ABOUT OUR FEEL FEST CITY

Workshops

Grab a map and sign up! Feel Fest moves into downtown where  a series of creative mental wellness workshops in various locations await you. Art, music therapy, tips and tricks for anxiety and stress, for all ages, and so much more! Claim a ticket after each workshop to be redeemed for scrumptious food or drinks later at the Feel Fest merch booth.

The Brick Wall: Acknowledge

What are you carrying—and how is it shaping the direction of your life? The Brick Wall is an interactive introduction to Acknowledge, the first step of the ENDURE Framework. Through storytelling, personal reflection, and a memorable visual exercise, Dakotah Sanders invites participants to recognize what may still be influencing them today. Participants will leave with greater awareness, a renewed sense of personal agency, and one intentional direction forward.

Bio: Dakotah Sanders is a published author, Certified Level 2 Peer Support Specialist and Peer Mentor, Certified Case Manager, and founder of ENDURE. Drawing from lived experience and long-term recovery, he helps people understand how adversity shapes their lives and discover the courage to move forward with purpose, hope, and intentional direction.

Have ever hard a hard time feeling your body or lost track of your feet touching the ground when you walk?
If you need some tools to help you feel less anxious, be more present in difficult moments or to help to start your day out on the right path this workshop is probably for you. Participants will be given somatic, body based tools that anyone can use to get your nervous system back on track.  

Bio: Samantha Canales - is an artist, published writer and grief counselor who has led grief support groups, public art therapy projects and trauma related workshops around the country. She is the facilitator for the weekly grief support groups that are free and open to the entire community here in Hutchinson each Tuesday from 6 - 7:30 pm at 317 W 2nd St.

Can You Feel Me? 

Art therapy

Rachel Beyda, LPCC, ATR-P, is an independently licensed mental health counselor and grief group facilitator with a duel Master's degree in Art Therapy and Counseling. She specializes in grief and trauma support, using a combination of modalities including somatic work, Rogerian techniques, DBT, and ecopsychology. She works with high-needs populations in person in central New Mexico, and facilitates a free weekly online grief that is open for anyone across the country (and beyond) to join.

The Grief Tree Project 

Join the Grief Tree Project and paint a tree! Bring your artistic mind and your big heart and grab a paintbrush. Participants will get a chance to paint a grief tree that will be one of many that will be planted around Hutchinson! Once planted, members of the community will be able to write the name of a loved one they've lost and hang them on these beautiful works of art throughout our community. 

*Please note that community members will have a chance to adopt a grief tree to be planted on their property following the workshops in the plaza.

Say It Out Loud: Open Mic Comedy & Poetry

Hosted by Bret A. Thomas

Come together at the Chester I. Lewis Plaza to express yourself, connect with others, and share a little laughter. Poetry can help us put difficult emotions into words, comedy can help us find new perspectives, and sharing our voices with a supportive audience can help us feel heard and less alone. Whether you come to perform or just listen, this workshop celebrates creativity, connection, and the power of saying it out loud!

Intro to Feeling

Most of us were never really taught what to do with our feelings - and a lot of us grew up learning that having them was a problem. In this workshop, we’re going back to basics. 
Intro to Feeling is a gentle, no-jargon conversation about emotions: what they are, why we have them, and why they’re not something to be embarrassed about. We’ll talk about how the families and environments we grew up in shaped the way we learned to handle (or not handle) our inner world - and how those patterns often follow us into adulthood without us even realizing it.
You’ll leave with a clearer picture of what it looks like to actually notice your emotions and take care of yourself in the moment - no previous experience or background required. Just come as you are.

Bio: Samantha Canales - is an artist, published writer and grief counselor who has led grief support groups, public art therapy projects and trauma related workshops around the country.
She is the facilitator for the weekly grief support groups that are free and open to the entire community here in Hutchinson each Tuesday from 6 - 7:30 pm at 317 W 2nd St.