Revitalizing the Labyrinth Gardens

The intention for this year is to revitalize the gardens at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. They were originally designed and planted in 2011. And fourteen years later the gardens surrounding the labyrinth are no longer in good shape. They are overgrown, weedy, need edging and mulch, and more.

There is currently not an active committee looking after the labyrinth, the Town of Carleton Place cuts the grass but does not tend the gardens. The idea is to have a master gardener help provide some plant replacement ideas. Once there is a plan and when we secure some funding, a gardener and crew will help to do a one-time clean up of the beds.

We had a good start with a Hosta planting party at the labyrinth last week. A small group of former Labyrinth committee members, with the help of a Carleton Place and Districut Horticultural Society member, planted several dozen Hostas under the spruce trees bordering the Labyrinth.
All who come to walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth comment on the peace and tranquility they find at this special place. We are very hopeful that the beauty of the gardens will soon be restored.

2022 Labyrinth Events

I am happy to say that we are reopening the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth this year and have planned some events for 2022. Save the dates!

Tuesdays, starting May 3rd  until the end of September 9 am – Weekly garden tending at the labyrinth.

Saturday May 7th 1 pm  - “World Labyrinth Day” with Christine Hume
Walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth at 1:00 p.m. on World Labyrinth Day to help create a rolling wave of peace passing from one time zone to the next around the globe. Also to commemorate “National Start Seeing Monarchs Day” some sunflower and milkweed seeds will be planted at the labyrinth.

Some sunflower seeds will be planted on World Labyrinth Day.

Saturday May 14th 1 pm - “Crystal Grid Workshop ” by "Paint with Janet"
Introduction to Crystal Grids through an exploration of Sacred Geometry and Crystal Energy. This workshop will be facilitated by "Paint with Janet". Includes everything you need to paint your 10" x 10" wooden canvas and a mystery bag of crystals. Walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth and spend some time reflecting and journaling about your experience. 
Workshop fee $60. To register, e-transfer to janet.beath@sympatico.ca

Paint your own Crystal Grid, followed by a labyrinth walk.

NEW DATE Saturday August 27th  2022 10 am - “Yoga on the Labyrinth” with Charlotte Pragnell
Come and enjoy a relaxing and meditative yoga session at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The session will be facilitated by Charlotte Pragnell, an experienced yoga teacher. Bring your own yoga mat, all are welcome.
A portion of the donations from today’s walk will support humanitarian relief efforts in the Ukraine.

Yoga on the labyrinth, a relaxing and meditative experience.

NEW DATE Saturday August 20th 2022 10 am “Sock Project” Labyrinth Walk with Jessica Lynn Baird
Wear a pair of crazy socks and walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth.
The Sock Project gifts socks to inspire hope in folks suffering chronic illness.
A portion of donations from today’s walk will go to support the Sock Project.

Wear a pair of fun socks and walk the labyrinth to support a good cause.

DATE CORRECTION Saturday September 24th  2022 9 am to 11 am - “Creativity on the Labyrinth” – inspired by Dahlias with Brittiny Lepage, The Dahlia Darling
A labyrinth helps to evoke your creativity! Come and explore your creative self, create a mosaic; collage; sketch or painting inspired by Dahlias. This creativity session will be facilitated by "The Dahlia Darling" Brittiny Lepage.

Enjoy a creativity session, inspired by Dahlias!

Donations in support of the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth programming are gratefully accepted.

For more information contact:
Christine Hume
Volunteer Labyrinth Keeper - Carleton Place Community Labyrinth
Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator
christinehume@bell.net
Cel: 613 859 2136

Trusting the Path, Despite the Pandemic

I am taking some time to reflect on a very different kind of year at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. As of early March 2020 it became apparent that our planned schedule of community events needed to be put on indefinite hold. But the "labyrinth keeper" in me realized there was still something that I could do.  Following is a diary of the year...

CARLETON PLACE  LABYRINTH IN THE MEDIA

Thankful for these posts that helped to continue building awareness of our lovely labyrinth:

Ottawa Road Trips - 10 Things you Didn't know about Carleton Place
Getting on Travel - An Ottawa Road Trip - includes CP Labyrinth

APRIL 2020

April 8 - Garden tending.  For most of April I would go to the labyrinth - and tend one garden at a time; trimming the grasses - and feeling better for being there - working away quietly and meditatively. 

April 18 - Labyrinth opens. Message of encouragement at the start of this year's journal. 

April 29 - Stones of encouragement left in the labyrinth mailbox. 

MAY 2020

May 2 - Solo World Labyrinth Day walk - feeling centered and grounded.

May 13 - My labyrinth walk, finding art (Hope!) along the path

JUNE 2020

June 7 Thought for today's labyrinth walk... dawdle and walk aimlessly - inspired by Thich Nhat Hahn

June 8 A gift of stones left at the labyrinth

June 23 Rainbow of hope mosaic, created by Christine Hume Mosaics. (Wherein I participate in an online project called "Mosaic a Rainbow of Hope" organized by my mosaic teacher Suzanne Spahi, in Italy!)

JULY 2020

July 7 Picnic and barefoot labyrinth walk

AUGUST 2020

2020 Journal Entries... So good to know people are finding solace in walking the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth during these challenging times!

SEPTEMBER 2020

In the Fall we reopened - it was good to be able to offer several community events.

September 6 - Drone photo taken of the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth! (Photo credit: Sean Kilpatrick)September 6 and 20 - Yoga at the Labyrinth.

 

OCTOBER 2020

October 4 - St. Francis Day walk with your companion animals!

While this year has been challenging on many levels, tending and walking the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth has kept me grounded and encouraged me to follow my intuition and simply trust the path! A very good reminder that things are often "solved by walking"... See you at the Labyrinth :)

Fall Events at the Labyrinth

Join us in September and early October for some special events at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The labyrinth has been open throughout 2020 and people have been coming to walk and finding solace and peace during this particularly challenging year.

“June 5/20 - A happy day with my friend – trying to make the best of the pandemic on a sunny day. H.”

“June 18/20 – thank you for the lovely experience. B.A.”

“July 27/20 – The labyrinth walk calmed me! So peaceful! Thank you for sharing. G.U.”

We are happy to once again to be able to offer community events as follows. They will be offered in a safe and responsible manner in accordance with present legislation and guidelines. The events are free, but a $5 to $10 donation is suggested to help support future activities at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth.

Yoga on the labyrinth – Sunday Sept 6, 2020 and Sunday Sept 20, 2020 9 AM to 10 AM

Come and enjoy a relaxing and meditative yoga session at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The sessions will be facilitated by Dawn Bone, an experienced Kundalini yoga teacher. Bring your own yoga mat and mask, all are welcome. 

  

St. Francis Day – Sunday Oct 4, 2020 11 AM (walk with your companion animal at the labyrinth)

Join us on the feast day for St. Francis for a special labyrinth event celebrating and blessing our companion animals. St. Francis was known (among many things) for his love for all creatures. You are welcome to bring your pet (on leash) to join you for a walk at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. If it isn’t possible to bring your companion animal, bring of photo of your pet and walk with it.  Important to note: Walkers are responsible to have their pet under control at all times. 

Bring your pet (on leash) for a labyrinth walk on St. Francis Day

Labyrinths exist in many forms, in places as diverse as Peru, Iceland, Egypt, France, and the United Kingdom. There are more than 4,000 labyrinths active today. Some labyrinths have been built on private lands, while others, like the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth, have been created as a public space for all to enjoy.  

The Community Labyrinth is located at the corner of George and Baines Streets, beside the Carleton Place & Beckwith Heritage Museum. The labyrinth was built in 2010, and construction was made possible by the Town of Carleton Place, individual, business & community sponsors, and a Trillium Foundation grant.

For more information contact Christine Hume: 613-859-2136 or christinehume@bell.net
 

Tending the Labyrinth

There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth's grass path and gardens tended. To make it the peaceful and beautiful oasis that it has become.

Garden tools at the entrance standing stone - getting ready to tend the labyrinth.

The Town of Carleton Place trims around the stones that edge the labyrinth path.

Tending the CP Community Labyrinth is a labour of love that our small committee has embraced for a decade! We couldn't do it without the help of the maintenance crew of the Town of Carleton Place - and more recently with the help of the Carleton Place and District Horticultural Society!

Edging and trimming the garden beds - much easier with extra hands helping!

Due to various circumstances, at times there were primarily only 2 or 3 active labyrinth committee members (aka labyrinth keepers) this year. One of our members proactively took it upon herself to put together a presentation and attend a CP and District Horticultural Society meeting with an idea...

We suggested connecting the Victoria School Museum Garden beside the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum somehow to the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth.  And asked for help with the maintenance of the gardens.

So thankful for the expert tree-trimming help.

The finished stone bench garden - so inviting now to sit and reflect.

As a first step, in the fall of 2019, we worked together with several CP and District Hort Society folks to tend the garden beds and trees surrounding the labyrinth. It was fun to work together - and to learn more about pruning and gardening as we went along.

The wooden bench garden trimmed and edged, with some lovely hostas added.

We thank the labyrinth for the inspiration to ask for help! And look forward to further developing the idea of connecting the Museum garden and the labyrinth in 2020.

This leaf, found at the centre of the labyrinth on our garden-tending day, a good reminder to just "let go"!

The Labyrinth, All Aglow

Once again on Friday September 13th, 2019 - we were very blessed to have so much help for our Light up the Labyrinth event. It was a wonderful evening on so many levels. And very likely the highest attendance ever! We also celebrated the successful completion of our "200 Labyrinth Walks for CP 200" event.

Thank you for making the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth a big part of the "heart of Carleton Place". And thank you to the photographers that help to capture the spirit of the evening with their images.

Our musician Kerron Lamb helped to open the labyrinth walk playing her magical crystal bowl.

Kerron was a wandering minstrel - playing guitar as everyone walked the lit up labyrinth.

At dusk the luminaries really started to glow!

This labyrinth events appeals to the youngsters and the young-at-heart.

Thank you Mayor Doug Black for your ongoing support of our community labyrinth.

Magic happens during Light up the Labyrinth.

Making light art!

And the comments about the event - warm our hearts - and make the work of setting up the luminaries very worthwhile :)

Friday the 13th + Full Moon + Light up the Labyrinth = AWESOME

 At 6:30 pm we went to Labyrinth behind the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum -- and one of the biggest crowds formed - one by one they came - as the sky turned black. We had mystical folks, everyday folks, artistic folks and even wee faeries. They all came to walk the magical steps of the Labyrinths and feel its power. Kerron Lamb played mystical music for all to listen too.

Yoga on the Labyrinth

On Sunday August 11th, 2019 we tried something new - yoga on the labyrinth! The Kundalini yoga class was taught by Dawn, a Carleton Place Community labyrinth committee member and trained yoga teacher. She set up at the centre of the labyrinth and we arranged our mats in a semi-circle on the paths of the labyrinth. The energy was beautiful, we felt held in the protective space of the labyrinth and truly energized at the end of the class.

We set up our yoga mats in a semi-circle around the centre of the labyrinth.

We feel energized after our first yoga session on the labyrinth. Everyone who was meant to be there was there!

What a great gift to find this kindness rock near the labyrinth, after our yoga session.

Stay tuned - as we start to plan for a completely different lineup of events for the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth for 2020. We are pretty sure that Yoga on the Labyrinth will be in the mix :)

Finding Peace on the Labyrinth

Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful evening for our Summer Solstice Peace Walk (held on June 21st, 2019) .at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The magic of the evening seemed never-ending! We had all of the volunteer help that was needed. The sun beams landed directly on the labyrinth. The Rhythm and Song Community Choir sang angelically. And our guest speaker Mony Dojeiji, a veteran pilgrim and author, spoke directly from the heart, to all of our hearts.

We are very thankful for the photographers (John Rayner and Robert McDonald) who helped to catch the spirit of this very special event.

Guest speaker Mony Dojeiji sharing some insights about pilgrimage and labyrinth walking from the heart. (Photo: J. Rayner)

The labyrinth was particularly beautiful and the summer solstice energy in the air was palpable! (Photo: J. Rayner)

Labyrinth walkers were invited to select a stone that resonated with them, carry it while walking, then let it go at the centre of the labyrinth. (Photo: J. Rayner)

There was a great feeling of peace and connection during the labyrinth walk this evening. (Photo: R. McDonald)

The Carleton Place Community Labyrinth has an enlarged centre - intentionally designed to give a larger group room to gather and reflect there. (Photo: J. Rayner)

The Rhythm and Song Community Choir, directed by Jennifer Noxon, sang beautifully while people walked the labyrinth. (Photo: J. Rayner)

We truly felt thankful and full of inner peace on this Summer Solstice eve. (Photo: J. Rayner)

We are all loved. (Photo: J. Rayner)