The Returning - Sun Festival

This event is a not-profit event, We offer over 65 scholarship and exchange tickets to the day. Please support us and our pay it forward philosophy. 

We gather on Bundjalung land to return.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay our respects to all peoples past and present.

You are invited to return to wholeness, to nature, to knowledge, to ourselves and to one another.

Launching our two day event of workshops, panel discussions, song & community empowerment activation.

The Returning is an weekend event / women’s conference, empowering each other through health and wellness, knowledge sharing and creating skills that we can then take back into our community, integrate back into our lives and support us to become more healthy and in turn have happy lives.

There will be no - onsite camping at this stage but book into Macas Camp ground which is 5 minutes away from the property or alternatively Brunswick Heads Caravan park is perfect for camping also. 

The Returning is a gathering that happens in the Byron Shire twice a year. We focus each edition on the Season in which we are celebrating.

It is a weaving of women from all over the globe. A global conference of maidens, mothers, queens and crones.

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~ Sun Festival Returning ~

Come together to celebrate summer. The gardens are beginning the bloom, and summer is on its way. 

Let's pray for the rains, return to the country and gather as women to take advantage of the extra hours of daylight and spend as much time in nature as we can.

Come and gather to find joy, abundance, gain knowledge on holistic health around summer time herbs, release all that no longer serves and share warm meals in nature with women.

A time to celebrate the light.

https://www.thereturning.com.au/

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ABOUT:

Explore movement, rituals and wellness, along with discussions on topics thats need addressing, as we come together as sisters to learn from elders, mother and maidens.

A weekend event for female identifying woman located in the lush nature surroundings of Mt Jerusalem.

The day is filled with movement, rituals and wellness, along with discussions and panels on topics thats need addressing.

A combination of creation and clarity as we come together as sisters to learn from elders, maidens and mothers.

This all ages event is curated for women, by women.

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The Land:

The Returning will be held on on the border of Mt. Jerusalem National Park, Bundjalung land just outside of Byron Bay. Enjoy amazing views over the treetops, through the valley to the ocean. Come and embrace an abundance of native wildlife on the grounds which boast a spring fed dam, creek, waterfall and a Zen archery dojo.

An ‘off the grid’ country retreat offering great privacy, whilst being only 20 minutes from Mullumbimby, 35 minutes from Byron Bay and less than an hour’s drive to Gold Coast International Airport.

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The Weekend

We gather on Bundjalung land to return. Combining Woman's Business during the day with a night time celebration of sisters whose voices will light up the mountain with music.

Woman will heal, learn, laugh, move, be heard and create together. A event that calls us to return to our bodies, our health and each other.

Through movement, talks, workshops and music we retrace our steps from our ancestors to rewrite our new paradigm of living. A new way of connecting.

The event will be run on Bundjalung land, with a strong Aboriginal female elder will lead us in a smoking ceremony and welcome to country.

ACTIVISM | MOVEMENT | CRAFT | WELLNESS

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WHAT TO BRING

This is a WASTE FREE event.

Please plan & pack accordingly as there will be no bins!

BYO Plate, Blanket cutlery and cup.

There will be food available in the ticket price however we request that you bring your own utensils in order to minimise waste and snacks if you know you will be hungry.

Be sure to wear comfortable clothing that you can move in and warmer clothes for the evening.

Small Babies in arms welcome and all children. We offer a full kids village at the event which always has volunteers to look after your children while attend workshops.

Bring anything that you want to contribute to the alter.

This all ages event is curated for women, by women. If you identify as a woman please join us.

SCHOLARSHIP tickets are available for Indigenous women, women in need, refugees, and single mothers.

VOLUNTEER TICKETS also available in exchange for work trade.

thereturningthegathering@gmail.com

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ORGANISER:

​Ella Noah Bancroft is an Indigenous artist, storyteller, teacher, connection coach and mentor. Over the years, Ella has been traveling the world, acquiring new skills, ways of thinking, ancient wisdom and local teachings.

Ella is a a Bundjalung woman born in Sydney and raised partly outside of Grafton, in rural New South Wales. Her mother is an Aboriginal Australian from the Djanbun clan—and her father a 7 generations Australia, with blood line tied to England.

She is passionate about re-wilding, sexual engagement within the world and the feminine force and is devoting her life to making this work accessible in the West.

Ella sees herself as a bridge, a bridge between to worlds of Australia that need reconciling. This feels like her purpose for the greater good.

The event is a cultural experience. One that looks at deepening connection to the Earth, ourselves, and each other.

Limited tickets remain.

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Join us in under the Lit moon in the Australian bush just outside of Mullumbimby for a day of activism, learning, crafting, healing, movement and for reconnection.