Upcoming Events
Connecting Mind, Body & Spirit
Events at Rising Fawn Gardens are carefully selected to meet a diverse audience. Each program offers a gift of time to yourself. Join us to learn a new skill, visit the garden, walk a trail, meditate, practice yoga, or rest in the peaceful sound of the babbling creek.
We invite you to come to the woods.
Viriditas! A Day with Saint Hildegard
Description
Gather with us on the land at Rising Fawn Gardens to celebrate the life and works of Saint Hildegard of Bingen on her Feast Day. Hildegard was a 12th century abbess, herbalist, composer, artist, and mystic. Her life’s work is remarkable for its embrace of the feminine face of God and the sanctity of nature.
During the first half of the day we will enjoy a presentation on Hildegard’s life, learn about the daily rhythms of monastic life in an eleventh century monastery, and explore Hildegard’s theology of the divine feminine life force for which she coined the word “viriditas.” We are blessed to be joined by a cantor who will lead us in song and share some of St. Hildegard’s choral compositions.
We’ll then put our hands to good work tying a rosary in devotion to the Divine Mother. While we tie we’ll listen to St. Hildegard’s beautiful music and discuss the rosary’s sacred anatomy and quiet power.
Our lunch will be based on St. Hildegard’s teachings about nutrition, herbs, and spices and we’ll share a meal of spelt bread, soup, salad, quenched wine, and her famous Cookies of Joy.
With rosaries in hand we will venture into the forest for shinrin-yoku, a Japanese practice of immersion with nature. A tea ceremony will follow before moving into a communal prayer circle to share our hearts and close our time together.
While this gathering is centered around wisdom from the Christian tradition, we will engage with the teachings and practices in a way that emphasizes the universality of our Divine Mother’s love. The rosary has ancient roots that connect us to our prehistoric ancestors and their worship of the great goddess. The Lady invites each and every one of us into her rose garden of prayer.
Itinerary
9:30 AM - Intro to the day
9:45 AM - Invocation, Music
10:00 AM - History and Viriditas
10:30 AM - Rosary tying (+ the architecture of the rosary)
1200-1:30 PM - Lunch based on Hildegard’s teachings on nutrition
1:30-2:30 PM - Forest Bathing (Shinrin-Yoku)
2:30-3:00 PM - Tea Ceremony
3:00 PM on Communal Prayer Circle
Tickets
Ticket sales include Lunch.
$140 per-person
Event Facilitators
Ali Banks
Ali is a practicing herbalist, mother, and medicine maker. The wild plants of our southern Appalachian forests hold a very special place in her heart. Through her connection with the wild green world Ali is a lifelong apprentice of the divine feminine in all her forms. She and her husband Joe have stewarded their herbal apothecary business, Forest Folk Fungi, for 10 years.
Karen Persinger
Karen grew up in a large family surrounded by the traditions of the Catholic faith. A devotion to Mary and praying the rosary have been comforting rituals she continues to embrace. As owner of Rising Fawn Gardens, she feels a sacred connection to the natural world and is happiest when sharing the awe and mystery of nature with her grandchildren and the visitors to RFG..
Maria Gonzales
María Gonzalez completed her Forest Therapy guide training with the Association of Nature Forest Therapy Guides. María’s background in cultural and experiential education informs and inspires her guiding practice.
Allyson Ford
With a lifetime of music held in her heart, Allyson Ford is a lyric soprano, and carries a beautiful, clear, early music voice. With 32 years of working in sacred music, she understands what music can bring to the sacred. She serves as a cantor at Our Lady of the Mount Catholic Church on Lookout Mountain, regularly serving weekend and special Masses. And while she loves studying and singing early music, music of Ireland and indie folk music, she also loves running in nature and taking care of animals.
Forest Bathing at Rising Fawn Gardens
Description
Forest Bathing, also known as Forest Therapy, is a therapeutic practice rooted in the restorative healing power of nature. The essence of Forest Bathing lies in its simplicity – it is an invitation to be fully present, deeply engage all the senses, and soak up the wonder and awe that nature bestows. Led by a trained guide, this immersive experience will be a slow, gentle, meander on the land of Rising Fawn Gardens followed by a tea ceremony.
What to bring
You are welcome to bring a water bottle, a camping chair, or a blanket for your comfort sitting outside.
Participants are encouraged to wear a sunhat, comfortable clothes, and shoes for walking. No open toe shoes please.
I am certified in Wilderness First Aid and will have a first aid kit.
We will be outside on trails for the duration of our time together so participants are encouraged to apply bugspray before our walk and/or to wear long pants and socks for protection from bugs, stings, and thorns.
We love our fur babies but please do not bring pets, thank you.
Complimentary tea and snacks will be provided at the end of our walk.
A follow up email will be sent a few days prior to our walk.
Tickets
$15 per person
The event includes tea and snacks. All participants will be required to register for this event and to complete a waiver for Rising Fawn Gardens before the walk.
Your Guide
María Gonzalez
Maria completed her Forest Therapy guide training with the Association of Nature Forest Therapy Guides. María’s background in cultural and experiential education informs and inspires her guiding practice.
Community Yoga with Bonnie Cayce
Description
Join us for a community yoga class led by Bonnie Cayce at the Retreat House at Rising Fawn Gardens. Bonnie will lead us in a slow flow, gentle Vinyasa practice from 10-11am, followed by tea on the porch from 11-12pm. All levels are welcome, bring your own mat and water bottle.
Itinerary
10:00 AM - Class Starts
12:00 PM - Class Ends
Tickets
Cost is $10 or a gratitude offering on the day, please register to attend.
Event Facilitator
Bonnie Z. Cayce has taught yoga for 17 years with certificates in the Yoga Fit method at gyms, churches, schools, and special events and has been a practitioner for over 20 years. She enjoys workshops and has taken several at Rising Fawn Gardens. Her philosophy is Yoga is for everybody. Every Body.
Butterfly & Nature Walk 2025
Description
Come join us for a summer Butterfly and Nature Walk at Rising Fawn Gardens led by butterfly expert and enthusiast Mike O’Brien. Mike will lead us on his 6th biannual butterfly walk to learn more about butterfly habitat, life cycles, along with so much more as you help him with his seasonal count and data collection at Rising Fawn Gardens.
We will begin the tour at the cabin and follow Mike around the grounds to spot species of butterflies along the way. You can expect to stop and take time to identify and photograph these fluttering beauties!
Guests are encouraged to bring your sun hats, water bottles, binoculars, books, and a handy notebook for any information you want to take away with you. Make sure to bring all your questions and curiosities about our flying friends!
This event does require fair weather, so if it does rain we will reschedule and follow up with a new count date. This event is for ages 15+ and is limited to 10 guests, so please register in advance.
Itinerary
9:00 AM - Nature Walk Starts
11:00 AM - Nature Walk Ends
Tickets
A $10 donation is requested. All the proceeds will be donated to Wild Ones TN Valley Chapter, learn more about the work they do HERE!
Event Facilitator
Michael (Mike) O’Brien is retired from the Medical Field in which he worked as a surgical pathologist for 35 years. After his retirement in 2005 in Pensacola, Florida, he relocated to Northeast Alabama near Fort Payne for its abundance of biodiversity. He and his wife, Marion, have spent the last 14 years actively converting their home’s 21 acre rural location to a Natural wildlife habitat, by adding many Native plantings, habitat modifications, bird houses, and doing so without the use of pesticides or other chemicals.
They now have an abundance of butterflies, birds, bees, mammals and other wildlife with fifty-seven butterfly species in 2018 and at least 20 species of nesting birds. Mike is a lifelong amateur photographer and contributes his Nature photos monthly to several newsletters. He is also a Native flowers photo contributor to the new and forthcoming Wildflowers of Alabama book.
Mike is a member of the North American Butterfly Association, and for the last 10 years has been an active, yearly participant in their local area butterfly counts for the National organization. He is also a member of Wild Ones Tennessee Valley Chapter, The Audubon Society, The Xerces Society, The Cornell Lab for Birds and is a yearly contributor to Mass Audubon’s National Firefly Watch. He is an avid handtool woodworker outside of his many Nature pursuits.
Ceibo Soundz: The Mystic Sound Healer Workshop
Description
Ceibo is a master sound healer based in Nosara, Costa Rica. On his 2025 USA Tour, Ceibo Soundz will be offering Sound Journeys across the country, starting in the Southeast, traveling up the East coast, to the Midwest, the Rockies, and Southern Utah before finishing the tour on a ranch in Southern Colorado.
With a culmination of a decade and over 1,000 sound journeys, Ceibo Soundz presents a profound vibrational experience in his live shows with otherworldly drones and vocals using alchemy crystal bowls, instruments from India and indigenous instruments from around the world. Holding space inside a multi dimensional energetic field while guiding people into their own deeper wisdom and understanding that leads to growth, expansion and a manifestation of the highest self.
Ceibo offers 2 community classes per week at a world renown yoga facility called Bodhi Tree Yoga Resort in Costa Rica where he lives. He also books private sound journeys with retreats, festivals and private gatherings. He was recently featured in a global publication called The Flow Trip in their “happiness issue”.
Additionally Ceibo offers a 5 week online course called The Mystic Sound Healer and will be offering a condensed version of the course in a 3 hour workshop along his tour. The workshop is a culmination of 10 years and over 1,000 sound journeys performed. The training includes the following sections. Self Inquiry, The basic Structure of a Sound Journey, Techniques, Performing a Sound Journey and Go to Market Strategy which guides the students on how to make a plan to set up sound journeys in local studios and musical venues. Ceibo will guide the students in each level so that they become more familiar with how to perform a Sound Journey including all the amazing magic that goes into holding space inside the energetic field of Sound Healing. The student will have the opportunity to play Ceibo’s Alchemy crystal bowls and he encourages those to bring any personal instruments to the training.
This Training is for those that are new to sound healing and to those that are advanced and looking to uplevel their current sound healing offerings. The Mystic Sound Healer training can also be applied as continuing education for 300 hour yoga teacher trainees.
One workshop Scholarship is available. Feel free to reach out directly to Ceibo with any questions about the training.
Itinerary
9:00 AM - Workshop Starts
12:00 PM - Workshop Ends
Tickets
Join Ceibo for a Mystic Sound Healer Workshop where you will be guided on the many levels of performing a Sound Journey.
$100 - 125 per person
Event Facilitator
Ceibo is a master sound healer based in Nosara, Costa Rica. With a culmination of 1 decade and over 1,000 sound journeys Ceibo Soundz presents a profound vibrational experience with otherworldly drones and vocals using alchemy crystal bowls, instruments from India and indigenous instruments from around the world. Holding space inside a multi dimensional energetic field while guiding people into their own deeper wisdom and understanding that leads to growth, expansion and a manifestation of the highest self.
Ceibo Soundz: The Mystic Sound Journey Live Performance
Description
Ceibo is a master sound healer based in Nosara, Costa Rica. On his 2025 USA Tour, Ceibo Soundz will be offering Sound Journeys across the country, starting in the Southeast, traveling up the East coast, to the Midwest, the Rockies, and Southern Utah before finishing the tour on a ranch in Southern Colorado.
With a culmination of a decade and over 1,000 sound journeys, Ceibo Soundz presents a profound vibrational experience in his live shows with otherworldly drones and vocals using alchemy crystal bowls, instruments from India and indigenous instruments from around the world. Holding space inside a multi dimensional energetic field while guiding people into their own deeper wisdom and understanding that leads to growth, expansion and a manifestation of the highest self.
Itinerary
7:00 PM - Live Performance Starts
8:15 PM - Live Performance Ends
Tickets
Ceibo presents a vibrational experience with vocals , crystal bowls, and instruments from indigenous instruments from around the world.
$40- 50 per person
Event Facilitator
Ceibo is a master sound healer based in Nosara, Costa Rica. With a culmination of 1 decade and over 1,000 sound journeys Ceibo Soundz presents a profound vibrational experience with otherworldly drones and vocals using alchemy crystal bowls, instruments from India and indigenous instruments from around the world. Holding space inside a multi dimensional energetic field while guiding people into their own deeper wisdom and understanding that leads to growth, expansion and a manifestation of the highest self.