Villa Maria News & Events

Villa Granola

2012-01-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Homemade Granola is a favorite at the Villa, we thought you all would enjoy the recipe to make it at home.

Granola:

9 cups of old fashioned oats

4 cups of coconut
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
3/4 cup of honey
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of craisins
1/2 cup of dates

Preheat oven to 375. Toss oats, coconut, and nuts together. Whisk honey and oil together in separate bowl, pour over oat mixture and stir until coated. Bake 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally until mixture turns golden. When is done toss in dried fruit.

Here's the official press release for the open house!

2011-12-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Villa Maria Retreat & Conference Center to host open house

Rare Nativity collection on display

Frontenac, Minn., (Dec. 2, 2011) – The Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Frontenac will host an open house on Sunday, Dec. 11, from noon to 5 p.m. The event will be highlighted by a special showing of a large collection of Nativity sets donated to the Villa Maria and a bake sale. Admission is free.

More than 80 Nativity sets of all shapes and sizes will be displayed throughout the chapel and dining room in Marian Hall, the Villa’s castle-like signature building. The Nativity sets were collected over a number of years from locations all over the world, and were donated to the Villa Maria by a single benefactor from a collection of more than 400 sets.

The open house is a wonderful opportunity for area residents and tourists alike to learn more about this historic landmark. Guided tours of historic Marian Hall will be offered, and guests are invited to explore the 70-acre Villa Maria campus and learn about the property’s long history. Free refreshments and activities for kids will be on hand, and the Villa’s annual holiday bake sale will be held the same day. Live music will entertain guests as they check out the classic architecture and historic photographs that make Marian Hall truly unique.

The Villa Maria has been a fixture in Frontenac since the late nineteenth century. It served as a girl’s boarding school for 78 years and drew students from around the world, until a fire in 1969 destroyed the school building. At that time it was converted to its current use as a retreat center.

The Villa Maria Retreat & Conference Center is a picturesque meeting and getaway venue in Frontenac, Minnesota. Featuring a number of singular meeting spaces and overnight accommodations, as well as 70 acres of trails, meadows and woods, the Villa Maria is a venue like no other for corporate meetings, spiritual retreats, conferences, weddings or weekend getaways. For more information, visit villamariaretreats.org or call 651-345-4582.

# # #

For more information, contact:

Beth Davis

Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center

651-345-4582

info@villamariaretreats.org

Villa Maria Holiday Open House

2011-11-21T09:52:00.001-08:00

The Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Frontenac invites you to attend our Holiday Open House on December 11th from noon to 5 PM. We are displaying nativity sets from around the world. Tour our wonderful facility and enjoy free holiday treats, fun activities for kids and live music performed by professional pianist Kris Simonson and some local talent too!

Check out a couple of sample selections from Kris: http://www.gigmasters.com/Piano/Kris-Simonson/

29847 County 2 Blvd, Frontenac (just off Hwy 61)
villamariaretreats.org
651-345-4582

Minnesota Knitters Days

2011-11-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Knitters have been coming to the Villa Maria for a few years for their Annual Reatreat. They love what our facility has to offer for their group. Take a look at their blog for a few photos from their event and information about The Minnesota Knitters Days.

http://mnknittersdays.blogspot.com/

Weddings at the Villa Maria Retreat & Conference Center

2011-09-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Villa Maria Retreat & Conference Center offers unique and beautiful spaces for wedding ceremonies.

Our chapel in Marian Hall has intricate stained glass windows and a spacious area for your wedding party to stand with you on your special day. There is comfortable seating for up to 60 and a piano and sound system available for use.

Ursuline Hall is a unique octagon-shaped building with wide open space. It can be arranged specifically for your wedding group and guests, with seating for up to 100. This space also has a piano and sound system.

The grounds at the Villa are beautiful during any season. Our acres have areas with woods, flower gardens and meadows. The grounds at the Villa also provide the backdrop for outstanding outdoor wedding photos.

Please review our wedding policies and let us know if the Villa Maria would fit your needs for your special day. Site visits can be arranged by appointment.
• Weddings may be booked either for outside, in the chapel or Ursuline Hall.
• Wedding ceremony may be held between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• Receptions may not be held at the Villa Maria.
• Chapel is available for wedding ceremonies of all faiths.
    - For Catholic weddings church policy must be followed.
• Couple may use outside vendors for flowers, food, photography, etc., but all vendors must
arrange site visits through Villa Maria staff.
• Fee for use of the Villa Maria for weddings is $900.
     - Includes location for rehearsal and groom’s dinner (meals extra).
     - Indoor or outdoor space for wedding.
     - Three guest rooms (one-night) in Marian Hall and one meeting room.
     - Ability to reserve block of rooms or cabins for guests.
     - The couple is responsible for the general picking up or cleaning of the ceremony
       space, so a $200 refundable deposit is to be held for this purpose.

For more details and dozens of pictures of our lovely facility and campus, visit our homepage!

A few kind words from our guests

2011-09-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

To better serve those who stay with us, we ask every guest to fill out a comment card. Here are some comments left in the month of August.

“Excellent! Thanks for a much-needed rest from the business of my life, in which I found myself and peace, so that I can continue in life refreshed! Thank you for meeting my gluten-free meal needs!”

“It has been wonderful here in every way.

Excellent dining. The food was all delicious and served in a pleasing way. The meeting space was perfect! Ursuline Hall could not be better for our purpose. The staff was friendly, helpful and unintrusive. The bedroom was very comfortable and had everything I needed.

Thank you!”

“Wonderful! Peaceful & healing. It was a blessing to me to stay here. Very nice lounge rooms. The labyrinths were very healing.

(The staff was) warm, welcoming and friendly. They made me feel at home. I can’t thank them enough. (The room) was very nice and comfortable. I asked for a room without an air conditioner & was given a nice room with a good fan and breeze. Lovely for sleeping.

I stopped because a two-day personal retreat was just what I needed and I was graciously accommodated.”

"Wonderful as always! Ursuline Hall is great. (The staff was) very helpful and knowledgeable."

Everyone at the Villa Maria is pleased to continue to provide a comfortable place for retreat and renewal.

Mask Making as Soul Making - facilitated by Mary Plaster

2011-07-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

August 19-20, 2011
Attend a weekend retreat with an art-as-meditation exercise,which means the emphasis will be on process more than product. We are all artists, special art "talent" or "experience" is not necessary-bring special photos, craft and natural items to incorporate into a journey of self-discovery. Friday evening: working with a partner to make a plaster gauze bandage life-casts of each others faces. Saturday meditations on these "shells," then decorating them with paint and collage. We will then reflect as a group on our inspirations and talk a bit about our inner experiences with these works-in-progress. All materials are provided, please bring any personal objects you may want to include. Facilitated by Mary Plaster.

Mary Plaster, DMin, MA, is a multi-media artist and facilitator, residing with her family since 2000 on Spirit Mountain near Duluth, Minnesota. Her published spiritual icon of Sophia, Divine Wisdom is displayed in homes around the world. Her masks and large puppets have toured to several interfaith & sustainability conferences across the Midwest and Pacific Coast.

A special thanks to IBM

2011-07-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Frontenac, MN – June 20, 2011 – As part of the company’s day-of-service event, 62 employees from the IBM Rochester facility spent their eight-hour workday June 15 at the Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Frontenac.

The group tackled a number of maintenance projects, including trail cleanup, limb cutting, painting and other repairs.

Villa Maria is a 70-acre interfaith retreat and conference center that has been a long-time landmark on the west shore of Lake Pepin between Red Wing and Lake City. It has served several roles since it was established in its current location by the Catholic Ursuline Sisters in 1891, including as a girls’ boarding school.

“My cousin went to school at the Villa Maria and I always thought it was such a beautiful place,” explained IBM employee Connie Lexvold. “It has always been near and dear to my heart. I wanted to be part of the project of improving and beautifying the Villa Maria.”

Other companies helped support the effort as well, with Huettl’s Meats in Lake City donating lunch, and Fiesta Foods supplying the IBM workers with snacks and refreshments.

IBM employee Steve Herbst expressed his support for the Villa Maria’s mission of assisting people in their spiritual and personal growth, and said, “I am trying to give something back to the Villa Maria. This project will spread the Villa word to many more people.”