The Friday night opening party will kick off with an immersive sound bath led by returning facilitator, Bianca Lee, with a cello accompaniment by Carina Reeves. Dim lights and flameless candles will set the mood. When I said this retreat is all about relaxation, I meant it.

We will start the day with the return of Amanda’s soothing personal affirmations.

Crystal Samuels, of @DareToFlowWithMe will lead guests on a calming guided meditation. She will teach us practical ways to use meditation in our daily lives, which can be a powerful tool when experiencing food allergy anxiety. Crystal has an incredibly soothing voice and demeanor that is sure to have us all sinking into our chairs.

Ada Garza of Love.Alchemy.Life, will lead us through a breathwork workshop to learn how to better center our energy, calm our body, and channel our breath in an effective way. Ada will introduce us to practices such as Diaphragmatic Breathing, Box Breathing, and more, as well as Progressive Muscle Relaxation. Ada offers a nurturing space where individuals can reconnect with their true selves and learn to navigate the challenges of life with greater emotional resilience.

Dr Payel Gupta and Kortney Kwong Hing, of The Itch Podcast, will host a live podcast recording all about sleep. Their episode, “The Importance of Sleep and Allergies”, inspired the theme for this retreat. They will do a deep dive on how sleep impacts people with Atopic Conditions (food allergies, eczema, and asthma), and expand upon the original episode with new considerations and information.

How you communicate your food allergies to others matters. Actor and Marketer, Karrie Kwong, will lead a refreshed version of her much-loved communication workshop. Guests will get to act out new scenarios, consider how to improve their verbal and nonverbal communication, and learn about self-advocacy from the experiences of others in the room.

Amanda will step out of her comfort zone as event host, and lead a personal talk about the challenges, successes, and learnings she has gathered in her years of managing school and work alongside food allergies. She will share a series of previously untold personal stories to illuminate the realities of living with atopic conditions as an adult out there in the world.

Teens have a lot on their plate by nature of emerging as young adults, but add food allergies on top of that, and things get complicated. Navigating reaction anxiety, social anxiety about one’s food allergies, and the stress of treatment (for some), can be a lot to manage. Youth Mental Health Worker, and certified Social Service Worker, Ashley Orlando, will host a practical session for youths to learn proven and useful coping strategies for dealing with food allergy anxiety. With a husband who has food allergies, she knows first-hand what it’s like to navigate life as the partner of an allergic adult.

Led by Kyle Dine, influencer, musician, and founder of Equal Eats. When we sleep, we dream. What do you dream of? Do you ever let your food allergies hold you back from the idea of pursuing what you are most passionate about in life? We often think “I can’t” when we view our food allergies as an impossible hurdle. The casual and open format of this session is intended to get the youths talking about what they envision for themselves, how they want to grow, and how not to let their food allergies stand in the way of achieving their dreams. Kyle is a trailblazer who has carved out his own unique path in life, and lives the ethos of this workshop.

Sarah Danna, also known as @sarahandspices, is an adult going through the Food Allergy Institute’s treatment program. In this virtual Q&A, she and Amanda will discuss what life is like in treatment, strategies she has learned for managing the logistics of treatment, and how she remains calm and centered while facing her allergens head-on.