There's news about the 2010 Summer Retreat at:

http://ozretreat.anandamarga.net/Retreat_2010/Welcome.html

The Summer Retreat for 2011 will be at Ananda Palli from Dec 27th to Jan 2nd. Hope to see you there!

AM River School Performances & Baba's Life Play, Dec 06

Our Year 2 teacher, Anna, worked very hard to write a beautiful musical play about Baba's life, based on stories from the book, "Baba." It was filled with the most touching songs, and included lovely stories about Baba saying the mantra in the temple, riding on the tiger, refusing to eat meat, wandering in the jungle.

"85 years ago, on the day of the full moon, in India, a child was born. Born with the rising sun...."









"Baba" (in white), with his disciple, singing a touching duet, "Who will help my people?"







The "Didis and Dadas" came up one by one singing, "Here I am, Baba, I am Yours, Baba."






They are singing, "We say it best, when we say nothing at all." This was a bit about Baba's darshans at the Railway Colony.







The River School Strings have been busy performing almost every week. This was our end of the year school performance on the veranda. No stage yet!


The year 6 Marimba group (with students on flute and violin) have also been performing all around town.

Dada plays double bass with the marimba band.

Year 1 students did a beautiful play of "Uno's Garden." Here you can see the beautiful forest (on the boxes)...

Here the forest has become a city. But it becomes a forest again....


The year 6 children wrote their own play (This is Tara's class, who attended the NHE summit.) It was about a group of very diverse people who find themselves on a bus, each thinking their going to a different place. The cheerleaders think they are going to a football game, one lady is visiting the queen, the inventor is going to an exhibition, the homeless man is hiding in a box...


When the bus arrives at the last stop, they all get out and are met by a blind, wise woman who tells them they have been sent on a quest to discover what is meditation....

After much research and experimentation, they find out what it is, what it needs to make it good, and how useful it will be to teach it to everyone!

The Choir sings "To the Beauty of the Earth."

The River School is completing its 13th year. It has 160 children from 2 1/2 to 13 years old. In Maleny, Queensland, Australia.

Summer Retreat 2006

"The spiritual charge I get from the retreat is enough to carry me through the next six months... kiirtan was really lovely!"



"I came to the retreat with several questions in my mind and Baba provided the answers through everyone here."



"Our blissful family is being created right now..."



"Very special... Its been a hard and lonely time and this has been so healing for me."



"I love Ananda Palli. I love coming here. It always surprises me how overwhelmed I get by the amount of love I feel."



"I feel very lucky to even be here. Its exactly where I needed to be. I appreeciated the sense of being in a family, the feeling of openness... really liked the music. I feel renewed and inspired"



"Thanks everyone for making another beautiful retreat."