Creative Retreat 2026
The Alabama Folk School's Creative Retreat offers a restful weekend with the beautiful backdrop of Camp McDowell in the fall. Bring your personal projects and join us for a long weekend of focused time to rest and create. In the past, participants have brought sewing, woodworking, and writing projects or have simply spent their time reading, hiking, and resting. The time is your own! We’ll provide all your meals, access to wifi, nature trails, quiet spaces to work and rest, and evening refreshments.
You can opt in to morning program sessions during registration:
LODGING & MEALS
Lodging for this event will be in Bethany Village. Participants will have the option to stay in a Parsley Commons lodge room or a dorm style cabin. All lodging options include nightly refreshments and nine meals throughout the weekend starting with Thursday supper and ending with Sunday lunch.
- Lodge Room & Meals for One Person for Three Nights: $450
- Lodge Room & Meals for Two People for Three Nights: $600
- Cabin Bunk Bed & Meals for One Person for Three Nights: $190
Please make this time your own. Everything on the schedule (other than arrival and departure) is optional. We will have tea, coffee, and snacks available in the lodges throughout the day. A table of creative resources will be available. You are welcome to hike, canoe, or explore Camp McDowell's campus during your stay. Previous participants have brought creative projects ranging from woodworking, quilting, cookbook and novel writing, painting, and nothing at all but a plan to rest. Epiphany Art Studio will be open for added work space.
- You can reserve a pottery wheel or sewing machine for an added usage fee of $100.00.
Exploring Creative Blocks with Thad Frye & Jamie Alvey
Together, we’ll explore the creative process, with a focus on creative blocks and how the nervous system shapes our performance and creativity. We’ll look at what helps us get into the flow, what pulls us out of it, and what can sometimes leave us feeling stuck or blocked.
This conversation is intended to complement the retreat experience, offering an hour together each morning before returning to your creative work. We hope you’ll join us!
Thad Frye, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and performance specialist, in Boulder, Colorado, who works with creatives, athletes and musicians.
Jamie Alvey is a therapist in Birmingham, AL whose specialty includes working with creatives and performers on creative blocks, performance issues, and flow state.