CHICAGO (WGN) — Whether or not you’re a fitness enthusiast, there’s an annual festival returning to Chicago that might be right up your alley.
Featuring a good mix of live music and yoga mats, Chicago’s one-of-a-kind fitness festival, “Faces of Fitness,” is a future event to circle on the calendar.
Set to take place on July 25-26 at Durso Park in River North, the two-day fitness event aims for a Lollapalooza-like experience through the lens of health and wellness.
Day 1 is set to be headlined by a wide variety of fitness experts, trainers and influencers offering an array of exercise classes that include everything from total body workouts, to pilates, hot yoga and dance cardio.
Then, Day 2 features the likes of 11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, who will lead a conversation on the mental health aspects of athletic competition, and Israel Idonije, who will lead a 30-minute NFL workout aiming to help those in attendance train like an NFL player.
“I think when you peel it back, it’s really about feeling better than when you arrived,” Faces of Fitness co-founder David Grass said. “Whether that’s taking a yoga class with Olivia Santelli, or a pilates class or dance class with Aubre Winters, Simone Biles leading a first-ever mental health class at the festival, there is something for everyone here.”
While a variety of workouts take center stage, Faces of Fitness also offers a wellness village with a cold plunge and services from Botox to hairbraiding, while some of the ticket sales benefit urban initiatives — an organization bringing sports and community to Chicago children.
“They’re in 50 schools servicing 50,000 underserved Chicago kids a year,” David Grass said. “What makes it so special for us is the same feeling and emotional connection our attendees have at Faces of Fitness Chicago, [and] we then transfer to the children.”
Last year, more than 8,500 people attended the two-day festival, which also aims to introduce guests to the best-of-the-best instructors and include “people who haven’t even worked out in several years, who could even come for just a little inspiration,” Faces of Fitness co-founder Lindsay Grass said.
David and Lindsay founded Faces of Fitness five years ago with that in mind, and the festival has thrived, keeping that detail in mind.
“When we started off, thinking about Faces of Fitness, our goal was actually to create something that was welcoming to everybody,” Lindsay Grass said.
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