With the stress of planning summer vacations and the start of the school year around the corner, it’s more important than ever to take care of your mental health.
An event in Drake Park on Sunday looked to spread that message.
The first ever Balanced Bend Mental Health Festival gave visitors a chance to learn about healing and the resources available in Deschutes County.
24 vendors offered various services, including the Deschutes County Stabilization Center, Blissful Heart Wellness Center, Deschutes Wilderness Therapy and Wildflower Wellness Massage.
It was organized by Savanna DeLuca, the founder of Wild Heart Therapy and Consulting, who viewed the event as her ‘gift to Bend’, and a way of introducing herself and her company.
“It’s not a fair, it’s not an expo, it’s a mental health festival,” she said. “Which I think is unique, and I chose festival because it’s a really playful and joyful experience. I didn’t want people to think they were going to come and be sold a lot of products. I want people to really come and benefit from today if nothing else, and hopefully build relationships with practitioners so hopefully moving forward they can continue to have healing in their lives.”
The event also saw classes for things like yoga, dance, and trauma-releasing exercises.
Four different local bands took to the stage to provide a calming background to the event.
“I hope that people come today and have a little bit of fun and a little bit of healing, and I hope they learn about a resource in our community they didn’t know existed, or they learn that there’s a way to heal outside of traditional therapy that they might not have considered before,” DeLuca added.
All of the proceeds from the festival are going toward providing family therapy scholarships for local families.
