SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: SWFL WELLNESS FAIR

by iana velez | Mar 29, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: SWFL WELLNESS FAIR

April 23, 2023
FREE
Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, FLA

PROFILES

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this April? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Alex C Wilson founder and creator of SWFL Wellness Fair in Florida who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to get complimentary copies of our magazine at this FREE festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
Following the isolation everyone felt during the onset of the pandemic, I myself felt the need to reconnect with my community. I also felt like wellness was something that more people wanted to make a priority. So I decided to organize a wellness fair that would make local wellness options more accessible to the community, while at the same time, bringing people together to connect, practice yoga, and support local businesses.

What makes your festival unique?
This is an event that brings a multitude of wellness practices, services, products and professionals together in one place, so people can explore what they’re interested in or curious about in person, without searching through all the information that we’re inundated online. We look at wellness from a big picture standpoint that incorporates the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives. We do not discriminate, because we want people to find the services, products and professionals that feel right for their unique interests and needs. Whether that’s acupuncture, mental health counseling, cryotherapy, yoga, traditional medicine, tarot readings, or anything in between!

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
This year we will have a sound healing demonstration, and I’m really excited to give people the opportunity to experience a brief demonstration of what vibrational healing can feel like.

Learn More:

@swflwellnessfair
www.swflwellnessfair.com
Tickets available on eventbrite

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: SANGHA FEST

by iana velez | Mar 26, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: SANGHA FEST

July 13-16, 2023
New Mexico

PROFILES

FESTIVALS

Exclusive discount code for our community: yogalovemag
For 5% off full weekend pass

Looking for something to do this July? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Vibes, producer of the Sangha Fest in New Mexico who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to pick up complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
I felt inspired to create this festival last year at the prompting of Robert Holmes, Tico Time’s owner and a good friend of mine, who was seeking to have a more conscious, family friendly, and wellness oriented festival at his event venue. This venue hosts many festivals from Bluegrass to Reggae to EDM, and while many of the festivals offer an atmosphere of community as well as various workshops and intentional classes, none have these elements as their focus.

Sangha means “to bring together,” or more generally, it’s the word for “Community” in both Pali (the original language of Gautama the Buddha) and Sanskrit. The motivation is just this: to come together as a spiritual community for the purpose of prayer, practice and celebration. In my own journey through anger, criminality and addiction in my earlier years, the teachings of the Buddha, the practice and philosophy of yoga and meditation, and the support of a like-minded community were crucial to my recovery and self-development. Early on, long before I got sober, I attended a small yoga festival in New Jersey (where I grew up), called Evolve Fest. At the time I had zero spiritual awareness and I was by far the drunkest individual present, however, it was my first exposure to a gathering of its kind and the seeds were planted that would eventually grow to play a large role in the cultivation of the person that I truly wanted to be.

Today, I am nearly 8 years sober and the practices of awareness and compassion and service are an integral part of my recovery. I believe that gatherings that are centered in humility, prayer, community development, and individual/social wellness can be of great benefit to those who attend, and those benefits can ripple out to many, many more.

What makes your festival unique?
This Festival is unique for many reasons. The first thing that comes to my mind is the venue itself. Tico Time is an RV and camping Park which straddles the Animus River. “Tico Time” refers to the luxurious environment found in Costa Rica and the land has been developed to replicate this atmosphere. It is has multiple ponds with soft sand beaches, tubes and paddle-boards to float on, water slides, zip-lines, a magical forest of tall Cotton Wood trees, a beautiful main-stage decorated in bamboo, with an incredible sound system, and the sacred river Animus flowing right down the center of it all.

Another unique aspect of the festival is that all the proceeds will be going to our venues non-profit, Pura Vida for Good. The mission of this non-profit is to create a Recovery Home in the area to support addicts and alcoholics who need affordable housing and care after primary treatment. The plan is to have a space to house 15-25 residents, complete with group therapy, yoga classes, meditation, job placement support, continued education support, and individual recovery coaching. Also in the plans, is to begin a small farm where the residents can work to pay rent and learn how to grow food. It is a noble vision and we are happy to be contributing to it.

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
Last year we had such an incredible turn out of musical artists, yoga teachers and workshop facilitators including Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band out of New Orleans, Govindas and Radha, DJ Drez and Marti Nikko, international Kundalini yoga teacher, Kia Miller, RR Shakiti out of LA, and Monica Mesa Dasi, plus many many more.

This year we are very excited to have Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band back to headline Saturday night, with female-duo and Colorado band LVDY to open for them. Dianne Bondy, Author of “Yoga for ALL” an international yoga teacher and social justice activist will be there! That is very exciting. Gwen Rebbek from NY/NJ, founder of Yoga4Sobriety will be out to teach about yoga, recovery, and the Chakra System.

We have some other people we are excited about that have yet to confirm…so stay tuned for that!

Learn More:

@sanghafestticotime
FB: Sangha Fest
www.sanghafest.org
www.puravidaforgood.org

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: WELLFEST

by iana velez | Mar 20, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: WELLFEST

May 6, 2023
Atlantic Beach, FLA
FREE

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this May? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Tracy Marko, Director of WellFest in Florida who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to get complimentary copies of our magazine at this FREE festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
WellFest was created to fill a need for education and awareness in our community. We knew people wanted to find ways to improve their health, but sometimes the most complicated part is figuring out where to start. We believed that building an event to connect our beach community with local health resources that provide physical, nutritional, fitness, and mental health services would provide the needed education and support. We believe that the resources needed to support an individual’s health journey are right here in our backyard and we just need to build that connection.

What makes your festival unique?
We function as a non-profit in partnership with the City of Atlantic Beach. We are truly built on connecting local and discovering health. Outside of our festival we offer multiple pop-up events in partnership with local businesses, volunteer at the local elementary school supporting morning health and fitness, and we started our first community garden. WellFest is more than just a festival, we are supporting a healthier, more active community.

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
We have the most amazing stage line up this year. Not only are we proud to have Here Tomorrow as our Title Sponsor, but our stage class lineup features MBody Yoga, All Together Wellness, Kokoro Health and Fitness, and Nova Dance and Wellness Academy. Also, back for the second year we have a bigger than ever Coffee Crawl, featuring six local vendors serving coffee samples along a 1-mile blocked course so attendees can sip and stroll their way to the park and spend the day connecting with their community.

Learn More:

@DiscoverWellFest on FB and IG

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: MYPATH

by iana velez | Mar 15, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: MYPATH

May 25-28 and Sept. 28-Oct. 1
Terrapin Hill Farm in Harrodsburg, Kentucky

PROFILES

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this May and Sept? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Brenda Cashel and Gabriella Gaona, Co-Founders/Producers of MYPATH who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to pick up complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
We were inspired to create MYPATH due to a love for yoga and the beauty of nature and a dream to combine the two into an event that would create a healing community of safety and trust in which people can feel supported and encouraged to shine their light and find their own path.

Brenda owns the gorgeous organic farm venue in central Kentucky and Gabriella’s beautiful donation-based yoga studio is in Louisville, KY. Together we combined our talents and our connections to produce MYPATH, which is an acronym for Mindful Yoga Practice At Terrapin Hill. We wanted to bring people out of the city and into the beautiful Kentucky countryside, to step away from their regular lives and enter a world where they can focus on themselves, fine tune talents, learn new ones, and come together in a supportive, inclusive community. MYPATH has been called the place where healers come to heal, but it is open to people of all ages and no experience is necessary to attend.

We also wanted to create an opportunity for people to experience the deeper meaning of Yoga. Yoga is far more than just the Asanas (poses), which are what people generally think of when they hear the term. We wanted to introduce people to the great variety of styles, lineages, and approaches, recognizing that it’s much easier to try new things when it’s presented all in one place. When combined with the benefits of being fully immersed in nature, you have an extraordinary opportunity to connect with yourself and others.

What makes your festival unique?
MYPATH is actually more than a yoga festival and more than a yoga retreat – It brings together the wonderful aspects of both – uniquely combining the structure of a festival with the intimacy of a retreat. A great variety of classes are offered throughout each day, there’s a bonfire and drum circle every evening, and one night there is a farm-to-table community meal and a musical performance. Most attendees camp onsite and there are art installations, food vendors, merch vendors, and bodywork available.

Classes take place on stunning handbuilt stages, a comfortable pavilion, or on top of a grassy hill that overlooks surrounding farms and has amazing sunrise and sunset views. MYPATH takes place in the spring and fall of each year and is tuned into the seasons. The spring event has a fresh, outward, energetic yang energy, and the fall event has a slower, introspective, yin energy.

Each MYPATH also has a unique theme interwoven into the classes and participants are invited to reflect on the theme throughout the weekend…and discover how it relates to their own journey.

As our yoga journey deepens, we find that Yoga is a way of living…a way of being. When everything you do is supportive of your Yoga practice, then everything you do becomes Yoga. Building a fire, eating, dancing, singing, laughing…this can all be Yoga, doing whatever you do, acting from your center. Entwined into the event is the suggestion that you can take home what you learn at MYPATH and incorporate it into your everyday life.

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
With more than a dozen talented instructors, it’s hard to pick one. There are several styles of yoga offered, plus meditations, sound healing, dance, nature walks, drumming classes, qi-gong, satsang, discussions, philosophy, kirtan, and so much more. Most classes are offered more than once during the weekend, so you can try almost all of them. There’s plenty of free time to enjoy the farm as well – wade in the river, swim or paddle-board in the spring-fed lake, enjoy evenings around the campfire under starry skies. Plus, the community meal is always delicious and a great time to connect with others and afterwards, there’s a fun local band with dancing. We honestly can’t think of one thing we’re not excited about when it comes to MYPATH!

Learn More:

Mypathfest.com
mypathfest.com/tickets
facebook.com/mypathfest
instagram.com/mypathfest

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: BHAKTI FARMS YOGA FEST

by iana velez | Mar 14, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: BHAKTI FARMS YOGA FEST

May 19-21, Covington, LA

PROFILES

FESTIVALS

Exclusive discount code for our community: LOVE20 for 20% off weekend passes

Looking for something to do this May? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Johnny Johnston and Caroline Williamson of the Bhakti Farms Yoga Fest in Covington, LA who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to pick up complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
We saw an opportunity to create an annual event that brought the healing community in south Louisiana together to celebrate each other and to inspire us to continue or begin on a path to find peace through healing arts. The yoga festival was a small vision but grew larger than we could have ever expected, drawing musicians, teachers, and attendees from all over the country.

What makes your festival unique?
Our unique festival hosts a wide variety of classes and concerts throughout a three day weekend which includes camping and activities for the whole family. Bhakti Farms Yoga Fest has big festival offerings with a small town vibe.

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
I’m most excited about Ananda Das and Max Ribner. Two incredible artists who will be interweaving themselves throughout the festival weekend lending to a very unique experience. If you haven’t met them, you’ll get a chance to.

Learn More:
Website
Instagram
Tickets

REGISTER HERE

FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT: Front Range Yoga Festival 2023

by iana velez | Mar 9, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT: Front Range Yoga Festival 2023

PROFILES

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do in June? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Rosanne Lockhart, organizer of Front Range Yoga Festival who we are thrilled to partner with! We are thrilled for this exclusive discount for our community: use Yogalove15 (Starts: 1/1/2023)

What inspired you to create a yoga festival?
Ten years ago, at the Telluride Yoga Festival, I laid in savasana while a girl with purple hair played “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley on the harp. Before that moment I liked yoga but after that class, I knew that yoga would forever be a part of my life. Five years ago, I moved to a small town in rural Montana and shortly thereafter I got my 200 hour YTT certificate with YogaKoh and started offering classes. The town, Choteau, was so responsive and grateful to have access to yoga that I thought this would be the perfect place to host a yoga festival. It was inspired by my experience at the Telluride Yoga Festival and the apparent need for yoga in rural Montana. And plus, I just thought it would be fun to do! Choteau is also a perfect location because it sits along the inherently beautiful Rocky Mountain Front Range and it is equi-distant to Missoula, Kalispell and Bozeman.

What makes your festival unique?
The Front Range Yoga Festival aka Yoga Fest is unique because it has a very home-grown and down-to-earth essence to it. Choteau is a town of about 2,000 people and it is surrounded by mountains, farmland and ranches. When you’re here, it somehow feels like time slows down. There’s no rush, no traffic, and nothing to worry about other than choosing what class to go to next. The Yoga Fest team rents spaces throughout downtown Choteau, we turn them into studios, and then we run classes Friday through Sunday. There is a ton of class variety and all the studios are walking distance from each other. We don’t have big city amenities, but we have a few charming restaurants, great little shops, and a welcoming atmosphere. And most importantly, we offer high quality yoga classes by high quality instructors! We also like to encourage people to explore the nearby reservoirs and adventure into the mountains while you’re in town.

But what really makes this event special is the people—it’s the yogis who come back year after year, connect with one another, all while deepening their practice. It’s also the townspeople of Choteau who welcome the yogis with open arms by keeping special restaurant and shop hours to accommodate our guests. It really feels like a group of new and old friends having a yoga family reunion every 2nd weekend of June!

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
This year I’m most excited for Jimmy Wheeler! Jimmy teaches at The Practice Power Yoga in Bozeman and I first came to know about him on Instagram back in 2019. He has a beautifully strong, graceful and creative practice. Watching him over the years has been inspirational and we are pumped to have him teach at Yoga Fest 2023!

Learn More:
@FrontRangeYogaMT