WESTLOCK - For the past seven years, Karen Zadunayski has dreamed of setting up a retreat; a somewhat isolated spot, where individuals and families can come and unwind for a short time — an afternoon, a day, overnight or several days — to just get themselves away from their hectic, fast-paced lives.
Her dream is close to reality, with the strong support of her husband, Michael, and their retirement savings, plus the support of their four daughters, other family members and friends.
“Michael has been a huge blessing in this build. it’s my brain work, but his hard work that is making it come together.” Karen says. “He trusts me in spending our retirement funds to brings this to life without any qualms or questions; so how lucky am I?”
The retreat will be located on 14.78 acres next to the Redwater River near Vimy in Westlock County and Karen Is naming it Riverside Acres — the name of her childhood home by the Pembina River. Her father, Ted Dul, is proud to have Karen use the Riverside farm name for her retreat.
“Riverside Acres is a quaint eco-retreat brimming with natural beauty alongside the Redwater River. Our family has created an enchanting space for our guests to swap their busy schedules for a tranquil experience,” she said.
Michael is a retired oilfield technician/manager, and now enjoys custom building construction work. He has been busy this past winter building six small comfortable cottages that will accommodate four people and six accompanying outhouses. He has been building them at the Zadunayski farm east of Vimy and early this summer, they will be moved to the Riverside Acres site. A building bee was held March 7, with a large group of family and friends coming to help with painting and construction. A large Trading Post for a coffee shop with local artisan wares, and a pavilion for meetings, such as wellness and spiritual workshops, plus weddings, etc. will be built on site later this spring. Various artisans will be on site from time to time doing their work, including her mom and daughter Carlie. Karen notes a special Riverside Acres custom blend coffee is being developed for visitors to enjoy, or to buy and take home.
Walking trails will be organized along the river, where people can come for a day or afternoon to enjoy a picnic in the meadow, do some bird watching, enjoy the beauty of the native grasses and wildflowers and the trees, or just dip their toes in the river. Plans are in the works for benches along the trail where visitors can just relax and enjoy the nature around them for a time.
Those wishing to stay overnight or for several days can rent one of the charming, artfully furnished cabins. It is off-grid, so power for each cottage and the rest of the facilities is provided by a 12-volt battery kept charged by solar panels. The cottages are well-insulated, and Karen is hoping it will be a year-round facility for people to come and just relax and enjoy the nature around them. Winter activities could include skating on the river, snow shoeing or cross-country skiing.
She is planning on organizing wellness and spiritual workshops, or seasonal events such as the Summer and Winter Solstice celebrations and notes she has five wellness workshops booked already, and hopes to have those with the dates posted online soon.
Bookings for events and cottage rentals will start April 1 and the site will officially open July 1. For more info visit www.riversideacres.ca, call 587-545-9581 or e-mail [email protected]
