Wellness festival moves to Pioneer Way

Health and Wellness festival takes place Saturday, May 17 between Ely and Hathaway on Pioneer Way.

May 6, 2025 1:30 am

By LUISA LOI

Special to the News-Times

Community members learn how to better take care of themselves and have some fun at an upcoming festival in downtown Oak Harbor.

The Health and Wellness festival will take place Saturday, May 17 between Ely and Hathaway on Pioneer Way. This free event, which is in its third year, is being hosted by Positively Linked, an Oak Harbor-based nonprofit that supports youths and families struggling with their mental wellbeing while also providing bullying and violence prevention education and resources.

Constance Mollerstuen, who founded the nonprofit in 2014, said the first two editions focused on mental health because May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Now, the event has outgrown its original location on Fidalgo Avenue and will expand its focus to include what she called the “eight pillars of wellness” — physical wellness, emotional wellness, social wellness, spiritual wellness, intellectual wellness, occupational wellness, financial wellness and environmental wellness.

Participants can learn more about these pillars by engaging in activities or talking with subject-matter experts, who will include vendors with professional experience in mental and physical health, finance, chronic disease support, addiction recovery, military-related challenges and more, Mollerstuen wrote in an email.

The vendors may also bring products and services related to the specific pillar of wellness they deal with, like plants, aromatherapy and a free spinal screening, to name a few.

At 11 a.m., guests can recharge with a Sound Bath session brought by Fire Escape Healing before attending a line dancing lesson with Gigi’s Line Dancing at noon. Viola Fabrao will host a hula presentation at 1:30 p.m., followed by live music by the Erik Christiansen Band at 2 and a guitar performance by Rene Abadesco at 3:30 p.m., according to Mollerstuen. The Wandering Asian’s food truck will also be in attendance for some fuel.

Attendees will also receive a card to participate in the Treasure Your Health Hunt, which consists of visiting specific vendors within each pillar to answer questions and participate in activities. Once they complete the tasks for all eight pillars, attendees will receive a small gift at the Positively Linked booth and a raffle ticket to hopefully win a gift basket.

For more information about the festival, contact Constance Mollerstuen at Info@positivelylinked.org. To learn more about Positively Linked, visit positivelylinked.org.