The Odyssey Works Family Reunion is a weekend of magical cross-pollination for our community and this year, we’re back again, and we’re returning to Laurel Island. We will have an entire island in Connecticut for the weekend to share projects, skills, dreams, and share good-old fashioned dinner conversation.
We’ll have three days together for skillshares, getting feedback on projects in progress, play-tests, and relaxed fireside chats. Think grilling and after-dinner games, kayaking with new potential collaborators, and plenty of dips in the lake with a braintrust of good people to talk about things that matter. Did we mention there’s a sauna, too? There is.
This is a community-driven event, designed for you to connect with folks from across our programming and think together in new ways. We encourage you to offer a short program of your own devising, if you feel inspired. One month prior to our gathering, we’ll send out a sign up sheet where you can share what you are interested in offering. Past programming has included:
- Decolonizing design workshop
- How to work with sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems discussion
- Research findings from Cornell on how to design experiences that audience members will savor
- Exercises in embodied consent
- Play-test of a card game to create connection with strangers
- Portrait photography sessions
- Clothes mending skillshare
- Movement and meditation sessions
- Roundtable discussion on the intersection of teaching and experience design
The Details
Dates
August 22nd (1:30pm) to August 25th (3:00pm) 2025
2025 cost per person for Room & Board:
EARY-BIRD
Shared Room (Register by April 15)
$550.00 AVAILABLE UNTIL APR 16
You will be assigned a shared room. If you are coming with a friend and want to share a room with them, indicate that in the questionnaire. Couples coming together will each register for a shared room.
EARY-BIRD
Private Room (Register by April 15)
$745.00 AVAILABLE UNTIL APR 16
This option is a private room for one person. If you are coming with a friend with whom you would like to share a room, each person should register for a shared room and note the name of their companion.
Shared Room
$625.00
You will be assigned a shared room. If you are coming with a friend and want to share a room with them, indicate that in the questionnaire. Couples coming together will each register for a shared room.
Private Room
$825.00
This option is a private room for a single person. If you are coming with a friend with whom you would like to share a room, each person should register for a shared room and note the name of their companion.
Laurel Island is a private island located on Lake Pocotopaug in East Hampton, CT. Approximately five acres and eco-friendly, the island is home to a large main lodge and five guesthouses, all within an easy stroll of one another, yet distinctly private. Each house has its own dock and one waterfront deck. Quaint and rustic, the island offers plenty of amenities for enjoying the surrounding land and water, including stand-up boards, canoes, kayaks and paddle boats, as well as bocce, croquet, and horseshoes. There are no ticks. You can walk around barefoot.Registration: The Family Reunion is open to anyone who has participated in any kind of Odyssey Works programming in the past.
Collaborators and family members are also welcome to join us. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis and will be open until all rooms are filled. The process is simple and smooth—just fill out a short form and you’ll receive an invoice. Please note: in the case that you need to cancel, we can refund you the fee minus a $250 deposit; after June 1, all registration is non-refundable.
The Odyssey Works Foundation is a 501c3 charitable organization. A portion of your registration may be used as a tax deduction on your taxes. Proceeds from this event will be used to support the work of the foundation, which provides scholarships for student to the Experience Design Certificate Program.
Transit
Attendees will be brought via pontoon boat to the island at pre-arranged arrival and departure times (before sunset) on Thursday and Sunday. We will send out a rideshare spreadsheet in advance for you to coordinate with other attendees.
For those traveling by car, parking is available at 11 Old Marlborough Road in East Hampton, CT for the duration of the weekend. If train is your preferred mode of transit, you can take the Northeast Regional from Penn Station in New York City to Berlin, CT, which is 25 minutes by car from where the boat departs in East Hampton. Bradley International Airport is 40 minutes from East Hampton, but you may also choose to fly into NYC.