YogaFest
Liuna Station 360 James Street North
One of Hamilton’s best events, and one of my very favourites to see every year, is coming up this Saturday (August 20th) in Gage Park – A Midusmmer’s Dream. I’ve attended since the very beginning, and now in its fifth year, it has been amazing to see the colour festival grow. Check out my highlights from previous years and get down to Gage Park starting at 11am this Saturday!
A Midsummer’s Dream makes amazing use of Gage Park, and tucked away in a quieter area of the park at last year’s festival was their first collaboration with YogaFest. Among the trees was a little oasis where you could practice yoga throughout the day. Each session was led by a different local instructor, and local vendors were carefully curated to reflect the values of the festival. YogaFest was the perfect compliment to A Midsummer’s Dream – and they’ll be back again this Saturday as part of the festival.
YogaFest – founded by Anthony DiDomenico, Joanna Bis, and Daniel Dinizo – hosts its own events as well. Earlier this year they celebrated the Spring Equinox with a huge event at Liuna Station. It was the largest yoga event yet in Hamilton, bringing together likeminded individuals for a day of peace, wellness, and mindfulness. In their own words, YogaFest is “a non-profit organization that strives to inspire yoga and conscious living. We do this by creating a space for self expression and self realization, where all are welcome to be themselves, in their highest and greatest form.” For more on how they got started, listen to my interview with the team on 93.3 CFMU.
Back in March, the Spring Equinox edition of YogaFest offered many different types of yoga and approaches to it with different instructors throughout the day. Yoga took place in the beautiful main space of Liuna Station along with unique vendors, and in a smaller room was the Zen Lounge. The room was elegant and tranquil – the ideal spot for meditation sessions.
I had never been led through a mediation before, and I was happy that my first experience was with Charlotte Szivak. Charlotte is a psychic, media personality, and inspirational keynote speaker, just to name a few of her titles! It was lovely to meet Charlotte and I walked away from that session feeling so refreshed and uplifted.
As a pre-event to this Saturday’s YogaFest at A Midsummer’s Dream, Charlotte will lead a meditation in Gage Park tomorrow, Wednesday, August 19th, and all are invited to participate. Music, sage, and incense at dusk will make for Hamilton’s largest candle lit public meditation. See all the info on the event page. It sounds like a beautiful way to re-energize and lead into this weekend’s festivities.
I look forward to seeing more events that the YogaFest family cooks up in Hamilton. Check them out in Gage Park all day long this Saturday – full schedule of yoga sessions and live music can be found on their website. And of course, do not miss the epic Midsummer’s Dream!
Making this Saturday even more special, the City of Hamilton will be screening the final Tragically Hip concert in Gage Park beginning at 8:30pm, following the festival.
