Harlem Wellness Festival is a celebration of the strong network of minority- and women-owned gyms, studios and spas that Harlem has built over the past decade.
This year, the festival is back, with more locally-owned fitness and wellness businesses than ever before.
The stretch-and-move party will take place this Saturday, May 18, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Marcus Garvey Park. There will be two Fitness Zones with a lineup of free classes ranging from dance to yoga, kettlebells to strength training, and gyrokinesis to tai chi. Plus a Wellness Row, where you’ll get to know each small business and sample offerings including massage, acupuncture and plant-based nutrition – then map out your wellness routine for summer and spring!
Participating fitness and wellness businesses include Harlem Cycle, Harlem Kettlebell Club, Harlem Yoga Studio, Harlem Wellness Center, Harlem Pilates, Movement Harlem Climbing Gym, Hurricane Fitness, Anwuli Ilegbe Studio, Benswic, GG & Pop, Body Zock, Re-Creation Fitness, Rockmil Fitness, Fierce Grace Yoga, the Urban Yoga Foundation, Move & Groove Yoga, UpDog Yoga, Fit & Lit NYC, Fire Studio, Uplift Spa, The SPAaaht, E.C. Hands for Health, Harlem Chi Acupuncture, Omo Sade Skincare and Hood Meditation. Plus organizations providing resources, including MSK Ralph Lauren Center, the Sheliah Lilly Foundation and Transportation Alternatives.
There will also be great fresh food options from The Juicery, Campbell & Carr and Uptown Veg, Harlem’s longest-standing vegetarian restaurant.
Harlem Wellness Festival has its roots in a group of wellness and fitness businesses that came together over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, when gyms and studios were the first businesses to be closed, and the last businesses to re-open. During that time, it’s estimated that more than half of Harlem’s locally owned fitness businesses closed for good.
This year’s festival is a celebration of the businesses that have persevered, as well as the many new fitness and wellness spaces that have opened in the past few years. The businesses participating in Harlem Wellness Festival represent the majority of the fitness and wellness practitioners in the neighborhood, including minority- and women-owned businesses that have been a part of the community for two decades or more. Notably, in addition to fitness providers, Harlem Wellness Festival will also include food and wellness businesses including Uptown Veg and Omo Sade Skincare, which have respectively served Harlem with great vegetarian food and beauty products for people of color for three decades now.
Attendees can start by exploring the Wellness Row, and then try 25-minute sample Fitness Sessions where they can meet the teachers and trainers who are expanding and energizing our community culture of fitness and self-care. The lineup includes:
GROUP AREA #1 — YOGA / MEDITATION | ||
TIME | SMALL BUSINESS | SESSION |
11-11:25 a.m. | Harlem Wellness Center | Wake Up Yoga |
11:30-11:55 p.m. | Harlem Yoga Studio | Vinyasa Yoga |
12-12:25 p.m. | Anwuli Ilegbe Studio | Gyrokinesis |
12:30-12:55 p.m. | Fierce Grace Yoga | Hatha Flow Yoga |
1-1:25 p.m. | MSK Ralph Lauren Center | Tai Chi |
1:30-1:55 p.m. | GG & Pop | Hatha Yoga |
2-2:25 p.m. | UpDog Yoga | Deep Core Flow |
2:30-2:55 p.m. | Urban Yoga Foundation | The People’s Practice |
GROUP AREA #2 — CARDIO / WEIGHTS | ||
TIME | SMALL BUSINESS | SESSION |
11-11:25 a.m. | Harlem Kettlebell Club | Kettlebell Basics |
11:30-11:55 p.m. | Fit & Lit NYC | Fit & Lit Dance Cardio |
12-12:25 p.m. | Hurricane Fitness | Hurricane Hit |
12:30-12:55 p.m. | Sista Zock | I-Jump |
1-1:25 p.m. | Benswic | 4 Stack Combo |
1:30-1:55 p.m. | Harlem Cycle | Sculpt |
2-2:25 p.m. | Fire Studio | FIRE Strength Circuits |
2:30-2:55 p.m. | Rokmil Fitness | Indigenous Fitness |
Participants are encouraged to preregister at the event link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/harlem-wellness-festival-tickets-884351137057?aff=oddtdtcreator
Harlem Wellness Festival is hosted by Uptown Grand Central, TBo Harlem and Harlem Park to Park, with support from the Mellon Foundation and Harlem Grown’s Culture, Creativity & Care Initiative. Product sponsors include Lululemon, Whole Foods, GrowNYC, Just Salad, and Bespoke by Harlem Haberdashery.
Uptown Grand Central
A 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to transforming East 125th Street into a thriving corridor by delivering programs that put advocacy into action through collaborations with small businesses, residents and neighborhood organizations across East Harlem.
Photo credit: Source.
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