Short Trips: Holistic programs work on body and soul"
''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'', March 21, 2007.

social venture A Social Venture (also called a social enterprise) is undertaking by a firm or organization established by a social entrepreneur that seeks to provide systemic solutions to achieve a sustainable, social objective. Background Social ventures may b ...

s,Charlie Smith
"Building Hollyhock’s legacy"
''

Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...

'', April 26, 2007.

woodcarving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

animal communication Animal communication is the transfer of information from one or a group of animals (sender or senders) to one or more other animals (receiver or receivers) that affects the current or future behavior of the receivers. Information may be sent int ...

, relationships,Shannon Rupp, "Hollyhock Blends Salt air and Spirituality Lite", ''

'', March 28, 1996.

mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...

, nonviolent communication,"Spiritual retreats on Vancouver Island respond to life's challenges", ''

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

'', May 12, 2009. spiritual chanting, meditation,

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

,"Summer gone too quickly?", ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', April 3, 2009.

hara hachi bu (also spelled , and sometimes misspelled ) is a Confucian teaching that instructs people to eat until they are 80 percent full. The Japanese phrase translates to, "Eat until you are eight parts (out of ten) full", or "belly 80 percent full". Oki ...

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, morphic resonance,

holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...

approaches for dealing with cancer and

integrative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alte ...

. Prominent instructors at Hollyhock have included Robert Bateman,

Gabor Maté Gabor Maté (born January 6, 1944) is a Hungarian-Canadian physician and author. He has a background in family practice and a special interest in childhood development, trauma and potential lifelong impacts on physical and mental health includin ...

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as " Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels". She performed the theme song to the television series ''Maniac Ma ...

, Patrick Lane and

Nick Bantock Nick Bantock (born 14 July 1949) is a British artist and author based in Saltspring Island, British Columbia, known for his series, '' The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy''. His books are published by Raincoast Books in Canada and Chronicle Books in ...

. Hollyhock operates a scholarship fund. In 2008, the centre distributed CAN $97,000 to attendees.

Garden

Hollyhock operates a renowned one-acre French-intensive garden on the property. Flowers and food from the garden are used in the retreat centre's meals.

Political links

The CEO is Dana Bass Solomon,"Hollyhock retreat: 'Paradise with purpose'"
, ''Surrey Now'', May 26, 2009.Stephen Legault 2010. "Carry Tiger to Mountain: The Tao of Activism and Leadership" . and the board chair is her husband, Joel Solomon,Francis Bula 2009. "The Unlikely Revolutionary", ''

Vancouver Magazine ''Vancouver Magazine'' is an English-language lifestyle magazine focused on Vancouver, British Columbia and the Lower Mainland. ''Vancouver Magazine'' describes its mission as informing, guiding and entertaining residents of a "dynamic, internati ...

''. both of whom have connections to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Mayor Gregor Robertson. Robertson was the treasurer of Hollyhock Centre Ltd. in 2003 and 2004, and served on the board. A number of connections have been drawn between

Vancouver City Hall Vancouver City Hall is home to Vancouver City Council in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at 453 West 12th Avenue, the building was ordered by the Vancouver Civic Building Committee, designed by architect Fred Townley and Matheson, and ...

and Hollyhock, in part due to the number of people hired by the City of Vancouver who have connections to the retreat centre.How big money drives social change Green philanthropists are striving to turn Metro Vancouver into a sustainable nirvana
''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', August 8, 2010."Vancouver City Hollyhock"
'' City Caucus'', March 8, 2010. Board chair Solomon has responded to such claims stating that Hollyhock provides space to network for like-minded people around social and environmental topics, and have the possibility of making business connections. He has also stated that Hollyhock's programs attracted attendees from across the political spectrum.

References

Spiritual retreats Cortes Island