(This interview was edited for clarity)
Jason Cregier: This weekend Rockford will celebrate spring and Mother’s Day with the fourth annual art & wellness festival, BloomFest.
BloomFest is this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Womanspace campus in Rockford. Joining us to discuss the days’ activities is Womanspace executive director Nicole Landreth. Nicole, thanks for being with us.
Nicole Landreth: Yes!
What does it mean to local artists to have an event like BloomFest to highlight their work?
It is interesting that you raise that question. BloomFest is primarily an artisan market. The event spans the entirety of our Womanspace campus with forty vendors both inside and outside of the venue.
Adding the wellness component of practitioners such as massage therapists and intuitive readings pairs with the creativity of the artists to get you ready for spring and enjoy shopping for Mother’s Day.
While discussing wellness, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Will that be recognized at Bloomfest, and if so, how?
Not with direct intention, but at Womanspace wellness and mental health are incorporated into everything we do.
Our mission is to connect, empower, create, and transform one woman at a time. We are known as an arts organization and that is just one of the vehicles we use to bring forward our mission. We want to help you find wholeness, authenticity, and to stay grounded and connected within yourself and to others so we can have a beautiful world around us.
I know Womanspace has a large campus, will people be able to check out its prairie if the weather is nice?
So, we sit on a seven-acre campus and the front part of it is where much of BloomFest takes place. That is where you will find vendors, live music, kids’ activities, etc.
The back portion of the campus will feature our meditation garden, and that is also where our pine sanctuary is. That is a small section of pine trees which leads to our open prairie area, which is highlighted as a walking labyrinth. This back portion of the campus will offer free yoga and meditation exercises during BloomFest.
If you had to recommend one thing to make a point of seeing at BloomFest, what would that be?
What I am excited about is the continuation of our community art project. We have sola wood flowers where people write down an answer to the question of, “what’s blooming in you?” The wood flower is added to the mandala installation, which by the end of the day comes together as a beautiful reflection of the community’s intention for growth.
BloomFest is this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Womanspace campus in Rockford. Nicole Landreth is the executive director of Womanspace.
Nicole, thanks for joining us.
Thank you so much, have a wonderful day.
