You’re invited to a free event for Calgarians, our mini-mental wellness festival!

We present an opportunity for you to play games, learn about brain health, and how to support your mental wellness through a variety of local partners. Get to know who’s in the community and your mental health, outside of a referral or crisis situation.

Organizations have volunteers at booths to answer your questions, performances to demonstrate the work they do, science fair stations with researchers to speak to their learning, and activities to show you how they help individual mental health and wellness.

Our Open House Booths feature volunteers and resources from:

Explore the map of activities, games, workshops, and Open House Booths:

Connect with Elders & learn about the Medicine Wheel

We’re honoured to have 2 Elders joining us to offer blessings in the morning. With our hearts engaged, they’ll stay and connect with attendees and share their wisdom for as long as they can.

Take a moment to connect with them and learn about their role in the community, as Elders and healers, through the Medicine Wheel.

Play fun games and learn new skills to support mental health

Our classic game Fear Ball, will be set up near another station with Bowling for Happiness. We’ll be hosting an activities session at 12:00PM for the kids, featuring a variety of group activities for kids of all ages and abilities, that promote healthy brain development. We also have a booth with colouring sheets, recipes for cool games and activities you can do at home, which help you understand mindfulness and improves your sense of wellbeing.

We’re so pleased to be able to showcase critical care services such as The Distress Centre, TIES Healthy Minds, and Alberta Health Services’ Mobile Response Team (MRT) and Police and Crisis Team (PACT). They, along with our researchers, have brilliant ideas to share that will help you feel and think better about your mental health!

Participate in discussions around community wellbeing.

Our panel conversation at 1:30PM highlights mental health, from the perspective of local newcomer, immigrant, and refugee organizations. Listen to how their lessons from supporting individual wellbeing apply to every citizen of Calgary.

Our Community Wellbeing area showcases activities to answer the question, “what about this city reflects a sense of wellbeing, at the community level?”. You’ll find space for individual perspectives and meet local organizations that advocate on a range of issues like the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, Action Dignity, Sagesse, and Calgary Outlink.

Meet artists working in the mental health ecosystem.

Like artist Tara Vahab, whose usage of newspaper and bright colours are some of the elements that have become part of her artistic brand over the years which she believes are tied to her research on metaphysical aspects of humanity, empathy and her upcoming book “Self-Therapy Through Art & Creativity”

We showcase local artists, arts, and culture through various Calgary artists as well as W.P. Puppet Theatre and the Art for Social Change Network - Calgary. Stop by their booths to explore how the arts, and artists, help shape the world we live in.

Celebrate your inner creative, whether you think you are one, or not!

In the Reception Area, we feature a variety of visual art on display for you to view and appreciate. Some of the pieces speak directly to mental wellness, others represent the artist's practice. There will be visual art workshops and activities through our partner, LOUD Art Society.

We proudly present a creative Coffee Painting workshop through our partner, Immigrant Services Calgary. You can drop-in to attend the workshop at 12:30PM, all supplies are provided. Join us to mindfully explore this traditional beverage as art medium, and you might surprise yourself with how relaxing it is!

Play a scavenger hunt with neuroscience data, to promote brain health.

Get to know the researchers behind the science of brain health and mental wellness.

We have a few researchers through our partnership with Branch Out Neurological Foundation, who have activities to connect their work with people of all ages and abilities. There are opportunities to learn about neuromodulation and possible treatments for addiction.

This year we’re also able to feature the Mathison Centre for Mental Health, Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research ABSPOR Unit, Tourette OCD Alberta Network, who will be in the Community Hall area with information on their membership and research. The Mental Health Literacy project is one of 3 Alberta Health Service partners that are excited to connect with everyone at the event.

We’ll have a new scavenger hunt developed by 8 Bit Cortex for attendees to improve their understanding through neuroscience and research.

2023 Partners

This event is the beginning of our journey to a larger festival happening from September 15-16. With more workshops, content, and partners so that more of us can come together and celebrate mental wellness through arts and culture.

We curate the mental health, mental wellness, and mental illness ecosystem in Calgary to facilitate awareness and communication between stakeholders. We use immersive art and culture, to improve the public's awareness of mental health, while providing a platform to access resources required. Thank you for your interest and support of our work!