Body and Soul Festival aims to educate mid-Michigan about religious diversity

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There was magic in the air at the Veteran’s Memorial Library this weekend.

The Open Grove Society hosted its third annual Mid-Michigan Body and Soul Festival on Saturday at the library, 301 S. University Ave.

Elizabeth Goss, president of Open Grove Society at Central Michigan University, said the point of the holistic festival is to provide education in religious diversity to the mid-Michigan area.

“We want to make everyone feel happy and included because that’s a big part of our mission,” the California graduate student said. “To kind of provide a social network for people who follow alternative spiritual paths here in the mid-Michigan area.”

The previous two festivals were held in Finch Fieldhouse on CMU’s campus. Goss said the change in venue brought a livelier spirit to the event.

“I like this one a lot more,” she said. “I feel like we’ve got more foot traffic this year and it’s a much cozier feel. Finch Fieldhouse … is big and open and concrete. Here, it feels like it’s more bustling. It’s filled with life and energy.”

Open Grove Society public relations committee chairwoman Brandy Basney said though the Veteran’s Memorial Library is a smaller space, she saw a definite increase in interested community members.

“I think we’ve at least doubled our foot traffic,” the CMU alumna said. “Last year we had 28 vendors. This year we have 16. It is a smaller more intimate space so we were able to be more selective in who was offered a booth.”

The Body and Soul Festival featured a number of presenters, speakers, workshops, dancers, musicians and vendors offering goods and services.

Some of the services offered included massages, aura attunements, planetary realignments, reflexology, psychic readers and mediums and bodyworkers.

In addition to services, several vendors offered stones, books, cloaks, wands, candles, soap and various other objects.

Holly Stafford, the owner of Saugatuck-based Mother Moon said she has held a spot in the Body and Soul festival since it first began.

“I offer all the hard to find stuff that I couldn’t find when I was starting out on my spiritual journey,” she said. “I cater mainly to people who are on very alternative spiritual paths.”

Stafford also gave an astrology presentation- lecturing on how to properly read glyphs and house meanings on astrology charts.

Goss said Open Grove Society is already planning for next year’s festival.

“I think it adds something exciting and diverse and novel to the community,” she said. “We want to provide kind of a safe haven and a warm community for those people who may have an interest or even just a vague general curiosity in that regard.”