By Eoin Meegan
Billed as Ireland’s ultimate wellness, lifestyle and fitness experience, the Thrive Festival returns to Dublin’s Convention Centre from Feb 29th until March 1st next, with over 60 yoga classes, 80 talks and workshops, and in excess of 250 classes and workshops: Pack a punch with Kobox (founded by Irishman Shane Collins), discover the ultimate ‘party on a bike’ experience with Boom Cycle, or thrill to F45 Unique Functional HIIT Training.
There’s something for everyone here. As the promo says, “Thrive is an explorium of cutting edge fitness, cooking demonstrations, yoga, meditation and engaging panel discussions.”
Thrive began life as a pop up festival at the Groove Festival in Kilruddery, Bray in 2018. Since then it has expanded exponentially and now has its permanent home in Dublin’s Convention Centre, which hosts the festival jointly with Equinox Events.
In 2019 they welcomed just over 5,000 attendees and in 2020 are hoping to increase that to 8,000 over the two-day event. Tickets start from just €25 for a full day (9.30am-6.00pm) and attendees can fit as much as they like into their day.
Yoga is a fabulous fitness tool both for body and mind, and at Thrive you are spoilt for choice with so many varieties: explore the benefits of Power Yoga, Electro Flow Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Reformation Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Yocella Yoga, Yin Yoga, and many more.
Be amazed at the poetry and artfulness of these performers, or join in and see what you can do. Then if yoga is not your thing you might prefer dance.
Dance has become a very popular way to integrate fitness into our daily workout. Over the weekend you can enjoy Hip Hop Dance by Donking Rongavilla, or watch Strut Fitness do their exhilarating progressive workout; alternatively you can join Zumba, in their mixture of low and high intensity moves.
But don’t think it’s all about tiring yourself out. There are lots of yummy food on offer too: ranging from The Gut Stuff to Daniel Davey’s Performance Nutrition and Cookery, with cookery demonstrations and talks sprinkled liberally in between, courtesy of food experts Sinead Delahunty, Erica Drum, Jeeney Maltese, Conor Spacey, and Nichola Flood, to mention just a few. So no need to bring a packed lunch.
No festival of wellness would be complete without meditation. Kadam Adam Starr, a Buddhist monk who is currently the resident teacher with the Tara Kadampa Meditation Centre in Dublin, fills that gap.
Adam will provide an oasis of tranquility and inner stillness throughout the weekend event, while Sandra Lawes will be along to provide reflexology.
Among the many talks available Jenny Murphy will examine humans through the prism of energy beings in ‘Vibrations and Energy Healing’.
Not to be missed is Richie Bostock and his master classes on breathwork. Richie is known as ‘the breath guy’, and believes we can attain blissful states of ‘no-mind’ in a very short period of time by practicing only a few simple breathing techniques.
For those of you plagued by insomnia there are workshops by Tom Coleman to help with this problem, while the Coaching Circle will offer advice and helpful information on a diverse range of topics from nutrition to career to lifestyle.
And new to this year’s event is Bev Porrino. Bev is a neuromuscular therapist who is passionate about helping people rediscover just how amazing their bodies are, and how quickly people can change both physically and emotionally; one to look out for.
Also appearing at Thrive will be Vicky Shilling and Lauren Healy, collectively known as the Reset. The Reset is a movement created to support women in different areas of life. Just one of the things they do is organise short breaks away for women so they can recharge and just get a break!
Unfortunately we don’t hear enough about men’s health at health and wellbeing gatherings, so, Milk For Tea, a social enterprise that was created to serve the well-being and personal development of the male community, and which has the support of the Prince of Wales, provides a welcome corrective. Good to see men coming more to the centre in health issues.
In a special message to NewsFour readers, Equinox Events MD Avril Bannerton says:
“I’m thrilled to be bringing Thrive Festival to The Convention Centre for its second year. We’ve been watching the health and wellness market for a number of years and the highly engaged Irish wellness community has shown us that the time is right for a comprehensive ‘all under one roof’ event that really lets our visitors explore the options and opportunities now on offer in this exciting market.
Equinox Events’ partnership with The Convention Centre really has enabled us to set a new benchmark for health and wellness experiences in Ireland; the stunning, City Centre venue offers an inspiring backdrop to our exciting mix of cutting edge and more established health disciplines, inspirational workshops and talks and carefully curated mix of wellness industry brands. This plus a range of food, drink and chill-out zones really does mean that we are offering the very best experience on the market for visitors to explore fitness, lifestyle and wellness opportunities on offer today.”
So, why not check out Thrive and find a fitness methodology that is a match for you while also having a really good time.
Thrive runs from Feb 29th until March 1st, and you can book by going to https://thrivefestival.ie/
