Let us help you plan your weekend!
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.
>> The Spa City is hosting a Festival for Change this weekend in the Saratoga Spa State Park.
Long- known for its healthy reputation, Saratoga Springs will show off its resources for natural health, wellness and fitness in the first-ever Festival for Change. This two-day event will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday outdoors near the Victoria Pool in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Admission is free and the festival is open to the public.
Activities include yoga, meditation, fitness, guided tours of the only active spouting geysers east of the Mississippi and an abundance of carbonated mineral springs, immersive wellness hikes, health and wellness presentations and demonstrations, Native American Indian performances and lore, energy healers, guides and intuitives along Mystics’ Path, wellness exhibitors, and a gear swap area where anyone can bring their gently used or new outdoor gear and apparel to trade or giveaway.
Festival director Carson Tang, who has organized similar events in other areas, called the upcoming first- ever Festival for Change a major launch and rebirth of the Saratoga region as a hub for health and wellness. “We want to advance that,” he said.
“Increasing concerns for affordable healthcare and avoiding illness has brought wellness into the spotlight,” a press release for the event stated. “As fitness, diet and mental health become important considerations we learn there are more cost effective and safer ways to health and happiness. Festival visitors break through traditional dependencies and see beyond a singular view of how to take charge of their own lives instead of allowing others to dictate the one size fits all approach. At the festival guests begin the journey with mindfulness, a healthier lifestyle and tap into a new wellness resource.”
The goal of Festival for Change is to get individuals and families active, informed, into the outdoors, connected with natural health and wellness, empowered with possibility, creating outcomes, and to introduce the area as a ‘ go to’ one stop destination for health and wellness.
“We want people to be able to discover ways of healing and enjoying their life,” Tang said in the days leading up to the festival.
The Festival runs in affiliation with a Power mastery Retreat, to be held fromF riday through Sunday at The Gideon Putnam hotel, located within the Saratoga Spa State Park. This retreat is meant to empower human potential for those at the crossroads in their life, career or health. Faculty include Guinness World Record winners, bestselling authors, and mentors in mindfulness and breakthrough. Registration is required.
The Festival for Change is produced in cooperation with the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau, Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, I Love NY, and Carson Worldwide.
Organizers hope that Festival for Changewill become an annual event in Saratoga Springs that will both bring in visitors from outside the region and help support the local businesses in the area.
More information on the inaugural Festival for Change can be found at www. festivalforchange. com. This rain or shine event is family and pet friendly. Those interested in participating in yoga or meditation are encouraged to bring their own mats.