Labor Day Weekend 2026
Friday 9/4 - Monday 9/7
Join us over Labor Day Weekend for our next creative retreat at Hilltown Commons in Rensselaerville, New York!
For three days and nights we’ll be writing, drawing, and exercising all those creative muscles we rarely have the time and space to activate in our everyday lives.
Unlike other residencies, you don’t have to be a writer or an artist to join. You don’t need a portfolio or a writing sample. You don’t even need to have any experience writing or drawing. All you need is to want to spend a few days focused on your creative practice, and an interest in doing that work in a small community of others.
Continue reading for a more detailed overview, and if you have any questions, send us a message at info@littlenights.com
The Space
Hilltown Commons is a dynamic 501(c)(3) nonprofit campus set on 100 acres of rolling hills in Rensselaerville, New York. They are a home for lifelong learners, creative thinkers, and curious hearts—where education, the humanities, and a deep sense of place come together to nourish both mind and spirit.
Through thoughtfully crafted retreats, workshops, and public events, they invite people to step away from the noise, engage with the land, and connect with one another in meaningful, inclusive ways.
Their tuition-based programs emphasize hands-on, real-world learning that crosses disciplines—from the arts and humanities to systems thinking, sustainability, and community leadership. Led by passionate faculty and rooted in local partnerships, each experience is designed not only to educate, but to empower.
We’re grateful to be partnering with them again, and excited to bring you this retreat on their beautiful, historic grounds.
What’s Included?
Housing
There are two housing options at Hilltown Commons:
a room for one with private en-suite bathroom
a shared room for two (with separate beds for you and another participant) with private en-suite bathroom
If you are applying with a friend or partner with whom you’d like to share a room, please note that in the application. Otherwise we’ll pair you with another participant.
There are also commuter options for those who don’t wish to stay the night. See our pricing options below to learn more about each option.
Meals
We will have our own on-sight personal chef who will provide food for three meals a day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets, all of which have vegan and vegetarian options.
We can accommodate all dietary considerations and food allergies. Please let us know if you have any restrictions in your application.
You are also welcome to bring any of your own snacks if you’d like!
Workshops
For each of the two full days of our retreat, you’ll have the option to take one workshop in the morning and another in the afternoon.
Each workshop is specifically built to be accessible for all participants, regardless of prior experience in the medium.
Click into each workshop to learn more about what’s in store, and check below to meet this year’s workshop instructors!
-
Led by Little Nights founder and retreat co-lead Josh Krigman, this year’s creative writing workshops are focused on building new characters and narrative, as well as how to write through cliches/tropes and into fresh language and new ways of seeing.
There will also be an editing workshop where writers with projects in process can practice a few strategies for getting from one draft to the next.
-
Led by retreat co-lead Hannah Mode, our visual art workshops feature cyanotype print-making, blind-contour drawing, and life drawing, and focus on practicing different methods of observation and exploration in our visual mark-making.
-
Led by visiting artist Chris Faroe, our music-making workshop uses loop pedals and choral collage to demystify musical expression and reconnect you to using your voice as part of your creative practice.
-
Led by visiting artist Chris Faroe, the Creative Mapping workshop guides participants to look at their life like an ecosystem – full of people, projects, needs, and desires, all in relationship with each other.
Together, you’ll build physical maps you can use in your personal practice to test the health and balance of your life and creative projects.
Guided Hikes
Hilltown Commons sits alongside the Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station, which spans over 2,000 acres of forest, lakes, and trails.
As part of your retreat, our partners at Wisdom Roots will lead optional guided hikes through the preserve.
Solo Time
In addition to our activities together, there is also intentionally unstructured time for you to read, write, draw, hike, play tennis, swim or kayak in the lake, or explore however you wish.
Our goal is to give you plenty of options, then let you do whatever you want.
Community
The work you’ll get done on your own is only the beginning. After three days of making, sharing, and discussing your creative process, our hope is you’ll have grown your community and made connections that’ll continue to support your practice long after the retreat is over.
In addition to meeting the folks on your retreat, you’ll also become a part of our larger alumni community and invited to join all our alumni events, retreats, and gatherings.
What You’ll Need
TRAVEL
For those traveling from New York City via train on Friday, September 4th, there is a 5:45pm Amtrak at Moynihan Train Hall that arrives in Hudson at 7:45pm. For those taking other trains, please plan to arrive at the Hudson Amtrak station by 7:45pm.
For those driving, please plan to arrive at Hilltown Commons between 7-8:30pm on Friday, September 4th.
On Monday, September 7th, we will drop off those taking the train at the Hudson Amtrak station at 1pm.
TOILETRIES
Each room includes a full set of bedding and towels. Please bring any other toiletries you might need.
If you plan to hike, swim, or play tennis, please bring your own bathing suit, shoes, and equipment.
Additionally, Hilltown Commons does not have on-site medical services, so if you anticipate requiring medical attention or supplies, please come prepared or make arrangements with local healthcare providers in advance.
Your Instructors
Josh Krigman is a writer, teacher, and facilitator in New York City.
He has taught creative writing at Hunter College, the United Nations International School, 826NYC, Center for Fiction, and for National Geographic Expeditions. Currently, he is a private writing coach and instructor for writers of all ages and levels of experience. Through Little Nights, he’s led over 100 writing, drawing, and storytelling events for thousands of participants across New York and New Jersey.
As a writer, Josh has been awarded residencies from Vermont Studio Center, and received his MFA in fiction from Hunter College. His plays have been developed and staged by The Abingdon Theatre and Psychopomp Productions, and his short fiction has appeared in Barrelhouse, The Summerset Review, Akashic Books, Necessary Fiction, and elsewhere.
Prior to Little Nights, he co-founded Club Motte, an international storytelling series that held events in London, New York, and San Francisco, and continues to run in Berlin.
Hannah Perrine Mode is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator based in Alaska and New England. She makes art from the meeting place of geologic and human time — working across mediums to create tangible proxies for deep time and environmental systems.
Her recent projects include cyanotype textile collages, melting ice core sculptures, ceramic knot constellations, and risograph-printed books. These objects and installations are forms of record-keeping and translation that convey resilience, urgency, and vulnerability in a rapidly changing climate.
Currently pursuing an Interdisciplinary PhD with the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, she studies arts-based research as a method for collaborative, reciprocal knowledge-making in Arctic science. She is a founding member of the art–science research collective Glacial Hauntologies.
Chris Faroe is a musician, writer, and creative career designer based in the Hudson Valley of NY.
Using patterns and practices derived from sustainable design, he helps artists, musicians, and other passionate humans map their way towards radically sustainable creative careers.
After 9 years of researching creative life design, Chris has helped hundreds of folks find clarity and feel more free in their creative practice.
He also likes to nerd out about tea, tiny houses, bicycles, and liberation.
Pricing
We are committed to making our retreats as accessible as possible, both creatively and financially. To that end, our all-inclusive tuition for this retreat will be a sliding scale model that allows you to select the rate that best suits your financial situation.
While all options receive the same benefits, we ask that you pay as much as you can afford; this enables us to continue offering the retreat to those who can only afford our lowest rates.
-
2 full days and 3 nights in a private bedroom with en-suite bathroom
8 hours of group workshops with Josh, Hannah, and Chris
8 meals, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets
All necessary supplies, including cyanotype materials, notebooks, and writing and drawing implements
Transportation to and from the Hudson Amtrak station
-
2 full days and 3 nights in a shared bedroom with one other participant, each with your own bed
8 hours of group workshops with Josh, Hannah, and Chris
8 meals, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets
All necessary supplies, including cyanotype materials, notebooks, and writing and drawing implements
Transportation to and from the Hudson Amtrak station
-
8 hours of group workshops with Josh, Hannah, and Chris
Lunches and dinners for the entire weekend
All necessary supplies, including cyanotype materials, notebooks, and writing and drawing implements
Application
We ask everyone to submit a quick and simple application, not to judge the merit of your work, but to better understand your experience, intentions, and current relationship to your own practice. All of this will inform our ability to build a dynamic and cohesive group, and make the best possible retreat for everyone.
May 15th: Applications open
July 15th: Applications close
August 1st: Selections announced
There are limited spots, but if we are not able to include you this time please apply again!
*If you’re applying as a pair for the shared room, we ask that both parties apply individually and note the other’s name in their form.
Ask An Alum
Connect with one of our alumni to get a sense of the spirit of our retreats and what a Little Nights Big Weekend is all about.
Instead of questions about logistics and specifics (which you can always ask us!) think of it as a way to learn more about the experience of being a participant.
Patrick Bagley, May ‘24
patrickjbagley@gmail.com
Cathy Cheng, Feb. ‘24
cathwhc@gmail.com
Eboni Porter, May ‘26
eboni.s.porter@gmail.com
Refund Policy
There are no refunds for cancellations, but if something comes up we’ll do our best to roll your fee forward to a future weekend. If you can’t come, please contact us as soon as possible. In the event of a cancellation, Little Nights is not responsible for any related travel expenses.