When it comes to wellness events in NYC, Manhattan seems to be the epicenter – and it makes sense – it’s centrally located and easy to get to. But, I’m a Brooklyn girl, so when I heard a wellness event was coming to BK, I purchased a ticket and off I went. The event, the Well Festival, was designed in response to the industry’s lack of accessibility. Sure, there are amazing wellness brands and events, but a lot of them are costly. This event had a variety of ticket price options ranging from free to $99, with options in between for every budget.

The event was held at the Brooklyn Expo Center, a grand space a few blocks away from the G train. It’s an interesting walk from the train because within two blocks you can really soak up the culture of the Greenpoint neighborhood which includes cozy cafes, Polish shops and street art.

Upon entering the event, you were immersed in a marketplace filled with vendors who offered samples of various items ranging from Natalie’s cold-press juices (I took a ton of these home – hey, it was free) to plant-based protein bars from Redd (I sampled one in every flavor and peanut butter was my favorite). There were also various activations you could take part in including cyro facials, reiki massages and my favorite, NormaTec Air Compression from Recover NYC (it’s basically a set of long boots you slip on that massages your legs and it was much needed).

Outside, there were two vendors that utilize mobile buses to bring their services to guests. BeTime, which offers mediation (I skipped the class and did their audio guided mediation) and KindBody which provided free on-site fertility testing (I’m happy being a cat mom).

Throughout the event were a variety of fitness classes. Since I was sore from a week full of workouts, I only took one class, and of course, it turned out to be one of the hardest ones – The Class by Tarny Toomey – it was an unexpected heart-pounding physical conditioning class that I would totally do again (when I’m not sore). There was also a dance class by 305 Fitness that looked so fun, but my body said, “not today,” so I watched some of it from the side.

When you were not participating in one of the classes, there were ample picnic and bench set ups and most importantly, plenty of outlets to recharge your phone (within the venue and the workout space). One thing I always dread when going to events is the public bathroom, but these were gorgeous and clean (I totally would have Instagramed it if there wasn’t an attendant there).

I pre-paid for lunch as part of my ticket (it was catered by Dig In), and if I could do it again, that’s one part I would skip. I’m so picky with food that I would have been better off bringing my own (I couldn’t eat anything they offered: tofu, salmon and chicken bowls), but my sister enjoyed her meal.

I think it was a good way to spend the weekend, and the only thing would do next time is not workout the days leading up to it so I could take part in all the classes.