Song & Weave
Celebrating the Seasonal Wheel
A Year-long Offering: Coming Soon
Lila Music & Nature Centre
About Song & Weave
(Artwork by Edward Moon)
I’ve decided to take more time and care in shaping Song and Weave into a fuller offering. Rather than sharing it as a one-off event, it will return as a year-long journey—eight sessions aligned with the Celtic Wheel of the Year, woven together through song, thread, and ceremony.
This will be a deep, continuous experience for those ready to commit to the full arc.
If you’d like to be notified when registration opens, please enter your name and email address below.
I’d love to stay connected.
~Cari
About this Series of Offerings
(Artwork by Edward Moon)
For the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of immersing myself in nature’s cycles—gathering by the fire, journeying to ancestral lands, and learning from the wisdom of the Celtic Wheel, the Medicine Wheel, and the 8 Shields Nature Connection model. These teachings have deepened my understanding of how nature’s rhythms mirror our own cycles of growth, renewal, rest, and transformation.
Song & Weave
8 Offerings to Honour the Wheels of Life
Offering 1: Feb 1st, 2025
Imbolc - Brigid Crosses
Honouring The Celtic Wheel
We will celebrate Imbolc,
the first day of spring
in the Celtic Wheel.
We will be weaving Brigid crosses and
learning some songs that honour this
season.
Join us for a hands-on workshop celebrating the Celtic tradition of crafting Brigid crosses! We’ll gather rushes, reeds, and other sustainable plant materials from the Cowichan Valley, then weave them into these iconic symbols of renewal. Discover the folklore behind the Brigid cross while learning practical weaving techniques in a relaxed, creative setting. Connect with the land and leave with your own handcrafted piece of heritage.
Offering 2: Saturday, March 22nd
Ostara - Woven Baskets (natural fibres)
As the wheel of the year turns, we gather in a time of balance—where day and night stand as equals. On March 22nd, from 12:30 to 4:00 PM, we will kindle the bonfire, a flame of warmth and connection, to honour the old traditions. With our hands and hearts, we will weave baskets from locally harvested materials, of crocosmia, day lily, cattails, ivy, reeds, etc, singing in Gaelic as we honour the directions and the wisdom they hold.
All ages, all voices are welcome to join us as we lift our songs to the changing season—ancient Celtic melodies and spring songs to welcome the light’s return. If the weather permits, we will be under the open sky, embracing the land and its cycles as we create, share, and remember.
In the warmth of the circle, we’ll weave not only with our hands but with our hearts—learning the sacred craft of basket weaving while sharing songs and stories by the fire. Guided by ancestral wisdom, we’ll honor the cycles of life with every stitch. Together, we’ll learn a song in Irish Gaelic, along with other spring melodies, letting music carry us into this season of new beginnings.
Date: Saturday, March 22nd
Time: 12:30pm – 4pm PST
Where: Lila Music and Nature Centre
$55 – $155 Sliding Scale
$55 – Reduced cost for those needing support, includes backset materials
$105 – Actual Cost, includes basket materials
$155 – Support Cost – Help Others who cannot afford, includes basket materials
Offering 3: TBA
TBA
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Offering 4: June 18th-21st
Cari Burdett Album Release
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Offering 5: TBA
TBA
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Offering 6: TBA
TBA
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Offering 7: TBA
TBA
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Offering 8: Dec 19th-21st
Winter Solstice Concert
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Gallery
Cari is a seasoned vocalist and music educator with a profound dedication to the transformative power of voice and song. Holding a Bachelor of Music in Performance Voice from McGill University and a Master of Music in Performance Voice and Opera from the London Royal Academy of Music, Cari is fluent in English, French, Swedish, and Italian, with the ability to sing in Russian, Spanish, German, and more.
With over 30 years of training in vocal improvisation under the guidance of Rhiannon, including an intensive year-long training program, Cari has honed a unique approach to voice as a tool for personal and community transformation. She has further enriched her practice under the guidance of Shivon Robinson and Dennis Donnelly in the first Community Choir Leadership Training in Victoria, BC.
Her commitment to the power of music in community building is evident in her involvement with the Ubuntu Song Network and her dedication to offering song and community choir to local non-profits, vigils, and community needs. Cari is also deeply invested in village making, rites of passage, and deep nature connection, working closely with local Indigenous Elders to honor the sacred unseeded lands she inhabits.
In addition to her work as a voice teacher at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Camosun College’s Post-Graduate programs, Cari has completed extensive sound healing training and has a strong foundation in Waldorf pedagogy, having taught music from grades 1 to 12 at Sunrise Waldorf School. Her Master’s thesis explored the importance of music, improvisation and play in the healthy development of children as inspired by her mentor Par Ahlbom, Jarna Sweden, where she lived for fours years to study and work with him and his specialized Waldorf School “Solvik”.
Cari’s dedication to vocal arts extends beyond education; she is an award-winning recording artist, with her CD *Magnolia* and successful music tours receiving critical acclaim. Her work includes threshold singing in hospices, hospitals, and homes for over 12 years, bringing comfort and peace through song. Cari’s artistic journey also includes three music residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, further solidifying her place as a dynamic force in the world of vocal music.
Registration Form
Song & Weave Events
FEE STRUCTURE FOR MARCH 22nd EVENT
$105 : STANDARD
This represents the bare-bones cost of running the program. Participants paying under this amount are underwritten by other participants and myself.
$155 : SPONSOR
Choosing to pay the ‘Sponsor’ Tier supports my ability to sustain classes, and supports community members who face money barriers to participation.
$55 : SUBSIDIZED
This fee is for those for whom paying the standard rate would create financial hardship. The discounted amount will be covered by other participants and myself.
Pay at the door: cash or card.
E-transfers also accepted
(cari [at] cariburdett [dot] com)
