DAVETREK ADVENTURES

Labor Day Weekend

 Isabella Freedman Retreat Center

 

Thursday, Sept 2 - Monday, September 6, 2010

(Rosh Hashana begins 2 days later, on Wednesday Night, Sept 8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
116 Johnson Road
Falls Village, CT 06031 Google map (860) 824-5991

 

Sign Up Deadlines

 

Early Bird Deadline               MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2010

Final Deadline                         MONDAY, AUGUST  16, 2010 

 

 

Rooms — 3 Levels—Deluxe, Standard, Basic

 

 

Deluxe Lodge Rooms (large amount—30 rooms), with private bathrooms 

Standard Rooms (moderate number, 14 rooms plus 3 family suites of 2 rooms) with semi-private semi-shared bathrooms, in cottages

Basic Rooms (moderate number, 18 rooms)— with dorm style shared bathrooms.

For more details and some pictures, visit our room descriptions page. You will be asked to select your 1st and 2nd choice for rooms, and preference will generally go to people who RSVP sooner. We will try and honor your 1st choice to the degree we can, based on space and availability.

 

 

DATES OF THE WEEKEND & LENGTHS OF STAY

 The dates of the weekend are THURSDAY NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 2 TO MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2010. People may come for 2, 3 or 4 day stays.

Please note that the first night of Rosh Hashana is 2 days after Labor Day, on Wednesday Night, Sept 8, 2010.

 As such, I have made available to people the ability to come up for 3 days ( Thursday night to Sunday) for those who might want to go home and prepare for Rosh Hashana on Labor Day. I am also making a 2 day version (Friday to Sunday) available as well for folks who can’t take off Friday and want to go home on Sunday. For both of these options you can stay through the BBQ and then go home late on Sunday if you like. However, please be aware that we will only have a Thursday Night, Sept 2 option if at least 30 people sign up for this option by August 2, 2010, so keep this in mind when timing your signing up.

LEAVING TIME, RIDES

 

Candle Lighting for Friday, September 3  is  7:05 PM. Please note that it takes a MINIMUM OF  2 hours from Manhattan, Queens and Northern NJ to get to Isabella Freedman Retreat Center, and a minimum of 2.5 hours to get there from Brooklyn, Long Island and other points.

 For those coming on Friday, you will need to leave preferably at 1:30 pm, but in no case later than 3 PM from any location. Remember, since its Labor Day Weekend, there will be a lot of traffic leaving the city, so consider taking the day off and coming up for Friday activities or coming up on Thursday Night. We can have people check in as of 1:00 PM at the earliest.

Rides/Bus/Train is extra - see the Rides page for details

READ THE INFORMATION CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY

There are many details for this event and this is a large event,  3 times the size of our usual weekends. So please help us keep having these events by reading everything carefully, including all links here and on the other pages, before contacting us. If you have questions that are not answered, please email us at davetrek.events@gmail.com.

 

Important Links for Labor Day Weekend

 

¨ MAIN DETAILS      RSVP                      Rates, Deposits & Payments

 

¨ DIFFERENCES FROM OTHER DAVETREK WEEKENDS - Please Read!!

 

¨ FAQ With All Weekend Details, What to Bring    Sample Menu              

  

¨ Pictures of 2008 Retreat & Rooms                                 Room Types, Pictures and Details   

 

¨ Off-site events in the area—Biking, Boating, Tanglewood, Kids & Museums

 

¨ TRANSPORTATION - RIDES, BUSES, TRAINS and DIRECTIONS to the Weekend

 

¨ Isabella Freedman Website

 WEEKEND/LOCATION HIGHLIGHTS

The Retreat is located on a secluded 450 acre property, with a lake and a pond, and has the following amenities:

· Field and playground with sporting equipment

· Basketball court—1/2 court only

· Volleyball

· 2 public computers with Internet available for use in the main building, and WiFi (Wireless Internet) available in the main building

· Fitness center—Stationery Bike, Bench Press, Treadmill

· Game room in main building - Pool and Board Games

· Heated pool (open May – September)

· Miles of hiking trails with paths that range from gentle to strenuous, and very close to the Appalachian Trail, where there will be hikes on Sunday

· Pool Table

· Tennis court

· Theatre Space

· A private lake for using free boats, fishing, and swimming—Canoes, pedal boats and paddle boats

 

Events on the Weekend

Onsite—included in the weekend price, weather permitting

· BBQ - Meat eaters & Vegetarians       (Sunday Late PM)

· Bonfire with Jewish Music               (Sunday Night)

· Kumzitz—With Jewish Music          (Motzei Shabbat)

· Hiking (on the Appalachian Trail)    (Friday, Sunday & Monday)*

· Boating                                                  (Friday and Sunday)*

· Volleyball                                             (Friday, Sunday & Monday )*

· Swimming                                            (Friday and Sunday)*

· Lectures - Various Topics             (Shabbat & Sunday)*

· Yoga                                                       (Throughout the Weekend)*

 

* depending on interest and weather

 

Off Site  & Onsite- additional cost, weather permitting, depending on interest

· Crafts Day - Drawing, Watercolors and other crafts ( depends on interest—if you can teach a craft you may be entitled to a reduced rate)

· Biking on a paved, flat & scenic Rail Trail,

· Boating on the Housatonic River - Canoeing and Kayaking

· Tanglewood Jazz Festival & Music Mountain

· Museums, such as Norman Rockwell, Hancock Shaker Village

· Modern Art (Mass MOCA) and Impressionist Art (The Clark)

 

All Off site events ( except hiking) & Onsite arts and craft events depend on interest and are in addition to the fees for the weekend. Click Here to visit a site with all the local Berkshires possible attractions that we have created. As we get closer, we will organize groups for some of these events, based on interest.

 

We are also looking into arranging transportation for a fee for those without transportation to Magic Mountain, the Rail Trail Biking  and the Boating on the Housatonic. There may also be a low ropes course available for use On-Site - we are looking into this option.

 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEKEND 

 

I am pleased to announce our 2nd semi-annual weekend at the beautiful Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, located near the beautiful Berkshires, in Connecticut near the MA border, 2 hours from New York City. This is a high quality kosher catered retreat center, with wonderful grounds, and its secluded, with  a private lake, sporting (basketball, volleyball, tennis) and workout facilities, a swimming pool and hundreds of acres for onsite hikes and walks.

Singles, Families and Couples are welcome and encouraged to come.

Please RSVP quickly, as this event will sell out, likely in advance.

Also, please note that the first night of Rosh Hashana is 2 days after Labor Day, on Wednesday Night, Sept 8, 2010. Please keep this detail in mind before registering, as we will not allow cancellations based on Rosh Hashana issues.

Below I have highlights of the event, but see all the main details here. You can find out about kashrut, sample menus, crafts day

Rooms, Availability, Cancellations and Refunds

 Limited number of rooms at each available rate. Once this category is filled, you may need to take your 2nd choice. If neither your first or 2nd choice is available, you will be allowed to cancel without penalty. You may request a refund for 5 days after you RSVP or until August 2, 2010. NO REFUNDS GIVEN AFTER 8/2/10, except as noted in this paragraph. You may be able to switch your RSVP to another individual who has not yet signed up for the event, but this is subject to prior approval by Davetrek Adventures. You must pay your balance by Friday, August 22, 2010, otherwise you will not be allowed to attend the retreat.

Singles will share a room unless paying a single supplement, and some rooms will be triple occupancy. Also, there are Deluxe rooms  with 3 beds, in which we will require you to have 3 people in the room. In addition, single supplements are limited in number and not guaranteed. We will determine single rooms no sooner than 7 days before the start of the retreat.  *Couples seeking the basic room rate will need to be segregated by sex and stay in different buildings, as there are only two buildings available for the basic rate.

To hold your spot, you must make a $150 deposit ($300 couples, families).

PLEASE RSVP NO LATER THAN MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010.

See the Rates page for all details and pricing policies.

We hope to have 100 to 150 people for this event, with a balanced mix of singles, couples and families.

Singles, couples and families are welcome and encouraged to attend!  See you at the event!   

 

Rates & Policies: room & board and onsite activities; off site activities (except local hiking) & any craft classes will have additional fees. Times listed are for room access - as specified on the website for this event, you will access to facilities on the day you leave until 3PM. Rates are subject to change until you pay the deposit.

 

2 Day Rate - Friday, September 3 at 2:00 PM to Sunday, Sept 5 at Noon

3 Day Rate - either: Friday,  Sept 3 at 2:00 PM to Monday,  September 6, 2010 at 9:30 AM, or

(a) Thursday Night, 7:00 PM to Sunday, September 5 at Noon

4 Day Rate -   Thursday Night, 7:00 PM to Monday,  September 6, 2010 at 9:30 AM,

 

Early Bird Rates ( Through 8/2) & Standard Pricing (Through 8/16) are below. 

To see all other details of pricing, 

go to Rates, Deposits & Payments