This event is now full for on-site participants. If you would like to be on the wait list or would consider being a day-participant with alternate lodging, please complete the registration information and contact Tim Smith directly for more information: timotheus.magister@gmail.com.
SALVI’s Biduum Coloratanum is a weekend workshop offering 20 hours of Latin immersion at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge in Allenspark, Colorado.
This year’s theme will be Ludi and will feature readings from Erasmus, Seneca, Cicero, Martial, as well as opportunities for playing card and board games inside and cornhole, horseshoes, and kubb outside.
We will enjoy exclusive use of this mountain retreat with its cabins, lodge, and outstanding views. Participants will enjoy individualized attention with a five to one participant to staff ratio, reading and conversing in Latin, a short hike on a nearby trail, a variety of classroom activities – including cooking delicious food – and the chance to connect with old and new friends, all in Latin!
The event is for all types of Latinists: novices who have never spoken Latin as well as veteran locutores. Biduum provides participants with a weekend to try a casual immersive Latin experience. For those who have been to Rusticatio or other week-long immersions, Biduum offers a mid-year opportunity to reconnect with the living Latin community. Latin teachers will have time to talk about pedagogy in English after the event, but Latin enthusiasts who are not in the teaching field will find it an enriching experience to engage in conversation, discover new Latin authors and texts, and develop their Latinity.
Program Dates:
October 24-26, 2025
- Arrival: Friday, October 24, between 3 and 6 p.m
- Departure: Sunday, October 26, around noon.
Features of Biduum Coloratanum:
- supportive, intimidation-free environment
- outstanding staff to participant ratio (with one staff member for every five participants, we can offer small break-out groups with full instructor support)
- communicating entirely in Latin from Friday evening through Sunday morning
- high-energy, low-pressure conversation exercises
- readings from a wide variety of Latin literature
- techniques that will add variety and confidence to your teaching
- professional pedagogical discussions
- enjoy the beautiful Colorado mountains
(Curious to hear what people think of SALVI programs? Take a look at reviews for Rusticatio.)
Why would anyone come back to experience a second Biduum or Latin immersion event?
Each time we immerse ourselves in Latin, we become better Latinists. Each Biduum introduces participants to a new curriculum, staff, and different teaching techniques that can be immediately implemented in the classroom.
Eligibility
You are eligible to attend this workshop if you have graduated high school, are at least 18 years of age, and have already learned Latin on paper and are interested in developing active command of the spoken language. Please note that Biduum is not an introductory Latin course and thus it is not for people who have no knowledge of the language. Typically, participants have completed, at a minimum, the equivalent of two years of traditional college Latin or four years of a high school Latin program. It is not necessary to have previous experience speaking Latin.
Location
We will reside and conduct all our workshop sessions at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge in Allenspark, CO. The site offers a true Colorado Mountain experience at 7,000 feet elevation and elk bugling and moose sightings are virtually guaranteed.
The lodging is in cabins with mostly dormitory-style bedrooms with up to six individuals sharing a room together and our classroom and dining room spaces are cozy. Visit the Lodge’s website to see pictures of the accommodations.
The Lodge is about a 90 minute drive from Denver International Airport. Out-of-state participants can use the Estes Park Shuttle directly to and from the airport and Uber is also available. We may also be able to help arrange transportation with local participants.
Accessiblity
The main building of the Sunshine Mountain Lodge is wheelchair accessible. The cabins, however, are not as accessible so participants who use a wheelchair would need to find lodging nearby. We suggest the Dao House which is about 15 minutes away.
For participants visiting from out of state, it would be easy to extend this trip to a vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park. Allenspark is close to Estes Park, the gateway town to RMNP and about an hour and a half from the ski resorts in Summit County. Participants might also consider visiting Denver, Boulder, or Fort Collins, each about an hour away from the Lodge.
Cost
$450 per person, all-inclusive, covering two nights lodging, five meals, including drinks, tuition, and instructional materials.
Transportation to and from Biduum is not included (though SALVI can help arrange carpooling).
Refunds and Cancellations
You may cancel before October 1, 2025 for a full refund. After this date, we cannot refund your payment.
Day participant option:
For those who live close enough to commute to the Lodge from home, we are offering a $60 discount. Day participants must agree to attend all Biduum activities, staying each night until at least 9:30 PM and arriving for breakfast each morning by 8:00 AM.
Single room upgrade option:
All single rooms have been taken.
Biduum Coloratanum Instructors and Staff:
- Claire (Clara) Mieher:
- Claire graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Greek & Latin in 2019, by which point she had already been introduced to the efficacy and joy of speaking Latin. After graduation she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Ph.D. in Classics at the University of Southern California (USC). She took a year off her program to teach Latin in Rome, and since returning to USC, has been working on a dissertation about 15th-16th century women’s Latin letter collections. Since 2018, Claire has taught Latin and Greek using comprehensible input-based methods at USC, SALVI, and as a private tutor. In her free time, Claire enjoys baking, gardening, and composing in Latin and Greek. Claire is also a co-host of the podcast Latinitas Animi Causa.
- Jason (Iason) Slanga
- Jason studied Computer Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, before applying all of his Latin credits to a degree in Ancient Studies. While teaching for 12 years in the Baltimore County Public School system, he helped develop a district-wide Latin curriculum based on comprehensible input and target language instruction. He has served on the boards of SALVI and the Maryland Foreign Language Association. Jason attended his first Rusticatio in 2007, and has filled a wide variety of roles at SALVI events, including head chef, facilities manager, adjunct staff, and lead instructor. These days he lives in Albuquerque, NM, where he is a cook and manager in a vegan restaurant, offering New Mexican cuisine.
- Heidi (Helena) Poole
- Heidi started studying Latin in Belgium, her home country, at the age of 12 and graduated from the University of Florida with an MA in Latin. She is now in her 22nd year as a Latin teacher in Salt Lake City, UT. Though she originally taught Latin using the traditional grammar method, Heidi quickly became a spoken-Latin enthusiast after she attended her first SALVI event in 2013. In her free time, you can find her hiking, studying Italian, going to rock concerts, and playing classical guitar.
- Michael (Meletus) Sweet
- Meletus earned a Bachelor’s Degree in the Liberal Arts from Hiram College with a major in Philosophy, Master’s Degrees from Kent State University in Philosophy and Latin Literature, studied Ancient Greek as a living language for a semester at Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Humanities and Languages in Israel, and Latin as a living language in Rome and Paris with the Paideia Institute, and at many Rusticationes and Bidua with SALVI. In addition to offering private tutoring since 2013, Meletus has taught at Kent State, Paideia Institute’s Telepaideia program, the Polis Institute, and was a K-6 Latin teacher in Cincinnati Public Schools. He lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota with his partner, another Latin teacher who teaches at an elementary school full time, and our collection of books which is beginning to break the limits of our small apartment.
- Kelley (Kellea) Pichel
- Kelley started her Latin journey in seventh grade and studied Classics at Valparaiso University. She has taught many levels of Latin in Fort Collins off and on for the last 23 years and is currently balancing a slew of middle schoolers with a small, calm, enlightened Latin IV/V class. She has enjoyed three Bidua Coloratana and a few pre-pandemic Rusticationes. This year Tim twisted her arm enough that she agreed to be Curatrix/Nuntia for Biduum (a special miracle this season since she’s also soccer mom to her two sons). She’s excited to work with such an accomplished and talented team of Latinists to bring you a great experience and improve her own skills. Feel free to ask her questions anytime.
- Tim (Timotheus) Smith
- Tim studied Classics at the College of the Holy Cross and University of Chicago and taught Latin in the traditional grammar method for over a decade before he finally, very reluctantly, and not without great dubiousness, attended his first Rusticatio in 2014. Once in an immersion setting, he quickly became a convert to the enjoyment and utility of speaking Latin. He has served as a Rusticatio coquus since 2016, has directed four previous Bidua Coloratana, and has a Youtube cooking show in Latin called Coquamus and co-hosts the Latin Podcast Secunda Mensa. He currently serves as the President of SALVI.
Participant Behavior Contract
By registering for Biduum Coloratanum, participants promise to abide by the SALVI Participant Behavior Contract.
How to Register:
Complete the Google form below to register. You will be notified as soon as possible after your registration has been received.
How to Pay:
Once you have received a registration confirmation email, please proceed with payment using the Pay with Paypal or Debit or Credit Card buttons below.
Alternatively, you may send a check payable to “SALVI” to the following address:
Edie Barry
SALVI Treasurer
3445 Hicks Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
For any questions regarding payment, please email our Treasurer, Edie Barry at treasurer@latin.org. For technical issues with the Google form or payment, please email techadmin@latin.org.