Inside Holden Village: "Village Kids"

Holden welcomes families to come live and work in the wilderness! Give your family the unforgettable experience of a year (or two!) of life in this intentional, intergenerational community. Read on for more information about youth experiences at Holden Village.

“Being a family at Holden has been a win for us in so many ways. Here are just a few: intergenerational community, spiritual growth, meeting people from all over the world, small classroom size at school, plus the indescribable beauty of this place. We love it here!”

-Amy Huacani, Program Manager

Stories from the Holden Village School

Being a kid at Holden Village means days are filled with outdoor adventure, community, independence, music, and creativity. Long winters are spent sledding down Chalet Hill and busy summers bring hours spent in the forest and by the creek. From September through May, children of long-term staff members attend the Holden School, a small public school where children learn in a multi-age classroom with a strong focus on their individual interests and needs.

The Holden School is an unique education experience. Weekly hikes and skis, yoga classes, Culinary Arts classes in the Holden Kitchen, and daily recess in the wilderness makes space for all types of learning. So, what is it like to be a kid at Holden Village? “Village Kids” find friendship with people of all ages and backgrounds as members of the community–according to a Village sixth-grader, “I’ve become pretty good friends with a lot of the adult Villagers. But I’m actually surprised I have made friends with some of the younger community members as well”.

Recently, Village Kids completed and presented their Passion Projects–three to four-month explorations of a topic of their choosing with a mentor from the Village community. “I don’t think a lot of other kids get to choose what they learn”, said one child, “and hanging out with my mentor during my passion project was a favorite memory of mine”. From hosting tea tastings to building mini hydroelectric generators, Passion Projects are an experience of deep learning for students, and a chance to learn alongside an adult member of the community.

Culinary Arts

by August d'Ambruoso

As a Holden School student, I get to participate in classes that cater towards the community's knowledge. One of the best examples of this is my Culinary Arts class. In this class, I worked with Holden legend Scott Olson, and made several meals and side dishes for the community. Each week, we gather in the kitchen to create something that will teach me a little bit more about cooking, baking, and playing with food. It has been a joy to work with Scott because of his knowledge about food service, plus he's just a phenomenal person to talk to. We've made so many different things together. My favorites include four forms of rye bread, bagels for the village five separate times, 18 different kinds of roux, pho, and five different versions of crackers.

Here’s our bagel recipe, which is adapted from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” (2016):

Dough

Whisk 3 grams of instant yeast with 510 grams of high-gluten flour.
Add 567 grams of room temperature water until a pancake-like batter emerges. Cover and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
Add 1.5 more grams of instant yeast and stir. Add an additional 383 grams of high-gluten flour, 20 grams of salt, and 9.5 grams of malt powder. Stir until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in another 99 grams of high-gluten flour.
Transfer to a counter and knead for another 10 minutes. The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth, and not tacky.

Shaping

Immediately divide the dough into 128 grams pieces and form into balls. Cover the balls with a damp towel and let them rest for 20 minutes.
Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil, then sprinkle corn meal as desired.
Shape the bagels by rolling the dough into an 8 inch long rope. Wrap the dough around the palm and back of your hand, overlapping the ends by several inches. Rock your hand back and forth on a counter to seal.
Place the shaped pieces on the prepared pans. Mist the bagels very lightly with spray oil, and cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate overnight.

Boiling and Seasoning

The next day, preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bring a wide pot of water to a boil, then add 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and enough dark malt extract so that the water looks like strong tea, but not coffee.
Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently place them into the water, boiling only as many as fit comfortably. After 30 seconds, flip them all over using a slotted spoon and boil for another 30 seconds. If you like chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling time to 1 minute on each side.
As soon as the bagels come out of the water, top them with whatever ingredients you would like. In the Holden Kitchen, we like everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds.

Baking

When all of the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the middle racks in your oven. Bake for approximately 7 minutes, then rotate the pans 180 degrees. Continue to bake for about 7-8 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown.
Remove the bagels from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes or longer before serving. Enjoy!

May Youth Weekend 2024

Holden celebrates May Youth Weekend

Theme: A Communion of Saints in All Spaces

High School youth travel to Holden Village for May Youth Weekend May 23-25

Students experience faith, music, and hilarity, with opportunities to participate in service projects, have fun in the Pool Hall, and experience spiritual growth in community!

May Youth Weekends have been a Holden Tradition for decades. It's the biggest event prior to the summer season. It also marks the Inaugural Village Center worship after the building is opened during Work Week. Watch our social media feeds and subscribe to this newsletter for a recap!

Tex Link

May Youth Weekend Special Guests

A Chan is a queer, local Washingtonian who explores as many places and arts as possible. They perform poetry with Poor Clare, Church of the Apostles, and occasionally the Fremont Abbey. Their artistic interests trace a line between tactile crafts like fiber and

leather, with technology and math. Cool things emerge in all of those interstitial gaps - the trick is staying curious enough to find it.

Lacey Brown returns as May Youth Weekend musician. She is a singer/songwriter, music leader, liturgist, percussionist and recording artist from Seattle, WA. Passionate in the liturgical arts, Lacey has been working in ministry for over 20 years directing music and liturgy in congregations, the Northwest Washington Synod, the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, and church wide conferences and events. As a composer in the church, she writes liturgical settings and songs for congregational singing and heads up a band called Poor Clare, performing original music and poetry inspired by the mysteries of God and life.

Learn More

May Term at Holden Village

From Texas to the Mountains

by Monica Sitachitta

When I came to Holden Village, I had no idea what to expect. I came here because my professor recommended I take his environmental politics class which was required to go on the trip. I wasn’t sure I should go but I decided to take a leap of faith.

Seeing the landscape once we got off the boat made me speechless. I had never seen anything like this before. The way the mountains stood tall with pride and the snow perfectly placed on top of them and the rivers which flowed with such passion down the streams. My group was a bunch of university students and teachers who came from the busy state of Texas. As soon as we stepped off the ferry to this little corner of the U.S. it felt as if the world slowed down and nothing outside mattered.

Once we arrived at the village and saw the welcoming party waiting for us, it felt like we were a part of the Holden family. All the doubts I previously had about whether I should come suddenly left my mind.

I knew I was impacted within days of being here. I realized things about myself and could feel myself growing as an individual. Getting the chance to disconnect from technology helped me recognize I don’t need my phone to be involved. In Holden you get community and love from each other and technology doesn't matter. You learn and experience so many more meaningful things when you are in the moment and not behind a screen. I created bonds with classmates I didn’t know before the trip started and Villagers I just met all welcomed me with open arms. It showed me God creates strong bonds among all the people; it doesn't matter who you are or if you're here for two weeks or two years. The bonds that grow here between people perfectly reflect community and the care there is for one another. It brought tears to my eyes seeing how at Holden there is so much love within this place you really can’t get anywhere else.

I’m so thankful I got the chance to be a part of this community and for what it has taught me. Even when I have to leave, I know Holden has changed my perspective on life in more ways than one.

Monica is a Freshman at Texas Lutheran University where she studies communications.