HeartFest
A warm annual gathering for reflection, wellness, and community in Richmond.
August 8, 2026 · Heartfulness Meditation Center
You're warmly invited to HeartFest 2026, our annual celebration of health, wellness, and community hosted by the Heartfulness Meditation Center in Richmond, Virginia.
HeartFest also features a vibrant outdoor experience with food trucks and thoughtfully curated vendor booths offering wellness products, handmade goods, and community services.
Date: August 8, 2026
Location: Heartfulness Meditation Center
2230 E Parham Rd. Richmond VA 23228
Now in its 6th year, HeartFest continues to grow as a welcoming community event. We hope to serve 1,000 to 1,500 individuals throughout the day with a blend of wellness activities, family-friendly experiences, and meaningful connection.
HeartFest is a welcoming, family-friendly gathering centered around meditation, wellness, movement, music, and meaningful community connection. The tone is calm, inclusive, and rooted in the spirit of Heartfulness.
Whether someone is brand new or already familiar with these practices, the aim is to create a day that feels easy to enter and uplifting to stay in.
Date: August 8, 2026
Location: Heartfulness Meditation Center
2230 E Parham Rd. Richmond VA 23228
Questions before you come? Reach us at richmond.va@heartfulness.org.
Accessible sessions designed to help guests feel grounded, refreshed, and welcome.
Laughter yoga, kids' yoga, live music, food trucks, wellness booths, and more throughout the day.
We're currently inviting vendors and wellness partners to host booths and connect with the Richmond community.
Highlights
Get a feel for the spirit, warmth, and community energy of HeartFest through highlights from past gatherings.
2025 HeartFest Recap
2019 HeartFest Recap
Program
Speakers
HeartFest 2026 brings together Richmond-area wellness teachers, movement leaders, meditation facilitators, musicians, and community practitioners for a full day of yoga, meditation, sound, breathwork, dance, drums, mindfulness, and family-friendly wellness experiences.
Michelle Lee Landon
Michelle Lee Landon is a Richmond, VA yoga teacher, educator, and founder of One Drop Yoga. Her HeartFest yoga session will offer accessible movement, breath, and grounding practices designed to help participants feel steady, open, and connected. Michelle’s work through One Drop Yoga and RVA Outdoor Yoga emphasizes community, nature, and yoga that is welcoming to different experience levels.
Dr. Margaret Schenkman
Dr. Margaret Schenkman, PT, PhD, FAPTA, is Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado and an internationally respected scientist in neurologic physical therapy, movement, resilience, and Parkinson’s disease research. At HeartFest, she will present Science of Silence, a practical, science-backed session exploring how quiet, stillness, and meditative practices can support stress reduction, resilience, and inner balance.
Dr. Larry Volz
Dr. Larry Volz is a Richmond-based Laughter Yoga leader, certified master hypnotist, and award-winning presenter. His HeartFest Laughter Yoga session combines laughter, breath, playful movement, and group energy to help participants reduce stress and reconnect with joy.
Heartfulness Meditation Facilitators
This guided Heartfulness Meditation session offers a simple, heart-centered introduction to relaxation, inner stillness, and meditative awareness. The session is designed for beginners as well as regular meditators and will provide a calm indoor space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the heart.
River City Taiko
River City Taiko brings the power, rhythm, and visual energy of live Japanese taiko drumming to HeartFest. Their outdoor performance, Japanese Drums: Energy in Motion, will feature bold drum rhythms, synchronized movement, and a high-energy cultural experience for all ages.
Ed Ratchford
Ed Ratchford will lead a practical mindfulness session focused on presence, self-care, joy, and healthier daily patterns. At HeartFest, Ed’s session will offer simple tools to slow down, become present, and reconnect with everyday well-being.
Cheri Maffei Wolff
Cheri Maffei Wolff will lead Qi Gong: The Art of Inner Balance, an outdoor movement session focused on gentle flow, breath, balance, vitality, and inner awareness. Qi Gong is a calming mind-body practice that uses slow, intentional movements to help participants feel grounded, centered, and more connected to their own energy.
Meg Taylor Manamkattil
Meg Taylor Manamkattil will lead Power Up Your Brain, a Brighter Minds session designed to introduce participants to fun, engaging activities that support focus, observation, intuition, confidence, and whole-brain development. Based in Richmond, Meg brings a practical and family-friendly approach to helping children and adults explore the hidden potential of the mind.
Heather Mazeika
Heather Mazeika is the owner of Bia Fit RVA, a Richmond Pilates studio focused on safe, fun, and challenging movement. Her HeartFest Pilates session will focus on core strength, balance, alignment, and mindful movement in a way that is accessible and energizing.
Melissa Terese Young
Melissa Terese Young will lead a BreathWork session designed to support relaxation, clarity, release, and embodied awareness. This indoor HeartFest experience offers participants an opportunity to reconnect through conscious breathing, earth-based ceremony, and simple ritual practices that help calm the body, quiet the mind, and restore inner balance within community.
Christopher J. Miles / Yogi J Miles
Christopher J. Miles, known as Yogi J Miles, is a Richmond yoga teacher, martial artist, body worker, and movement practitioner. His HeartFest yoga session will bring together breath, strength, mobility, and grounded presence in an accessible outdoor practice.
Shanna Praneshwari Latia
Shanna Praneshwari Latia will lead a calming Sound Meditation session designed to invite deep rest, relaxation, and inner stillness through sound and vibration. Her session will create a peaceful space for participants to relax, rejuvenate, and experience the calming effect of sound.
Chamu Katkam and Sasha
Chamu Katkam and Sasha will lead a high-energy BollyX & Zumba session filled with dance, fitness, music, and joy. This outdoor HeartFest session is designed for all levels and will invite participants to move, smile, and celebrate together.
Hayat Bain
Hayat Bain is a Richmond-based Dances of Universal Peace leader and mentor. Her HeartFest session will offer a participatory circle experience using movement, music, voice, and sacred phrases from different wisdom traditions to create connection, harmony, and shared presence.
Vendors
We're looking for vendors whose work feels thoughtful, community-minded, and appropriate for a calm wellness gathering. Handmade goods, books, art, mindful services, herbal products, tea, wellness offerings, and values-aligned local businesses are all welcome to apply.
We're currently accepting vendor applications for review. Approved vendors will receive a follow-up email with next steps, including donation and confirmation instructions.
Vendors should arrive prepared to manage their own setup, table covering, display materials, and cleanup. Space is intentionally simple. Final placement, timing, and access details will be shared after applications are reviewed.
FAQ
Yes. The festival is designed to feel welcoming to first-time attendees as well as long-time practitioners.
Yes. You are welcome to join for part of the day or attend the full gathering.
Please complete the vendor application form. Approved vendors will receive a follow-up email with next steps, including donation and confirmation instructions.
Contact
Email: richmond.va@heartfulness.org
Call/Text: Call/Text 804-517-8975
Address: 2230 E Parham Rd. Richmond VA 23228
Facebook: https://fb.com/heartfestrva
Instagram: https://ig.com/heartfestrva
Questions about HeartFest or vendor participation? We'd love to hear from you.