The Gaia Gathering
REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR GAIA 2026!
May 1-3 @ Camp Albemarle
A beloved annual event in Central Virginia that connects women* from our bio-region and beyond. We circle for healing, wisdom sharing, creative expression, and celebration. We gather to build community, deepen relationships, and nourish our collective power as healers and change makers.
About The Gaia Gathering
The Gaia Gathering is a beloved annual event that connects women* from around Central Virginia and beyond. We circle for healing, wisdom sharing, creative expression, and celebration. We gather to build community, deepen relationships, and nourish our collective power as healers and change makers.
This outdoor weekend event includes camping, workshops, group ceremony, plant walks, sharing circles, swimming in the river, singing around the fire, and plenty of time to play, rest, and reconnect.
Now in its 15th year, the Gaia Gathering continues to evolve and change! We're experimenting with ways to make Gaia even more collectively-created, financially accessible for participants, and energetically sustainable for the volunteer organizers.
Join us in the unfolding evolution of this community gathering!
*Gaia is created by and for women, including anyone for whom woman is a meaningful identifier or lived experience. Boys age 5 and under are welcome, as well. Learn more
2026 Event Details
Lodging:
Most participants bring tents for camping, though there are some (very basic) cabins with twin-sized bunk beds available on a first-come, first-serve basis (dormitory-style, with plenty of beds for everyone who wants one!). Group bathrooms and showers are available in the bathhouses.
Meals:
Participants are responsible for providing their own meals for the weekend. In the spirit of co-creation we’re encouraging participants to consider being part of a “Meal Sharing Pod" and joining the Friday evening potluck dinner.
A pod can be a group of 4-8 people who coordinate in advance to share responsibility for feeding the pod for the weekend. One or two people take on a meal: planning the menu, bringing the food, and heating/serving it. The rest of the pod gets to relax and enjoy being fed for that meal, knowing that each person will have a turn to feed and be fed throughout the weekend.
Meal Pods are completely optional, and can either be self-organized by a group of friends, or you can sign up to participate in a “dietarily-similar” pod during registration. You’ll be connected with others who have indicated interest, and each pod will coordinate in advance of the weekend.
A group of friends may also choose to form their own meal pod and sign up to be included in the kitchen schedule.
If you would like to be connected with a Meal Pod, please register by Monday, April 13 to allow time for pods to coordinate meal plans in advance of the event.
People choosing not to participate in a Meal Pod will be responsible for their own food needs, and won’t have access to the Lodge Kitchen.
***NEW IN 2026: We're planning a full event potluck for Friday dinner! Details to come...
Workshops:
Sharing our wisdom, skills, and inspiration is a vital part of the Gaia Gathering. Participants will have the opportunity to propose a workshop, once their registration is completed (look in your registration confirmation email for the link to the workshop proposal form!).
Workshop topics often include herbalism and plant walks, dance/yoga, art, and women's health. Other possibilities welcome!
Children:
Children and teens are an important part of the Gaia community and are welcome with the supervision of a responsible adult. While no childcare is provided, there will be an area designated as a children’s play space. All participants are invited to bring costumes, toys, musical instruments, and art supplies to share with the kids.
Please note that the camping and the event area includes access to a river and the woods.
Vending in the Marketplace:
We'd love to have you and your handmade wares! Herbal goods, plants & seeds, handicrafts, healing foods and nourishing services are all welcome.
Anyone attending the event can set up a table in the Gaia marketplace. When you register, be sure to check the box that indicates you're interested in vending, and we'll send out an email with the details in early April!
In lieu of a vending fee, vendors will be asked to donate an item to our fundraising raffle.
Connection Circles
The friends we make at Gaia often last through the years, rooted in the shared experience of these wondrous weekends. To encourage even more connection among participants, we invite you to join “Connection Circles” – small groups that meet once a day for sharing self-reflection and support.
Event Location:
This year Gaia returns to Camp Albemarle, a "rural, rustic and restful retreat". Nestled along the beautiful Moormans River, Camp Albemarle provides a large lodge with commercial kitchen, an open-air pavilion, four bunkhouses, two bath houses with showers and lots of space for camping.
Cellphone coverage is spotty but there is a phone in the lodge for outgoing calls. This offers a great opportunity to tune into the weekend for connection with your self, your friends, and the beautiful land.
Sample Weekend Schedule:
A more detailed schedule will be sent out to registered participants. For your planning, here is a loose flow to the weekend:
Friday evening:
Arrival
Opening Circle
Community Potluck Meal
Connection Circles
Fire-side songs
Saturday:
Morning:
Movement and Songs around the fire (collectively led)
Breakfast time
Morning Circle
Workshop #1
Workshop #2
Afternoon:
Lunchtime
Free Time
Workshop #3
Connection Circles
Evening:
Dinnertime
Ceremony
Dance Party
Sunday:
Morning Movement and Songs around the fire (collectively led)
Breakfast time
Morning Circle
Workshop #4
Connection Circles
Closing Circle
If you have questions please contact the Gaia organizers at gaia@wovenrootscollective.org
Inclusivity at Gaia
As a women’s gathering, Gaia is co-created by and for women, including anyone for whom woman is a meaningful identifier or lived experience.
We are committed to nourishing an inclusive community of respect and sisterhood. The Gaia Gathering’s culture is co-created by each one of us and defined by how we show up for one another. We ask all participants to familiarize themselves and honor these guidelines to help foster a welcoming and respectful environment for all.
We honor the full diversity of womanhood. Help us maintain an environment that supports and uplifts all women across the intersections of age, size, ability, race, education, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and gender expression.
We acknowledge, honor, and welcome trans women and participants who use pronouns other than “she/her”. Please use people’s chosen pronouns and names.
To contribute to an environment that feels safe and healthy to everyone, remember to be mindful and respectful of others’ personal boundaries around when and how they are touched. Ask first!
We encourage everyone to continue educating themselves about how to continue building supportive, inclusive, and resilient communities.
*We’ve been inspired by and grateful to the Twin Oaks Women’s Gathering and The Women's Initiative for their dedicated work and language around creating inclusive women's spaces.
Past Gatherings
The first "Gaia Gathering for Women" was held during Beltane of 2007 at Shannon Farms Intentional Community in Central Virginia. The women of the Sacred Plant Traditions community set out to create a safe and magical space built by and for women to celebrate their lives, health and creativity. They lit a sacred fire, shared their knowing, sang songs of remembrance and birthed the gathering we share today.
This special event has been held, tended and shaped by many hands since then. It is a community gathering and continues to grow and respond to the needs of its members. What stays steadfast is a collective of women who gather to create opportunities for healing, connection, wisdom sharing, creative expression, and celebration.
Come and be a part of Gaia's evolution!
