Toni’s Kitchen will partner with The YMCA of Montclair to launch MONTCLAIR BOUNCE: A Festival of Optimism and Resilience, May 31 to June 7, 2019.
The first-annual BOUNCE Festival will explore everyday opportunities and oft-unnoticed resources to strengthen emotional health and connections to the community. This townwide, playful adventure will also do the serious work of offering essential practices and vital connections.
Sample events include: Blue Plate Bounce, an arts-infused outdoor community meal, Been There — And Back, a moveable feast of diverse and seasoned life experts and Here, There and Everywhere: Nature, Exercise & Spirituality, forays into Montclair’s mind/body/soul resources. In addition, readings and speaker panels; dance and theater performances and even a Happy Mapping Montclair project are planned for the week.
“This collaboration between Toni’s Kitchen and the Montclair YMCA is a natural fit,” said Anne Mernin, Executive Director of Toni’s Kitchen. “Both organizations recognize the connection between physical and emotional health and design programming to strengthen them.”
Montclair Bounce events will reflect research-based keys to promoting optimism and resilience including acting with empathy, confronting fears, fostering positive relationships, and community alliances. The Festival will bring together a range of organizations and groups to develop and curate the weeks’ activities.
“Opportunities for optimism and resilience can be found in everyday places and in people all around us,” says Buddy Evans, executive firector of the Montclair Y. “Montclair Bounce will tap into those resources to enrich all our lives.”
Bounce events will be accessible to all. Funds raised will support ongoing programming at the YMCA of Montclair and Toni’s Kitchen designed to build emotional health and resilience.
For more information on MONTCLAIR BOUNCE, visit www.montclairbounce.org.