I went to my first retreat in Feb. It was fantastic! As others have said, the plan at each retreat is different. The one I went to was completely free-form - bring your own projects and work on whatever you want. No classes or lectures scheduled, just 3 days to sew. I have the impression that most do have classes, however. I flew to mine, and carrying everything on the plane (sewing machine, tools, plus projects) was a bit of a pain. Driving would be much easier (I'm doing that in November).