Wild Women NEPA back for 2nd year at Lazybrook Park

TUNKHANNOCK — The women-centric wellness festival is back all day at Lazybrook Park on Sunday, August 25, for the second annual edition of Wild Women NEPA!

Expanding on Wild Women NEPA’s successful 2023 debut, this year’s festival promises over 40 workshops and classes centered around wellness, nature, and creativity. The goal? Creating a space where women can unwind, connect, and nourish the mind, body, and spirit in a supportive and empowering atmosphere.

“It was such an amazing transformative experience,” said Melissa Roberts, Director and Co-Founder of Wild Women NEPA. “A thousand women just moving their bodies and chanting — it was more than we could have ever planned for and we’re looking forward to doing it again.”

This year, Wild Women NEPA is really honing in on nature. Melissa Roberts is also Owner of the Ski Shack in Moosic, a business that relies on the local outdoors. Since nature plays such a major role in her life, she looks forward to sharing that passion with other women. Expect workshops in plant foraging, mushroom identification, and solo hiking as well as plenty of other interesting topics.

“We encourage you to come as you are, be yourself. There’s no judgement. It’s women coming together to support each other,” said Melissa Roberts.

Melissa Roberts looks forward to making Wild Women NEPA 2024 an even bigger, better, and more immersive experience than last year.

They’ve expanded with facility upgrades, extended hours, longer workshops, expanded food options (including more gluten-free choices), a “Rejuvenation Station” designed by Chippy White Table with free chair massages where women can relax and recharge.

There will also be more art-inspired additions, including mini workshops for pottery by Paulina Kuratnick and a session by Jenny Mathews called “The Jenny Party,” where attendees can paint, dance, and free their inner goddess.

These improvements were initiated in response to feedback from more than 200+ surveys submitted by 2023 attendees.

“A big part of Wild Women is giving women a voice. We care about their opinion and want to make sure they are heard,” explained Roberts.

Photo Credit — Ryan McKean, courtesy of Wild Women NEPA

In addition to all these 2024 additions, there will also be more non-profits represented at the festival this year, including Women’s Resource Center, Dress For Success, and more. “It’s also important that any woman who would like to attend this transformative event can do so,” added Roberts.

To make that possible, Roberts pledged to administer over $4,000 in grants to a dozen local women-focused organizations through her recently founded nonprofit, Wild Wellness NEPA, to give more women access to this festival who lack the resources and support to be able to attend on their own.

Giving back to women in the community is top priority to Melissa Roberts and Wild Women NEPA, so she’s grateful to be able to continue paying it forward. Going along with that, the non-profit Wild Women NEPA has selected to benefit this year is Climb NEPA, which brings awareness, resources, and funds to improve services for perinatal mental health disorders. The 3rd Annual Climb takes place Saturday, September 28 at Nay Aug Park in Scranton.

This is a cause close to Roberts’ heart. “I myself struggled with post-partum depression after I had my son,” said Melissa Roberts. “It wasn’t easy. You had to make your own village, build relationships, build friendships — you have to ask for help!”

She continued, “I went from struggling with post-partum to now feeling so supported. I feel this authentic true friendship with these women and I just think it’s an honor to continue this festival and continue to see the transformative things that can happen.”

Melissa Roberts said it gives her chills to hear what this festival means to all her attendees. She loves hearing how this event inspired women to start a new job or leave a toxic relationship.

Yes, Wild Women NEPA is made specifically for women. Roberts and her team often find themselves fielding questions about why there’s a need to hold a “women’s-only” festival in the first place.

“We make up 50% of our workforce and last time I checked, we make 100% of the babies,” said Roberts. “I found an interesting statistic that 80% of autoimmune disease sufferers are women. There’s nothing there for women. We have different health issues and concerns to address. We’ve come a long way but there are still many unique challenges for women, so having that place to come together and share is so important.”

Melissa Roberts also said they’re going to try to keep the positive, women-centric events coming! She’s currently organizing an event for Sunday, March 30, that will become the Women’s Small Business Summit. She hopes to give more women, especially female entrepreneurs and businessowners, the knowledge they need to allow their businesses to thrive.

“I really believe when we support women and small businesses, we are able to grow together. There isn’t anybody addressing this audience right now and everything comes from my own personal experience,” said Roberts. “If I look around and know it’s not there, I’ll bring it there!”

Tickets for Wild Women NEPA 2024 are available in advance at https://www.wildwomennepa.com for $40 for ages 18+ and $20 for ages 11 to 17. Tickets will also be available at the gate for $50 for ages 18+ and $25 for ages 11 to 17.

The event will go on rain or shine on Sunday, August 25, all across Lazybrook Park in Tunkhannock from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.