FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, DEC. 8, 2025
WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION
RETURNS TO WEST PHILADELPHIA
Poet-Tree En Motion Presents a Cacao Ceremony, Sound Journey, Movement Meditations and Spoken-Word Poetry on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at The Rotunda
WEST PHILADELPHIA – Do you feel the need for renewal? The Winter Solstice is a great time for spiritual practices to shed off the old and open to the new.
Join a heart-opening cacao ceremony at the next Poet-tree En Motion multidisciplinary arts showcase 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17th at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia. The event is free to the community.
Artistic director Gabrielle de Burke, aka Plum Dragoness, will open the space with grounding and centering movement meditations involving chi-gong and yogic arts. This will prepare the group spiritually before partaking in a cacao ceremony led by Isa Flora. After the group partakes of the cacao, Jenna Ponzio will provide a singing-bowls sound journey to facilitate deep meditation and insights. Carol Ann Graham will do live painting during the event to capture the spirit of the evening. Plum Dragoness will also recite spoken-word poetry on theme for the winter solstice.
The cacao ceremony will allow participants to take time to align with their intentions that they want to bring with them into the winter season.
“As we enter winter we begin to settle deep into the darkness and go inward, allowing ourselves to dream, to grieve, to create, to be held by the earth,” Flora says. “Winter is the dark void where anything is possible, and we are the sacred flame of creation.
“Cacao is an ancient plant medicine that connects us directly to spirit through the heart so we can receive clarity on whatever it is we are bringing into the ceremony,” she explains. “It is a sacred time to let yourself rest into trust and receive the wisdom of cacao’s spirit. This plant medicine spirit reminds us how we are never alone even when it feels like it the most. May we sit together to receive and share in sacred ceremony during the portal of winter solstice.”
Bring a journal, water bottle and comfortable clothes. Those on heart medications or SSRIs should be mindful of drinking cacao and talk with their doctor first.
To participate in the cacao ceremony, register by messaging @IsaFlora on Facebook, @isabelcaroline on Instagram or isabelszel@gmail.com. The workshop will provide enough cacao for a maximum of 50 people. Participants should be present by no later than 6:30 p.m. The doors will close 6:45-7:45 p.m. during the ceremony.
Donations at the door will benefit Survival International. Tips for individual artists are welcome and encouraged.
The Poet-tree En Motion is supported by grants from the University of Pennsylvania. Donations will be collected at the door for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to support emergency famine relief and aid to war-torn regions around the world. Tips are also welcome and encouraged for the artists.
The Rotunda is at 4014 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. For information about The Rotunda, log on to www.TheRotunda.org.
For information about Poet-tree En Motion, email de Burke at plumdragoness@gmail.com and join the Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/116980678334215.
ABOUT POET-TREE EN MOTION:
Poet-tree En Motion works to inspire both artist and audience to connect and work together toward cultivating the arts community in Philadelphia, welcoming artists of all kinds to experience performances local to the neighborhood.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Gabrielle de Burke (artist Plum Dragoness)
Founder/Event Organizer Poet-tree En Motion
484-557-9605
Gina Renzi
Director of The Rotunda
267-934-3705
Last year’s cacao ceremony and movement meditation photos were shot by Blackfyre Photos. All other photos are submitted.
CAPTIONS:
Poet-tree En Motion Ceremony Photos:
Isa Flora facilitates a cacao ceremony at last year’s Poet-tree En Motion Winter Solstice event at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia. She will return for this year’s event on Dec. 18.
Poet-tree En Motion Movement Meditation Photos:
Gabrielle de Burke leads participants of last year’s Poet-tree En Motion Winter Solstice event in meditational movements fusing chi-gong, tai chi and other modalities. She will lead participants again at this year’s event on Dec. 18 at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia.
Gabrielle de Burke:
Gabrielle de Burke (aka Plum Dragoness) performs spoken-word poetry at her Poet-tree En Motion multidisciplinary arts event. Catch her at the next one on Dec. 18 at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia.
Jenna Dreams:
Jenna Ponzio (aka Jenna Dreams) makes soothing meditational sounds with singing bowls. She will facilitate a sound journey during the Poet-tree En Motion event on Dec. 18 at The Rotunda.
Carol Ann Graham:
Artist Carol Ann Graham will create live paintings at the next Poet-tree En Motion arts event on Dec. 18 at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia. Her painting “Meadow of Peace” is an example of her work, which is currently on exhibit with her collection “Imagine” at The Paper Mill House in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
FOR LISTINGS:
Winter Solstice Celebration presented by the Poet-tree En Motion multidisciplinary arts showcase 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 at The Rotunda located at 4014 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. The event is free and open to the public. Guests can enjoy a cacao ceremony, singing bowls sound journey, guided movement meditations, live painting, and spoken-word poetry. For information about The Rotunda, log on to www.TheRotunda.org. For information about Poet-tree En Motion, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/116980678334215 and email artistic director Gabrielle de Burke at plumdragoness@gmail.com.
ARTIST BIOS:
PLUM DRAGONESS (GABRIELLE DE BURKE)
Native to West Philadelphia, Plum Dragoness (aka Gabrielle de Burke) is a multi-talented thespian, dancer, martial artist, instructor, poetess, and writer who has been involved with performing arts since childhood. She is known for her poetic style, vocal performance, fire dance, flow arts, and choreographic flair throughout Philadelphia and abroad.
Over the past 18 years, she has toured as a solo artist, founding member/core performer/assistant artistic director of Archedream for HumanKind among many others. She has independently released two albums of original work with the project Plum Dragoness & the Elements, known for its fusion of multimedia, live world-beat musical infusions, spoken-word vocals, and lyrical poetry. She has also helped bring together the all-female performance group trio The Femme-Mynistiques, who released their debut EP “Here She Comes…” in the summer of 2016.
Since 2007, Plum Dragoness has been a resident performance artist, as well as host and organizer for the successful performing arts series Poet-tree En Motion. This has allowed her the opportunity to share her own creative performances (including collaborative projects she initiated) and work created by many unique artists within the West Philadelphia community and beyond.
Her work as a healing arts practitioner and instructor continues to intersect with her work as an interdisciplinary performance artist through the incorporation of internal and martial arts forms in combination with dance, poetry, and theater presentation. She has been teaching in the Philadelphia area and abroad since 2000.
Instagram: @plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics
ISA FLORA
Isa Flora is a Boricua Taino mixed creatrix whose lineage has held powerful healers and earth stewards. Isa has been holding sacred ceremony space with the intention of collective heart resonance and collective liberation. She has been sitting with cacao in an intentional way for almost five years and has been studying in an apprenticeship over the last year. Isa also holds Free Flow Movement Journeys that help support people in building a deeper relationship to themselves through embodiment practices.
Isa has been stewarding a medicinal plant garden called Maxkalaniyat Garden with her mama for the last six seasons. Isa is devoted to being a bridge and sharing in remembering who we are, the importance of our relationship with Mother Earth, and ways to come back to the heart and deep compassion with ourselves and each other.
Facebook - @IsaFlora
Instagram - @isabelcaroline
CAROL ANN GRAHAM
Artist, actor and improvisator Carol Ann Graham has developed a way to connect and uplift others with her intuitive abstract painting process. She encourages people to discover what sparks joy and vitality as she creates quick personal paintings in an interactive experience. She offers this unique gift at diverse events including parties, protests, weddings, memorials, art fairs and reunions.
Graham merges her years of painting and artistic creation in service to her personal healing with her dedication to helping others as a holistic health practitioner. She featured her interactive intuitive abstract painting experience at the 2015 SoLow Festival in Philadelphia. Since that time, she has produced personal paintings live at various in-person events and over Zoom. She uses both recycled materials, watercolor paper and small canvases that become artistic treasures for those that seek to have a visual representation of their heart’s desires, intentions, prayers and longings.
“Creating visual art is a soul expression whether it’s in my journal on a canvas or paper or recycled cardboard using collage, acrylic and oil paint, watercolor, pens, markers, inks,” she says. “I embrace art as healing, art to create intention and personal inspiration, art as meditation, art to allow deeper connection with creator, art with words, abstract art, whimsical art, art from the heart, prayer paintings, art to spark joy, art to get through grief, art to share my love and light with you.
“This Winter Solstice 2025 I bring my soul to this sacred gathering to paint the collective energy of Love and Light that is present. Our presence is powerful.”
Her most recent collection “Imagine” is currently being exhibited at The Paper Mill House in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania until December 13, 2025. Here are a few images from this collection.
Portfolio:
https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/carol-ann-graham
Website:
Instagram:
@carolanngrahamartist
Facebook:
@CarolAnnGraham
JENNA DREAMS (JENNA PONZIO)
Jenna Dreams is a musician and coach specializing in sound bath meditations, sacred ceremony, psychedelic integration, subconscious reprogramming (PSYCH-K®,) plant medicine and microdose facilitation.
Dreams combines nature's wisdom with the healing power of music to create grounding spiritual experiences. Her goal is to help others find inner harmony through connecting with plant allies and the natural world.
She aims to help restore balance and respect for the Earth by fostering deep, sustainable connections between humans and Mother Nature.
With a decade of experience navigating altered states of consciousness and training in alternative healing modalities, Ponzio is well-versed in trauma-informed facilitation and ceremonial plant medicine, as she completed apprenticeships in the Amazon Jungle, where she lived and trained alongside Indigenous Shamanic Medicine-Carriers.
Her focus is on “empowering you to become your truest, most embodied self, helping you uncover your inherent gifts and feel confident to fully express and share them with the world!”
More information about Dreams can be found on her website:
Instagram: Jenna_Dreams
Facebook: @JennaPonzio
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