After arriving at the Newport, Rhode Island retreat location—a Cape Cod style home nestled into a quiet neighborhood near the beach—we kicked off the retreat with a champagne toast and the Welcome Dinner. Our delicious dinner was catered by Pasta Beach and made by a chef from Bologna, Italy. We had food for days!
After dinner, CWW Executive Creative Director Rita Banerjee and Executive Artistic Director Norma Szokolyai broke the ice with the Evocative Object workshop. Each participant was asked to randomly pick an object out of a bag, then attempt to write a description of it. Trying to guess each person’s object inspired future writing and a lot of laughter! To our surprise, many of the objects (like a mini topiary) were wedding favors.
Following the workshop, we broke for the night and got some sleep in preparation for the exciting workshops held on Day 2.
– Emily Smith
Cambridge Writers' Workshop 