More than 500 ticket holders attended the second annual IslandSoul Festival on Saturday, 31 Jan. taking part in a wide range of activities including yoga, fitness, dance, meditation and creative arts.
The inaugural festival last year attracted 150 attendees, with this year’s increase in numbers a testament to the work of IslandSoul founder Kieri Dornan, who has created a series of events in the health and wellbeing space over the last 18 months.
Packed programme of events
The day-long event at the Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman kicked off with a live musical performance and a sound bath by the waves before the start of a full programme featuring more than 60 facilitators, practitioners and local businesses.
Fitness classes ranged from kick boxing, HIIT boot camp and ultimate conditioning while an equally hectic workout could be found in the dance space, with wireless headphones for participants turning everything from soca and hip hop to salsa and Bollywood into an immersive silent disco.
The festival also included creative spaces for qi gong, breathwork, massages, painting, journaling, quilting, music and tarot readings and ended with a drum circle and fire performance as the sun set.
Reflecting on the festival, Dornan said that the aim had been “to create more than just a wellness event. IslandSoul is about lifestyle, showing what’s possible when we prioritise connection, creativity, movement and joy as part of how we live, not something separate or prescriptive.
Dornan explained, “The design of the site, the flow of the programme and the use of immersive elements like the headphones were all about helping people be present, feel safe to explore and experience depth in whatever they chose to take part in.”
She added, “In terms of numbers … the growth was very intentional, but we were equally focused on maintaining quality, flow and a sense of connection as the scale increased.
“From my perspective, the day went beautifully. It genuinely played out how I had envisioned it. One of the biggest highlights for me was feeling the energy shift as the day unfolded, seeing people arrive curious and perhaps a little tentative, and then gradually open up, connect with others, try new things and really drop into the experience. Hearing comments from participants like ‘I think I just had a spiritual awakening’ was incredibly moving,” she said.
Dornan said that the plan is absolutely to do it again next year, adding that “If I were to do anything differently, it would be to have the festival across multiple days allowing everyone that wishes to, to be part of the experience.”
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