Book the venue for a afternoon or evening
Our beautiful barn is a wonderful venue for private parties, meetings and workshops. We're conveniently located only 10 minutes from Nelson and 25 minutes from Castlegar. Rental includes full access to the venue with stage, dance floor, bar, outdoor cooking area, electricity, UV treated water, fridge, flushing toilets, patio, professionally landscaped lawn, compost, parking, recycling, banquet tables and bench seating (maximum 30 guests).
Rental Rate: starting from $250 (half day)
EXTRAS
FLOWERS
Custom DECOR
Custom DECOR
With a flower farm on site, we're happy to provide flowers for your event. Basic packages starting from $50 for a large bouquet with peonies in season.
Custom DECOR
Custom DECOR
Custom DECOR
Need something special? We can help you design and fabricate displays and custom decor for your event.
Workshops
Custom DECOR
Workshops
Have an idea for a workshop? Let us know. We are happy to help you design and promote your event.
Concerts
Custom DECOR
Workshops
Are you a performer? Our venue is a fantastic space for music. Come to one of our concerts or let us help you plan something special.
Everything 'R' Festival | November 30th
We'll be at the Everything R Festival at the Miners Hall hosted by the Rossland Refactory and Rotary Club of Rossland on Saturday Nov 30th. We'll be in the 'R' market selling our recycled products from 10 am to 4 pm. There will also be an Earthbox building workshop (great for growing veggies on your deck with little maintenance), youth activities, a bike repair clinic, and more. Entrance by donation. Also bring your clean and unlabeled (cut them off if you need) plastic so the Refactory can turn it in to useful products.
In the evening there will be a dance featuring The Karli Harris Band. Tickets $20 available at Out of the Cellar.
Country Christmas | December 15th
Head on over to the Nelson and District Riding Club ( 4635 Blewett Rd) on December 15th for a fun outdoor equestrian experience. We'll be there in the market selling a selection of our eco-friendly products.
Longest Night of the Year Celebration | December 20th
From 4 pm to 8 pm, come join us at Bear Spring Eco Retreat for free snacks, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, snow sculptures, fire pit, community gathering, starlit snowshoeing and some holiday cheer! Our on-site gift shop, the Trading Post, will be open for last minute shoppers.
Makers Market | December 21st
We just love Christmas events that happen so close to the holiday. They are always so festive and this one will be no exception. Visit our table full of eco-friendly goodies from 3 pm to 9 pm at the Eagles Hall in Nelson.
Hide Tanning Workshop | TBA Spring 2025
Smoke Tanning, also referred to as Brain Tanning, is one the oldest global methods of hide tanning. Using fat and smoke, we will transform a deer hide into a lightweight textile called buckskin. This workshop will be hosted over four days by tanner Mara Cur of Fern + Roe. Mara has nearly a decade of experience teaching hide tanning. Drawing on her cultural knowledge as a settler of Scottish and Hungarian descent, Mara uses European techniques to create naturally tanned hides. This technique is common to European hide tanning practices, making the course appropriate for settler and Indigenous participants. Each participant will learn the process and will go home with a buckskin hide that can be used for leather crafts.
This workshop organized collaboratively with the Sinixt / Arrow Lakes Confederacy. We wish to acknowledge the significance of hide tanning to Sinixt culture, as well as the ongoing presence of Sinixt people along the Columbia River and across the border. This workshop invites settler and Indigenous participants to convene through hide craft, supporting artistic exchange through this cross-cultural practice.
Kootenay Cook Off on September 29th
Is food becoming increasingly unaffordable? Is it tiring finding time to cook healthy meals? Are you disappointed with the quality of produce in the grocery stores? Are you feeling lonely and isolated from your neighbours? Are you concerned about climate change but not sure how to help? Are you craving fun and connection? Join the Kootenay Cook Off and participate in canning and cooking workshops with David Havemann (a professional cook and instructor at Selkirk College), make herbal elixers with Althaea Herbals, bake pies with Solita Work (co-owner of Bear Spring Eco Retreat), play team building games (kid friendly), go on plant themed scavenger hunt, swap your excess garden harvest with neighbours, listen to local musicians in the barn (music jam hosted by Moonflower Collective), share food in the giant potluck and compete in our friendly peoples choice taste contest and win prizes.
Autumn Plant Walk on September 28
Join herbalist Travis Cartwright & Marie Zak of Althaea Herbals for a three hour plant walk hosted right here at our retreat on September 28th from 1 pm to 4 pm.
During this three hour plant walk participants will be given tools to deepen their personal relationship with the natural world while getting to know a variety of locally growing medicinal herbs. You'll learn how to safely identify the plants discussed, and learn how you can incorporate their medicine in your daily life.
Take a Mushroom Walking Tour on September 8th
Book a walking adventure with Rob Macrae, a local lichen and fungi expert, on the lush forest trails at our retreat. On this tour, you will learn how to identify a variety of lichens and mushrooms, where to find them and the environments in which they are most likely to grow. The walking trail route is easy with some steep terrain. Be prepared to walk 4 to 5 kilometres. Dress for the weather and bring a water bottle. Practise leaving no trace. Be prepared to carry out any garbage you carry in.
Participants will receive a beautiful printed lichen and mushroom identification poster as a keepsake.
Emily Triggs performing in the barn on August 25th
"Emily has been singing festivals, clubs and coffee houses and has become known as an established singer songwriter. The Great Escape should only further Triggs’ reputation as one of the city's best songsmiths, which was already made evident in her first two solo records — 2014’s When Guinevere Went Under and 2019’s Middletown — and her time spent with the traditional folk outfit Magnolia Buckskin." - Calgary Herald
Emily Triggs will take the stage in the barn at Bear Spring Eco Retreat on August 25th.
Magnolia Buckskin performing in the barn on July 20th
Experience a night of enchanting folk music with Magnolia Buckskin on July 20th! Enjoy the rich acoustics and breathtaking views at the picturesque venue at Bear Spring Eco retreat, just 10 minutes from town. Magnolia Buckskin is an all-female trio delivering beautiful harmonies and original arrangements in a blend of indie bluegrass, folk, and acoustic pop music on guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion and bass. They bring their years of friendship, humour and love of music to the stage, telling stories that evoke a panorama of human experiences. Kathy Cook, Natasha Sayer and Corry Ulan draw upon their prairie roots. Don’t miss out on this musical treat! Get you tickets now.
Have you heard about the TransRockies ST6 Mountain Bike Race?
We're stoked to be a "Host Accommodation Partner" for the TransRockies 2024 Singletrack 6 race series! We've reserved all of our accommodations for Singletrack 6 participants. Participants are strongly encouraged to seize this opportunity and select our retreat as their home base for the first 3 stages (with convenient access to stages 1 and 2 and serving as the stage 3 start/finish line) of this year's ST6. Book a 4-night stay from July 10th to 13th by email.
Kootenay EcoFest
A celebration of sustainable action with local waste reduction solutions, live demonstrations, inspiring learning opportunities, regional food tasting and live music. Bat cave tours, wildcrafting, mushroom log inoculation workshops, repair cafe, 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) market and more!
All happening on our beautiful property in Beasley, BC.
