Imagine a woodland landscape, hidden in the treasures of the Colorado forest that focuses on ecological initiatives fused within leading-edge art installations, experiential outdoor recreation, music festival vibes, and camping zones. This might sound like a fairytale dream-come-true, but surely the Everland team is bringing this vision to life.
Everland, nestled on 145-acres just 50 minutes southwest of Denver in Sedalia, CO, is the latest outdoor mountain retreat getaway. With a vision of “stay, play, connect,” based off the 10 principles of Burning Man, Everland is Colorado’s newest co-creating space for connection among the forest through art, music, camping, imagination, and exploration of yourself.
After a near death motorcycle accident in Taiwan, founder Jonny Jenkins was inspired and brought the vision of Everland to life throughout his healing journey of wanting to bring connection and experience to like-minded “burner” communities around the world. Once recovered, Jenkins co-founded Archipelago, a mind-body-spirit connection organization based in Denver, and after searching for years of some proper play-like land to bring Everland to fruition, discovered the 145-acre previous Korean Christian Church Retreat Center to be the destined hub for some transcendental experiences in the Rocky Mountains.
“My initial inspiration for Everland was a place of longevity and permanence, not connected to any dogma or political view, a place that celebrated each person as valuable,” Jenkins said.
Everland is now coming to life, thanks to Jenkins’ co-creators Sophie Howell, Laney Odom, and Tera Milligan. The eco-retreat features an abundance of immersive and co-creative spaces to spike your imagination and inspiration, including a 10,000 square foot “conference center” that sits at the entrance of the eco-retreat center, and features a full kitchen and living environments to further push the connection to the spirit and environment. Additionally, the space hosts eight cabins, an outdoor amphitheater, an event center, a caretaker’s cabin, a single-family home, hiking and biking trails, rock climbing, and more.
Everland is now open to the public with its first initial phase opening, allowing 25 people or less on the weekends to book retreats. Everland will host its first retreat, Sanctuary of the Inner Compass & Everland Rejuvenate With Us series on July 24th and 25th, and again on August 7th and 8th. Everland will slowly roll out additional features including glamping, tree houses, permaculture initiatives, art installations, meditation nooks, eco-playgrounds, skillshares, sound healing, and yoga retreats through a mix of Meow Wolf-like interactive obscurities, natural creative wildlife decor, and all-around imaginative elements throughout the rest of the year, with a full opening in late spring 2021.
Currently in the works is The Compass Village, connecting trails around the land from the four cardinal directions as well as three specific realms dedicated to exploring the lessons of the soul: Earth, sky, and inner resonance. With the pandemic affecting all industries across the world, Everland’s vision will put artists back into commission through worldwide artist installations on the property. Current art proposals include a 20-foot tall ancestral wooden bear totem by artist Tigre Bailando, a 60-foot wide interactive sound shrine by Tyson Ayers, two, 10-foot tall wooden pinecone nature nooks by Art Zeis, an interactive healing meditation walk decorated with mandala gardens by Selva Bhairavi, and more.
“I feel right now that a place for community to gather is absolutely crucial,” community leader Ahva Lenay said. “Our job really is to co-regulate with the earth and to create our contribution. And if we don’t have a place to gather and get to know one another, a place to build trust, we will never have the opportunity to place our puzzle piece within the global heart.”
Everland is currently in the midst of its Kickstarter campaign, with a variety of options for prospective attendees to get involved. Various monetary donation amounts include voting for your favorite art project, day passes, scholarship fund passes, unique art prints from local artists, Everland merchandise, and more. Head here to look into Everland’s full Kickstarter initiatives and to get involved.
For more information on Everland, and to purchase day or annual passes, visit its website here. Below, you can view two galleries of Everland courtesy of Shared Views Media and Jeff Jones Photography.
