If you're in Bodrum this weekend, there are two new exciting festivals that will definitely be spreading positive vibes and delivering lots of fun in the sun. WellFest is the first-ever festival devoted to wellness to take place in Bodrum and will be held on Saturday, Sept. 22 for a full-day devoted to seminars and workshops on healthy living practices, and Bodrum Kraft Fest is a three-day celebration of local art, music and gastronomy.
Learn about wellness practices
The first of its kind, WellFest Bodrum will take place this Saturday, Sept. 22 at Casa Dell'Arte Hermanas for what will be a one-day immersion into a wide variety of wellness practices by experts with dozens of panels, seminars and workshops. There will be two stages set up with talks and sessions taking place simultaneously throughout the day on topics such as vegan nutrition, being happy, yoga from a doctor's perspective, traditional and integrative medicine, recall healing, auto-hypnosis and astrology. In addition to learning about a wide variety of methods promoting healthy living, there will be yoga, budokon, pilates, zumba and aqua jogging workouts for people to try. There will also be a series of workshops held throughout the day on topics such as breath therapy, preparing probiotics and a philosophy course for children.
This full-day event, which starts at 10 a.m. and will run until the early evening, will be taking place at Casa dell-Arte Hermanas, which is one of the most colorful, creative and prestigious hotels on the peninsula. Located on Torba Bay, Casa dell'Arte places a heavy emphasis on the art with their exhibition spaces and artisan shops, while also situated along a spectacular shore which they have lined with relaxed chic seating on grassy knolls. To top it all off, there is even a restaurant serving Mexican cuisine. Certainly a stunning setting for a festival of this kind, participants of this event will also be able to enjoy the luxury beach facilities for the day. Tickets cost TL 89.50 ($15) and are available on Biletix. The organizers are Uplifters.com, which, with the motto "Feel Good, Live Good," is Turkey's first and only digital wellness platform and a wealthy source of inspirational articles for the betterment of life.
Celebrating Bodrum's brands
The Bodrum Kraft Festival, running from Sept. 21 to 23, is Bodrum's first-ever music, arts and gastronomy festival and it is taking place at Yahşi beach in Ortakent.
The focus will be on introducing regional products and specialties, whether they are iconic items from the region such as Bodrum's sandals and anything made out of the area's famed mandarins or specially crafted, new-wave gifts, foods and drinks. Bodrum's best brands will be on hand with stands displaying and serving up specially crafted goodies all weekend.
From noon to midnight all weekend long, there will be live performances by well-known DJs with fun workshops and games taking place on the sidelines. There will be entertaining workshops on the fun balancing board chiboard throughout the day as well as throwing games like ring the bottle, drinking games and balancing competitions. There will also be juggling workshops and in the evening, a fire show by Fluidium.
The final musical performances of the day will take place from 10 p.m. to midnight with American soul singer Maya Azucena performing Saturday night and on Sunday Turkish rock vocalist Melis Dağ takes the stage. Tickets for the event are TL 30 and include a drink. The festival will take place at Cafe Muskebi Yalısı, which, formerly operating as Fink Beach, is one of the longest beaches in the Bodrum peninsula. This event is being organized by the Ortakent Yahşi Development and Blue Flag Association as well as the Bodrum Municipality and Chamber of Commerce.
Lessons in holistic healing
Located in the hills of Yalıkavak, the HerbaFarm Academy, opened by one of the founding members of Otaci, Turkey's leading herbal cosmetics and products producers will be offering a number of interesting workshops on a variety of healthy holistic practices this fall.
Next weekend, there will be a two-day workshop on the "Basics of Scent" led by Turkey's leading scent expert Vedat Ozan. French expat Marielle Mercadier will be leading an "Aromatherapy" course the following week and then in mid-October, there will be a weekend "Mindfullness" workshop. In November, there will be weekend workshops held on phytotherapy and homeopathy. These short courses at HerbaFarm Academy are a great opportunity to acquire a new practice in a truly priceless environment.
Impressive line-up at Nişantaşı Street Festival
This weekend, the Nişantaşı Sokak Festivali will be taking place at Maçka Park with yoga, meditation and tai chi sessions throughout the day, stalls set up and activities for kids and stellar musical performances. Taking place from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. with DJs throughout and hip musical performances, this festival will be a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can catch Mercan Dede performing on Saturday night followed by Nusaibin and on Sunday night Islandman performs followed by Kozmonot Osman.
