Are you ready to unleash your inner creativity and prioritize your self-care? Look no further than WisdoMania Festival 2023, an immersive mental health and arts festival taking place on May 21 at The Lodge in Los Angeles. This festival, in honor of Mental Health Month, is the brainchild of X. ARI, a queer singer-songwriter, mental health advocate, and public speaker, and is designed to help young creatives in LA turn pain into power through the arts while enhancing their knowledge of wellness and mental health resources.

The festival’s free daytime programming includes a variety of activities, such as yoga, dance, a sound bath, and a songwriting workshop where attendees will write a song that will be recorded and released. In the evening, the festival features a mental health panel, live music, and comedy, all for a low ticket price of $25. What’s more, in partnership with BetterHelp, all ticket holders receive three free months of therapy.

That alone explains why WisdoMania Festival 2023 is a no-brainer for anyone looking to prioritize their mental health and well-being, but there’s more. Not only will attendees get to participate in fun and engaging activities, but they will also have access to resources to help them continue their self-care journey long after the festival. And with ticket proceeds going to two nonprofits, the WisdoMania Foundation and Tangible Movement, attendees can feel good knowing they are supporting important causes while also prioritizing their own well-being.

But what sets the WisdoMania Festival apart from other wellness and arts events? For starters, the festival aims to make mental health fun and exciting, breaking down the stigma that often surrounds these crucial topics. Additionally, all of the festival’s comics and musicians are queer and/or fierce allies, showing the festival’s commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, the festival’s founder, X. ARI, brings a unique perspective to the event as a mental health advocate and public speaker who has used their own experiences with mental illness to inspire others to prioritize their own well-being.

Of course, putting on an event like the WisdoMania Festival is not without its challenges. Learning how to run a nonprofit and a large-scale event is no small feat, and fundraising can be a major hurdle. But despite these challenges, the festival has already achieved some notable career highlights, including sponsorships from Amazon Music and Spotify. Attracting such backers speaks to the program’s effectiveness and impact on society, which the organizers hope to continue doing for many years.

“Our goal is for WisdoMania Fest to become the Coachella of Wellness over time,” the organizers explain. “We aim to provide many communities and organizations with custom wellness and arts days to bring creativity and self-care into all spaces. We hope to have a full album recorded and released to showcase all of the songs we have written in our Songwriting for Wellness workshops.”

But for now, the focus is on WisdoMania Festival 2023 and the incredible opportunities it offers for attendees to prioritize their mental health and unleash their creativity. As the festival’s founders say, “We all have the capacity to heal, thrive, and flourish. We can all turn pain into power to make our burdens our blessings.” So come join the fun, align with like-minded individuals, and prioritize your well-being at WisdoMania Festival 2023.