Sonoma County Yoga Festival: Why You Should Connect With The #SonomaStrong Community This October
By Rachel Nichols
As Northern California’s Wine Country approaches the one year anniversary of the devastating wildfires that swept through the region, burning thousands of acres, structures and homes, the community is still picking up the pieces and adjusting to new normals.
A Sonoma County resident myself, I will never ever forget waking up to the howling wind and smell of smoke at 2am with a deep sense that something was really wrong. I will also never forget all the amazing people that showed up in that great time of need. It’s what sticks out in my mind the most—the way the community banded together to take care of each other. Everyone seemed to embody the phrase that went viral during the time of the fires: “The love in the air is thicker than the smoke.”
Now a year later, as we continue to rebuild, the YOGA Cube Events Team is inviting the greater community to gather in Sonoma County and celebrate the resilience and beauty of the human spirit at the second annual Sonoma County Yoga Festival, taking place Friday, October 19 through Sunday, October 21, 2018 at SOMO Village in Rohnert Park.
Last year, the festival attracted more than 500 attendees with over a dozen local sponsoring yoga studios offering classes and workshops. This year, the event will feature more than 20 yoga studios; and beyond yoga, there will be live music, food, health and wellness vendors and a #SonomaStrong station. While a weekend of yoga in our beautiful backyard during fall is enough to get me excited to attend, here are few more reasons to check out this year’s Sonoma County Yoga Fest this fall!
#FestivalGoals: Raising the Overall Health of the Community
The goal of the festival is to bring people together and create an event that not only showcases the local yoga and wellness community, but also helps to raise the overall health and wellbeing of our community. If you are new to yoga, or just want to try out a new studio or teacher, this gathering will be a great opportunity to find a practice, studio, teacher or modality to connect with.
“For those of us who are already dialed into the local yoga and wellness communities, we all know that Sonoma County has a rich history for both yoga and wellness,” said Zachary McCloskey of the YOGA Cube Events Team. “We have over 75 dedicated yoga studios and countless retreat locations, wellness centers, healing spaces and alternative health clinics.”
[Attending the festival] is a great way to explore and get to know some of the leaders in yoga, wellness and integrative health that provide their services right here in Sonoma County.”
What’s New: Live Music, Art, Silent Disco Yoga and More
There are some new, fun additions to the festival to look forward to this year, including new types of yoga classes, live music and more. One of the things Zachary is excited about is the Reggae takeover on the Good Vibes Stage on Saturday night. Local favorite and twice voted Best Reggae Band in the North Bay, Sol Horizon, will perform an uplifting set with local band on the rise, NOCEAN, that will be opening up the night with some chill vibes.
In addition, our friends over at OutdoorYogaSF will be bringing their infamous silent disco yoga classes to the festival on Saturday—if you haven’t checked out their super cool offerings in San Francisco yet, this will be the perfect opportunity to check out their magical silent disco yoga style in wine country! There will also be hip hop yoga classes, slacklining yoga, black light buti yoga and inferno hot pilates on the lineup.
The #SonomaStrong Station and Other Freebies
In honor of last year’s wildfire disaster, the festival has created a #StrongStrong Station. “We were all affected in some way or form by the devastating North Bay Fires of 2017,” Zachary said. “I nearly lost my home and I was evacuated for three weeks, many of my neighbors, friends, yoga instructors, studio owners and students of our community all lost homes. With the prolonged fire season, air quality and constant threat to our community, we are consistently reminded and triggered of what could happen again.”
The station will feature local non-profits; First Responder Resiliency Center 501c3 & Post-traumatic Stress Fitness and Rehabilitation 501c3 and Fire Flex Yoga. All of these organizations help our community by offering services, classes, treatments and critical care for all that were affected by the wildfires and are designed for trauma survivors, fire victims, first responders and firefighters.
The #SonomaStrong Station, Self Care Sanctuary and Vendor Village will all be free to the public. “You are welcome to come and explore what we are all about and then you can purchase tickets at the door to join us for the entire weekend.
Get Involved
The festival, in just its second year is still growing and will be expanding for the future years to come. Visit the website to learn how you can get involved! For more information, to purchase tickets or to connect with Sonoma County Yoga Festival, check out the links below:
Website: sonomacountyyogafestival.com
Tickets: sonomacountyyogafestival.com/tickets/
Sponsors: sonomacountyyogafestival.com/sponsors/
