Los Angeles embraces wellness and creativity with free May events
Your guide to free self-care: 8 L.A. wellness events you can't miss in May
Who doesn't love a seaside soundbath or a spa day? But wellness is expensive - and self-care shouldn't break the bank. So we've curated a handful of free wellness activities for the month of May to keep you stretched, sane and grounded.
But first: One of these events is blending wellness, culture, community and healing in an interesting way.
For more than 38 years the World Stage Performance Gallery, in South Los Angeles' Leimert Park, has presented live music, poetry, spoken word and other forms of cultural expression in its performance gallery. On May 23, it will stage its first annual Sacred Music and Healing Festival in Leimert Park.
It's an ambitious undertaking, says Executive Director Dwight Trible. The idea behind the festival, he says, is that "music is medicine."
"At a time when many are seeking restoration, grounding and connection, we are creating a space where sound, rhythm and collective presence become tools for healing.
"You've all been to concerts - whether symphonic music or jazz or new age music - and we go in with one mindset and when we come out, we have a completely different disposition. I think music is one of the strongest ways of healing. Music is medicine. It's sometimes better than taking pharmaceutical drugs. It changes your mind, your mental state, your spiritual state. When you surrender to the music it's definitely something that's going to transform. Music has a direct impact on the nervous system. Hopefully it will calm the body, shift emotional states and create a sense of connection. I hope that people from all over the city will come.
The festival reflects "a deeper narrative emerging in Los Angeles." What is that?
I think the narrative is: there has got to be another way to do things rather than to try and use force against force. We [can't] bring peace by bringing war. I know that a lot of people are getting tired of what's going on and thinking about how do we stop this? You have a person leading the country and they're prepared to use guns and ammunition to be able to make sure they can keep doing whatever they've set out to do. You have to go at it another way. The power of love is stronger than the power of hate.
Sacred Music and Healing Festival, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, May 23; 4321 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park.
Here's what else is happening across the wellness landscape in May.
Midweek is "Wellness Wednesdays" at the Wende Museum of the Cold War in Culver City. The museum will host a free, hourlong, guided meditation - led by Christiane Wolf - in its Glorya Kaufman Community Center's A-frame theater, a refurbished, century-old MGM prop house. Afterward, the Cantilever Collective will lead a free movement workshop in the sculpture garden, helping participants shake out any remaining remnants of stress. There will also be complimentary garden refreshments such as homemade soup and fresh bread from Clark Street Bakery. 9-11 a.m. every Wednesday in May; 10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City.
Similarly, the Hammer Museum hosts free, guided Mindful Awareness Meditations every Thursday in its Billy Wilder Theater, a collaboration with UCLA Mindful. Can't get away midday to attend? The museum broadcasts the event live on its website. 12:30-1 p.m. every Thursday in May; 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood.
Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation is hosting a week of free "golden hour" wellness experiences in dozens of L.A. County parks in a program it's calling, not surprisingly, "Parks at Sunset." Activities include yoga, guided meditation, painting and dance; they're meant "to help attendees relax, recharge, and reconnect in the heart of L.A. County parks." The best part? They're all free "drop-in" happenings, with no registration required. 4:30-6:30 p.m. May 14-22; check the site for park addresses near you.
ace/121 Gallery, which is operated by the nonprofit Glendale Arts, will host a "Mindful Art for Wellness" workshop for participants over 16 years old. The instructor will start off by giving attendees a prompt to spark creativity along with stress-reducing breathing exercises. Then the art-making begins. No experience is necessary. Simply "slowing down is the point," the organization says. 7-8:30 p.m. May 18; 121 N. Kenwood St., Glendale.
Clockshop is an arts and culture nonprofit that puts on free programming in public spaces with the goal of connecting Angelenos to the land they live on. Its annual kite festival is a much anticipated, colorful "gallery in the sky." This year, the festival's theme is: "Take a Breath." That includes visitors' own deep breaths to slow down and feel relaxed as well as "the wind that lifts our kites, the air that sustains us, and the open sky we're committed to protecting," Clockshop says. 2-6 p.m. May 9; Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St., downtown L.A.
Los Angeles State Historic Park will be busy in May! The National Alliance on Mental Illness - NAMI - has dubbed May 16, 2026, "the day of hope." As part of that, the annual NAMIWalks Greater LA County Mental Health Festival will take place that day at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The donation-only event, with free wellness activities, includes NAMIWalks, a roughly 1.5-mile walk on a path around the perimeter of the park. The fair will include about 60 booths as well as a "mind and body area" with soundbaths, yoga and other wellness activities. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. May 16; Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St., downtown L.A.
Nearly 50 years ago the Venice Art Walk debuted as a one-day fundraiser. It's since grown into a 10-day-long Art Exhibition + Auction benefiting the Venice Family Clinic. The VFC provides comprehensive healthcare services to more than 45,000 Angelenos. The free exhibition will showcase works by established, mid-career and emerging artists, with Alison Saar serving as the event's signature artist. Auction bids will be accepted online. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. May 8-17; 910 Abbot Kinney in Venice.
