Fall Equinox Brings a New Era of Healing Through the Woodstock Community Festival of Awakening

The Hudson Valley is blessed with an eclectic mix of spiritual centers, healing arts groups, ecologists, poets, scientists, artists and musicians – among whom the word awakening decidedly resonates.

This coming weekend, healers, practitioners, musicians and artists are gathering together in the heart of Woodstock to celebrate the beauty of life, wellness and artistic exploration at the first annual Woodstock Community Festival of Awakening. What began as an exploratory conversation among friends and colleagues has morphed into a full-fledged weekend-wide event with the goal of “Awakening” via wellness-based modalities that speak to the tenets of the community.

Come to Woodstock for 3 days and 2 nights for a weekend of Love, Music and Healing.
Friday September 22 – Sunday September 24
This event is FOR the community, BY the Community.
Entrance is entirely by suggested donation.  

The Festival (2 nights and 3 days of music, dance, spiritual exercise, and communal grooving, among other activities) will open on Friday, September 22nd. A community meal, ecstatic dance, fireside jam, and Kundalini yoga/gong meditation at the Woodstock Community Center will mark the opening of the Festival, which will conclude just ahead of the beloved Sunday Drum Circle on the Village Green on September 24th.

The Nest, The Mothership Gallery, The Bearsville Garden, Colony Woodstock, Mountainview Studio, The Golden Notebook at Nancy’s Creamery, Shivastan Poetry Ashram, Euphoria Yoga, and Sage Academy are also among the locales participating in the Festival.

See the full schedule at the WOCA homepage. Link HERE.

The Team Behind the Festival

Founders Michael Raphael and Sam Truitt, along with Corinne Mol, Mike Hassan, Avinash Barnes, Paul McMahon, and Urana Kinlen, have united to form the inner workings of the committee that oversees the Festival. They are spearheading the in-the-works practitioners’ Directory and, eventually, by joining forces with others, plan to secure a permanent center for WOCA where it will continue to offer community-wide programming and gathering space for those committed to its goals. Several locations are currently under discussion as potential homes for the Center.

“Our main goals are to strengthen our sense of connectivity through inclusive community-building activities; awaken ourselves to sociocultural, ecological, and spiritual awareness; and open Woodstock’s awakening and healing arts resources to share their craft with the world,” added Truitt and Raphael.

Their efforts galvanized after the 2022 death of Woodstock’s local legend, John Joseph Synan (aka Jogger John). They noted a town-wide sense of wonder as to “who among us would carry on his maverick spirit and bring people together in this ‘Colony of the Arts’ that is intent on maintaining its core values as its population shifts and grows. By fostering a sense of connection, empowerment, and social responsibility, Raphael and Truitt aim to contribute to the well-being and development of Woodstock and its surroundings.

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Check out the FULL SCHEDULE HERE