OPEN SKY RETREAT SERIES

Delta Equinox: Where Different Currents Meet

Join us for Delta Equinox (ΔEQ26), September 18–21, 2026, a members-only, four-day autumn retreat at Brannan Island State Rec Area. We’ll gather for optional ceremonies, creative arts, meditation, conversation, shared meals, music, reflection, and time in nature, with room for both structure and spaciousness. Set along Three Mile Slough, ΔEQ26 offers the beauty of waterside tent camping within a developed campground.

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 What’s Included?

Registration includes four days of shared retreat life at Brannan Island State Recreation Area, including tent camping, programming, simple breakfasts, nourishing snacks, and communal dinners Friday through Sunday. Participants provide their own lunches, preferred beverages, camping gear, and specialty foods.

  • Optional amanita ceremony
  • Creative arts & experiential offerings
  • Partner massage workshop
  • Meditation & guided reflection
  • Opening & closing circles
  • Music & campfire gatherings
  • Conversation & community connection
  • Spacious time for rest, reflection & nature
  • Coffee, tea, drinking water & electrolytes
  • Access to campground restrooms & showers
  • Shared camp & hospitality spaces

 

Participation

Space is limited to 25 participants, ages 18+. Participants must be members in good standing. ΔEQ26 is a participatory gathering, and each person will be asked to take on one small shared role or contribution during the retreat. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority consideration through August 28. Those invited to join us will receive details to complete registration and payment.

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Delta Equinox Fireside Chats

Our Fireside Chats are where ΔEQ26 begins and ends. Join us for relaxed conversations to meet the team, connect with fellow campers, and help shape the gathering. We’ll share a little about what’s taking form, then spend most of our time listening to what would make the weekend meaningful, comfortable, and connected for you. We’ll also begin creating camp life together—coordinating tents, shared gear, carpools, common spaces, and activities you’d like to explore. Bring your questions, hopes, ideas, and whatever you’re imagining for the weekend.

Why We Camp

Camping gives us the rare opportunity to step out of our usual routines and live in community long enough for relationship to deepen through ordinary life together. We tend fire and water, have coffee together, share meals, care for common spaces, rest, talk, listen, and notice what we and others need.

This is Community Integration in practice. Our shared values take shape through how we live together: contributing, making room for one another, following through, and allowing each person to move at their own pace. Least Dogma creates room for different experiences, interpretations, and ways of knowing to exist alongside one another with curiosity and openness.

The Delta offers a natural mirror for this. Distinct currents meet and move alongside one another, while the equinox marks a moment of balance and transition. We gather in that same spirit, bringing different histories, experiences, and ways of knowing into a shared place.

Retreat Rhythm

ΔEQ26 unfolds gradually over four days—from arriving and settling into camp, through connection, exploration, and shared experiences, toward a more contemplative day of preparation and ceremony, followed by time to reflect, reconnect, and return. The schedule offers enough structure to hold that arc while leaving room for rest, conversation, nature, spontaneity, and the ordinary rhythms of being together.

FRIDAY -
Arrive & Gather
Settle into camp, gather for Opening Circle, share a communal dinner, and connect around the campfire.
Saturday -
Connect & Explore
Ease into the morning with breakfast and contemplative practice, gather for Redwood Circles, and enjoy integration over a shared dinner.
Sunday -
Deepen & Reflect
Begin gently with breakfast and contemplative practice, gather for Redwood Circles, rest and prepare, share a communal dinner, and enter an optional Amanita ceremony.
Monday -
Integrate & Depart
Begin with morning reflection and breakfast, come together for Closing Circle, break down camp, and depart by noon.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Wondering what camp life will be like? We’ve gathered answers to some of the most common questions about ΔEQ26—from camping and meals to ceremonies, registration, and what to bring.

Delta Equinox is a members-only gathering for Sacred Garden Community, ages 18+. No prior camping or retreat experience is required. We ask everyone to come ready to participate in the shared life of camp, care for our spaces and one another, and make room for different experiences and ways of knowing. Space is limited to 25 participants, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Your $222 registration includes tent camping for the retreat, all programming and optional ceremonies, simple self-serve breakfasts, communal dinners Friday through Sunday, nourishing snacks, coffee, tea, drinking water, electrolytes, and access to our shared camp and hospitality spaces. Participants bring their own tent and camping gear, lunches, preferred beverages, and any specialty foods.
- Multi-day retreats involve substantial advance costs, including staffing, venue reservations, meals, and materials.
- More than 60 days before the start date: Refund of all payments made
- 60 to 30 days before the start date: Credit for Sacred Garden Community offering
- 30 to 14 days before the start date: 50% Credit for Sacred Garden Community offering
- Within 14 days of the start date: No refunds
Delta Equinox is a drive-in camping experience—you can arrive by car and unload at or near the campsite rather than carrying your gear into a remote camp. Brannan Island is generally flat, with paved routes connecting many areas of the park, as well as accessible campsites, restrooms, and showers. Some camp activities will still take place on grass or uneven outdoor surfaces, so if you have mobility or accessibility needs, let us know when you register and we’ll work with you on campsite placement and participation. For more information, check out Accessible Features at Brannan Island SRA.
Delta Equinox takes place at Brannan Island State Recreation Area, at 17645 CA-160, Rio Vista, California, a few miles south of Rio Vista on Highway 160. The park sits between the Bay Area and Sacramento. You'll find more information on location here.

If you’re flying, Sacramento (SMF), Oakland (OAK), and San Francisco (SFO) are all options. Carpooling is strongly encouraged as the campground is rural with limited parking. You’ll have time during our Delta Equinox Campfire Chat info session and pre-retreat meetings to connect with others, compare travel plans, and coordinate carpools, airport pickups, and shared rental cars. You’ll have time during our Delta Equinox Campfire Chat and pre-retreat meetings to connect with others, compare travel plans, and coordinate carpools, airport pickups, and shared rental cars.
We’ll send registered participants a complete packing list before the retreat, with recommendations for camp life, weather, shared activities, and ceremony. September in the Delta can bring warm days and cool evenings, with limited shade, so plan for comfortable layers and plenty of sun protection. In the meantime, here are a few things to get you thinking.
  • Tent + Sleeping Arrangements: Delta Equinox is tent camping, so plan for the sleeping gear you’ll need to be comfortable. During our pre-retreat Campfire Chats, we’ll coordinate tent sharing and connect people who have extra gear with those who need it.
  • What to Bring for Yourself: Plan for warm days, cool evenings, and limited shade with comfortable layers and sun protection. Bring the essentials that keep you comfortable outdoors, including a reusable water bottle, red-light headlamp, towel, shower shoes, and coins for the pay showers. Bring a power bank or portable charger, as our campsites do not have electrical hookups. You’ll also need to provide your own lunches, preferred beverages, and any specialty foods. Consider a blanket, pillow, or mat, along with a journal and any small altar, sacred, or personal items. Binoculars are great for birding and wildlife watching.
  • Creating Camp Life Together: Bring a few favorite snacks for our shared community pantry. If you have shade sails, pop-up canopies, outdoor rugs, folding tables, extra chairs, lanterns, or other gear for our common spaces, bring it along or let us know. We’ll coordinate shared gear during our Campfire Chats to avoid unnecessary duplicates.
  • A Note About the Water: Our campsites sit along Three Mile Slough, but swimming is only allowed at the designated beach on Seven Mile Slough, a short trip within the park. We’ll gauge interest in a group trip during our Campfire Chats. Bring a bathing suit if you’d like to join. No lifeguard is on duty.
There is no Wi-Fi at our campsite, and cell service may vary by carrier. Plan to be somewhat unplugged during the weekend, and download anything you’ll need before arriving.
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Stay in the Current

ΔEQ26 is one gathering in an ongoing practice of community integration. If you’d like to hear about future SGC campouts and gatherings, join our interest list.