From the ladies who brought you a partner yoga event at Union Sound Hall, and Bliss + Beatz, which combined yoga and sweet beats spun by DJs, comes another unique experience for yogis.
Monique Pantel and Rachelle Taylor of Prairie Yogi Magazine are at it again, providing their yoga community with a new experience with yoga in an unexpected place.
The Prairie Love Festival, coming to Winnipeg in September, is exactly what it sounds like: a big, Prairie love-in held at none other than FortWhyte Alive on acres of prairies.
“Being from the Prairies, we’ve come to believe that to have any great experience, you have to leave,” says Taylor.
“There’s beauty in our backyard and we need to celebrate it.”
Prairie Love Festival will be a one-day event on Sunday, Sept. 7. Not only will there be yoga classes taught by world-renowned yogis, but art installations, hikes in nature, guided meditations in the teepees at FortWhyte, guest speakers, and music acts. And there’re sure to be many more surprises.
Pantel dodged the question when asked if they will be making use of the bison viewing area, but very likely the animal that is such a point of pride for the Prairies will play a role at Prairie Love.
The natural environment at FortWhyte will offer a beautiful, celebratory backdrop to the yoga festival doused in Prairie pride.
“There are all these cool little pockets for us to use,” says Pantel of the centre. The festival will make use of indoor and outdoor spaces at FortWhyte. The geese will likely be about a week away from migrating south, so there will be lots of activity abuzz in the wildlife.
Prairie Yogi has held past events on the rooftop of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and inside Fort Gibraltar and the Graffiti Gallery – each of which was attended by a sold-out crowd.
The unusual locations for practicing yoga are part of the team’s mandate to “bring yoga to places it’s never been before,” says Taylor.
The success of each event speaks to a demand for something a little different in Winnipeg and something that leaves you feeling better when you go home.
Taylor says she (above right) and Pantel (above left), at ages 30 and 28, still feel the urge to let loose but don’t always necessarily want to go out to the bar every weekend – and they sense that their friends and many more share this dilemma.
The Prairie Love Festival will be a celebration of yoga, health and wellness first, but since they have rented out the centre, families will be welcome to come free of admission if they want to enjoy FortWhyte while a parent takes in a class.
“They can come hang out and do some fun activities while mom does yoga,” says Pantel.
Eventually, the duo hopes to expand Prairie Love into a two- or three-day festival in Manitoba, and take the festival across the Prairies.
Ticket pricing will be announced soon for the first Prairie Love Festival. Follow Prairie Yogi Magazine on Facebook or Instagram or visit www.prairieyogimagazine.com to stay updated.
The girls’ next event is the partner yoga event at Union Sound Hall on Feb. 17. They will also be speaking at the Follow Your Passion Empowerment Speaker Series on Feb. 26 at CanadInns Polo Park. Visit the Prairie Yogi site to register for events.