Out of Town Opportunities: SoulPlay Marks a Decade

The late, lamented Lucidity Festival is long gone from its residency at Live Oak Camp. Launched in 2012, the successful festival was swamped by the inordinate rainy season in 2023, and then forced to cancel by fire concerns after moving to June for the 2024 fest. The 2025 Lucidity Festival, which was supposed to relocate to Monterey County, was canceled in September with no refunds being offered. But there are a number of alternative gatherings that might meet the need, all within the state but nowhere nearby. 

The thumping beat of EDM, etc., is a pulsing center for many of the festivals, including Same Same But Different, the Lake Perris fest considered a sister to Lucidity, and which accepted 2025 Lucidity tickets at their event last September. 

SSBD takes place again this year September 26-28; details at www.ssbdfest.com

But for those who were more partial to the workshop and personal growth element of Lucidity, an even deeper dive can be found at SoulPlay, held at Mandala Springs Wellness Center in Cobb, California, about 90 miles north of San Francisco. SoulPlay is a substance-free gathering that is focused on intentional connection and mindful pursuits. The festival is going through a transition as well, as its founder, Romi Elan – who led workshops at Lucidity early on during the local fest’s run – departed after last year’s event. 

The new leaders are maintaining the festival’s commitment to create a gathering focused on heart-opening connection, personal expansion and play, coming together as a community to connect, explore and grow. The curated workshops, activities and spaces are designed to challenge – whether gently or more aggressively – our self-limitations, comfort zones, and old paradigms to encourage vulnerability that leads to transformation. 

Activities at SoulPlay, celebrating its 10th anniversary June 12-15, include movement sessions, partner exercises, relational games and activities and experiences to emotional landscapes to create multiple avenues for self-exploration and expression. 

What’s new – at least in the sense of a more intentional focus – is the concept of offering a refreshing alternative to counter our era of increasing political polarization and social division. The four-day immersion aims to cultivate and cement radical belonging, consent culture and creating community across differences.

A new Inclusion and Belonging Team is an ongoing effort to reflect the organization’s commitment to bringing to life its evolving philosophy. 

“We believe that playful connection has the power to bridge the divides that dominate our current cultural landscape,” says Holly Burlet, SoulPlay’s founding member and creative director, in a press release. “For 10 years, we’ve been evolving a container where people from diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and identities can begin to drop their armor and experience a sense of belonging – something many participants tell us they rarely find elsewhere.”

SoulPlay’s lineup of presenters/workshop leaders include Z Griss of Embody More Love, who makes offerings at the edge of grief and eros; Matt Sturm, who leads Joygasm; Daway Chou-Ren, whose processes make space for our rage; William Winters of Bonobo Network for impact play; men’s sexual integrity coach Mischa Byruck; “Permission Fairy” Marcia Baczynski’s Spicy Truth or Dare; “Blindfolded Contact Dance” and Dance Roulette with empathy provocateur Gabriel Diamond, and many others. 

To be sure, music is also an integral part of SoulPlay, with some 20 conscious music acts scheduled to perform, although mostly not until the evening, with the workshops spread over seven different spaces, with other explorations – including taking advantage of the spectacular natural surroundings – also occupying the daylight hours. 

In its entirety, SoulPlay serves as an environment to explore your essence, a magic-making playground where people can play with a purpose, and “dare, dance and thrive in a joy-seeking, soul-stirring community where authentic connections bloom without the buzz of substances.” 

Find out more and get tickets online at www.soulplay.co

Back in Town, Soup for the Soul

It’s not nearly as immersive, given that you can head right home and sleep in your own bed, but Yoga Soup still has an impressive slate of soul-stirring, heart opening, mind awakening and body centering special events on tap at its downtown studio. 

The weekly Dance Hive hosted by INSPIRATIA on Sunday afternoons from 12-3 pm including CommuniTea before and after the dancing is augmented by the monthly First Friday Ecstatic Dance with DJ sets from Ean Golden and Sierra Noland on June 6, with the DryshTea lounge open for more verbal connection and farmers market food and treats when the music stops. 

More sound experiences include Darren Marc’s monthly Heart Songs Kirtan with Cacao on June 7, and Michelle Anise’s multi-instrumental sound healing journey that includes a guided deep relaxation induction, Himalayan singing bowls, therapy harp, crystal bowls and more, concluding with optional toning and meditative chanting. On June 14, Ojai’s Brothers Koren, recently in town for a screening of their doc at the Illuminate Film Festival, will present their Mystic Voice journey, which explores the power of singing in community through breathwork, gentle vocal exercises, simple toning, melodies and familiar songs. The next day finds Mitsuko McGavock and Darren Marc teaming up for a Reiki Sound Bath, combining the two modalities.

Visit www.yogasoup.com. 

Up on the Roof for Wellness

Hotel Californian welcomes locals and visitors alike for a weekend of wellness activities surrounding Global Wellness Day on June 14. Events include a Reiki Infused Chakra Sound Bath with Marquita Davis on Friday night; Morning Yoga with Natasha Hughes and Pilates Stretch with Victoria Popoff on the hotel’s rooftop, and a Wellness Expo boasting local shops, businesses and experts on maintaining a healthy mind and body (free for everyone) on Saturday; and Sculpt + Stretch with Rachel McClusky back on the rooftop on Sunday. 

All classes welcome participants of all levels, with mats and towels provided. Tickets may be purchased for the full weekend, or on a class-by-class basis, and admission includes a beverage station featuring wine from the Foley Family Wines portfolio, with gift bags provided. 

Visit https://tinyurl.com/HotelCaliWell

Earth Circle Expands 

Alexis Slutzky’s last Land Listening Earth Circle of the season (before a summer break) takes place at 2 pm on Summer Solstice, June 21, right around the time that the famous downtown parade concludes. The practice, conducted in a circle before and after a period of solitary communing with nature, focuses on listening and attunement to the land as a gift to receive the stories, experiences, and relational gifts in reciprocity. The special solstice event goes until 6 pm and extends the practice of dismantling human supremacy by feeding the holy in nature through ritual and song.  

Details and registration at www.alexisslutzky.com/land-listening-earth-circle