Festival of Song at Topa Institute
Festival of Song at Topa Institute
9739 Ojai Santa Paula Road, Ojai, CA, USA
April 24 - 26, 2026
About this Retreat
Wholeheartedly fed by the folk and gospel traditions, MaMuse (Sarah Nutting and Karisha Longaker) create uplifting music to inspire the world into thriving. Interweaving brilliant and haunting harmony with lyrics born of honed emotional intelligence, MaMuse invokes a musical presence that inspires the opening of the heart. Playing a family of varied acoustic instruments including upright bass, guitar, mandolins, and flutes, these two powerful women embody a love for all life. The synergy that is created through this musical connection is palpable and truly moving to witness.
For over 3 decades, Debbie Nargi-Brown has been leading dancing and singing in Santa Cruz and beyond; leading Community Sings as well as facilitating retreats and workshops. She writes songs for the heart, for healing, for transformation, for love, for grief and all those things that connect us as human beings. Bringing people together in dance and song is one of her greatest sources of joy!
To learn more go to debbienargi-brown.com
Where to listen to Debbie’s music:
AND ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS-Spotify, Apple music, itunes etc.
Lydia Violet is an Iranian-Armenian-American folk multi-instrumentalist, revolutionary, culture-tender, grief-worker, and mischief-maker. With her live band, she weaves together her songwriting, folk standards, Iranian ballads, 3-part harmonies, fiddle, banjo, and collective singing into an altar of music to lay at our feet. She is the creator behind Singing the Bones, a course with Leah Song of Rising Appalachia, and a music project that brings American artists together to explore and share folk music from their ancestries, encouraging cultural revitalization and diasporic healing. She has engaged in vibrant collaborations with world-renowned artists Climbing PoeTree, Rising Appalachia, MaMuse, and Lyla June. Lydia studied dedicatedly with deep ecology elder and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy for the past 16 years, learning how we can metabolize planetary despair, anxiety, and community traumas into energy for resilience, action, and community healing. She weaves this experience deeply into her songleading and public speaking. She founded and runs The School for The Great Turning, which creates access to an education that will empower humanity's life-sustaining legacy.
Details of this retreat
WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES! PLEASE CHECK BACK TOMORROW FEB 19TH for TICKETS!
Festival of Song at Topa Institute
with Ma Muse, Debbie Nargi-Brown & Lydia Violet
Friday April 24th 4:00pm - Sunday April 26th 4:00pm
Topa Institute, Ojai CA
Join us for a three-day Singing Festival at the Topa Institute in the upper Ojai Valley. With song circles led by Ma Muse, Debbie Nargi-Brown, and Lydia Violet, this gathering invites connection, creativity, and shared presence through the simple act of singing together.
Song circle singing is a practice rooted in listening and community. Songs are simple, taught in the moment. Guided by incredible song leaders, voices come together in harmony, creating music in the moment. No prior singing experience is needed—the focus is on connection, support, and the joy of sharing our voices.
Perched on a 39 acre ridge-top sanctuary in Ojai, the Topa Institute—formerly The Ojai Foundation—is a nature sanctuary & ceremonial retreat center with nearly a century of history, supporting generations of creativity, learning, and connection with one another and the natural world.
Come sing under the Ojai sky and join a circle of voices rooted in presence, listening, and community.
Accommodations -
Camping: $90 ($45/per night- 2 nights. Bring your own gear)
Yurt Space: $160 ($80/per night -2 nights. Shared with 3 others. Bring your own bedding & pad)
Yurt Space with bed (XL Twin): $260 ($130/per night- 2 nights. Shared with 1-2 others. Bring your own bedding)
Food -
6 meals community meals will be shared:
Friday night dinner - Sunday lunch
Please list all allergies and preferences - vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free.
No food is permitted outside of the designated eating areas. Personal coolers are welcome only in the designated eating area and required to be animal-proofed. No personal stoves are permitted on the property.
Program - subject to change
4/24 Friday
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Arrival & Move-in
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Dinner
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Opening Sing
4/25 Saturday
8:30 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
10:00 am - 12:00 pm Singing
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Singing
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Concert
4/26-Sunday
8:30 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
10:00 am - 12:15 pm Singing
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Singing & Closing
Festival of Song at Topa Institute
with Ma Muse, Debbie Nargi-Brown & Lydia Violet
Friday April 24th 4:00pm - Sunday April 26th 4:00pm
Topa Institute, Ojai CA
Join us for a three-day Singing Festival at the Topa Institute in the upper Ojai Valley. With song circles led by Ma Muse, Debbie Nargi-Brown, and Lydia Violet, this gathering invites connection, creativity, and shared presence through the simple act of singing together.
Song circle singing is a practice rooted in listening and community. Songs are simple, taught in the moment. Guided by incredible song leaders, voices come together in harmony, creating music in the moment. No prior singing experience is needed—the focus is on connection, support, and the joy of sharing our voices.
Perched on a 39 acre ridge-top sanctuary in Ojai, the Topa Institute—formerly The Ojai Foundation—is a nature sanctuary & ceremonial retreat center with nearly a century of history, supporting generations of creativity, learning, and connection with one another and the natural world.
Come sing under the Ojai sky and join a circle of voices rooted in presence, listening, and community.
Accommodations -
Camping: $90 ($45/per night- 2 nights. Bring your own gear)
Yurt Space: $160 ($80/per night -2 nights. Shared with 3 others. Bring your own bedding & pad)
Yurt Space with bed (XL Twin): $260 ($130/per night- 2 nights. Shared with 1-2 others. Bring your own bedding)
Food -
6 meals community meals will be shared:
Friday night dinner - Sunday lunch
Please list all allergies and preferences - vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free.
No food is permitted outside of the designated eating areas. Personal coolers are welcome only in the designated eating area and required to be animal-proofed. No personal stoves are permitted on the property.
Program - subject to change
4/24 Friday
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Arrival & Move-in
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Dinner
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Opening Sing
4/25 Saturday
8:30 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
10:00 am - 12:00 pm Singing
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Singing
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Concert
4/26-Sunday
8:30 am - 9:30 am Breakfast
10:00 am - 12:15 pm Singing
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Singing & Closing
Getting Here
Topa Institute, 9739 Ojai Santa Paula Road, Ojai, CA, USA
Accommodation
3 Day
3 Day - Camping
3 Day - Yurt
3 Day - Yurt w/ Bed
Last Chance
Cameron's Staff Pick