Wellbeing Festival 2025

Our new recruit Daniyal wrote all about last month's, third successful Wellbeing Festival!

On Wednesday 27th August, we took over Stockroom for the L!STEN Wellbeing Festival and what a day it turned out to be. From the minute people came through the doors, the place just felt alive. After signing in, grabbing raffle tickets and pizza tokens, everyone headed straight into a space that was buzzing with energy.

The pottery sessions outside were a huge hit. EasyPeel set up under their gazebo, and there was always a queue of people wanting to get their hands messy with clay. Inside, the craft tables were just as busy. Jen from Make Good was helping people create beautiful pieces, while the PIE team had bracelets, postcards, crochet and keyrings on the go. Everywhere you looked, someone was making something, chatting with someone new, or showing off what they’d just finished.

Talk Listen Change brought a quieter, more thoughtful vibe with their rock painting, sparking conversations that really stuck with people. Around the room, different stands shared advice, resources and ideas; Public Health with their sun safety tips, VRU with their competition, Beacon Counselling with calming activities, and the Stockroom library team joining in too.

One of my favourite spots was the Chill Out Zone. With beanbags, colouring sheets, and even a few jigsaws, it was the perfect place to slow down for a bit. And Regan’s hand massages? Let’s just say there was no shortage of people wanting to book a slot — they were amazing!

Our Truth in the Tag stand was also a hit, with people itching to spin our colourful wheel and confess their fast fashion sins on our confession board. The badges we had seemed to be quite the draw among the younger kids who couldn’t quite wrap their heads around sustainable fashion (for which I do not blame them). However the adults and teenagers were sympathetic to our cause and understood the harm that fast fashion is doing to our environment and to people across the world.

We wrapped the day up with the raffle draw, which brought everyone together one last time. Some walked away with prizes, but it felt like the real win was the atmosphere - people connecting and trying out things they might never have done otherwise.

The festival left us all with that feel-good glow, and it reminded me how powerful it can be when a community comes together around wellbeing.