Coachella 2023: Yoga, art and activations break up the long festival day

While the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is best known for its diverse music lineup, the three-day, two-weekend event in Indio has plenty of other activities for the festivalgoers in search of a break from the tunes or something to do in between seeing their favorite acts.

The Coachella Arts Studio has been a space available for campers since 2009, under the guidance of founder and producer Sarah Scheideman.

Scheideman was born and raised locally and started a blog for emerging artists to display their projects and build a community. Goldenvoice found the blog and contacted Scheideman about how they could get involved to highlight the local artists and culture.

“We started off really small and it has grown,” Scheideman said. “We have different crafts here that anyone at any creative level can get into.”

The interactive craft installation offers everything from fashion, clay, jewelry and aromatherapy throughout the various areas of the studio. Models were also made available for people who wanted to sit and draw.

“People were coming from all over and it built a community and they saw value in the community being made,” Scheideman said. “It’s truly a space where anyone can come in. It’s not a space for perfection or anything like that, but if you make it you take it. Everything is free.”

The studio has quadrupled in size since inception and has become a place where regulars will stop by each year as part of their festival tradition.

The Wellness Oasis, located near the studio and Activities Tent, welcomes campers to partake in meditation, sound baths and yoga.

Clarence Guillory served as a host for the Move, Breath and Sound Therapy session on Saturday afternoon.

“I just think it’s important for us as human beings to come into an awareness of the connection we have,” Guillory said. “We are taught to think we are different and that separation occurs and is experienced. I feel like harmony and happiness come when we realize we are connected.”

Guillory’s goal for his first Coachella was to teach people to connect with themselves through “mindful movement” and the use of Qigong, body tapping and being in stillness after movement.

“It allows them to connect and have an experience with others that they can then share and take home with them,” said Guillory, who was a swimmer at the University of Denver. “I understood the importance of the mind, but I needed something to do with this after this athletic experience ends.”

Adidas, Google and Casetify were among the branded activations on the actual festival grounds throughout both weekends. Fans were being force fed ads whether they liked it or not as brands like Neutrogena, Coca-Cola and Shein had their logos splashed on a variety of booths, activities and even sun block-dispensing stations. Alcohol companies like Aperol, Absolut Vodka and Heineken also had a big presence and offered fans places to cool down, watch intimate performances, pick up free swag and get those selfie moments in.

Bad Bunny, this fest’s Friday headliner, was a prominent part of the Adidas activation, as the physical structure could be easily spotted at night with its glowing wood bunny-shaped archway entrance surrounded by a living wall of flowers.

The inside of the cube-shaped building added to the theme with moss and bonsai trees covering the walls and wood seating for visitors. Adidas also offered merchandise from its partnership with the Puerto Rican singer.

Google’s activation also played to the star power of the festival’s past, displaying cases with items from previous Coachella acts, including Beyoncé’s boots from her 2018 “Homecoming” set and Prince’s custom cloud guitar from his 2008 performance. Guitarist Slash of Guns N’ Roses also had his signature top hat displayed. Slash performed on the main Coachella Stage in 2016 when the band’s original members reunited for the first time after a decade-long hiatus.

Google also brought in a throne made of stereos for visitors to sit on and take photographs.

Casetify invited festivalgoers to an air-conditioned lounge with charging ports and a dome sphere to take photographs inside. Limited-edition Coachella-themed phone cases were also on display and available for purchase.

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