Bodykind festival returns

The event celebrates all things body positive, and encourages its attendees to be kinder to the skin they’re in

Returning for a second year is the UK’s only body acceptance festival, Bodykind. Due to be held in Totnes, Devon, on the 3rd and 4th of May, the event is set to be an overwhelming success.

According to its website, Bodykind’s main principals are: “Promoting inclusivity, celebrating diversity, illuminating and challenging non-acceptance and meeting fear with kindness.” Over the course of two days, there will be a number of talks, panels, stand-up shows, debates and workshops running alongside two evenings of comedy and dance events.

With guests including Megan Jane Crabbe, Grace Victory and Imogen Fox among others, you’ll be sure to find a speaker and an event that interests you, and encourages you to find confidence in your body.

All the event’s collaborators will attend without fees, meaning you’ll be able to see and speak to many of the movement’s biggest names for a fraction of the usual cost. Tickets are separated into Friday Night, Saturday Night and Saturday Day passes – each with a graded costing system available. You’ll get to choose the amount you pay based on how much you can afford, with prices starting at £6 for the evening passes and £30 for the day pass.

Dinah Gibbons, founder and coordinator of the event, tells us: “The festival is looking at how we can feel more comfortable in our skin. We believe that every single body is worthy of respect, honour and celebration.”

Speaking on its success so far, Gibbons says “we’ve had fantastic feedback of the efficacy of this approach, with people reporting their lives having been changed after attending Bodykind.”

And why has it been such a success? “Because it’s been waiting to happen. The world is crying out for authentic connection between individuals, which particularly flourishes when we dare to be vulnerable”, the founder declares.

This is an effect felt by previous attendee, and this year’s fellow coordinator, Kezyana Dylan. “Bodykind has always been thoughtful, inventive and fun”, she says, sharing that it continues to “celebrate ALL bodies, so I think that it’s a wonderful place to go and celebrate who you are and all the flab and cellulite that you have without any conditioning from the ‘outside world’.”

“In my opinion it is almost pivotal for women to come together and celebrate each other as we are”, Dylan tells us, “especially because sometimes it seems as if the media and society pit us against each other for their own amusement.”

Kindness is clearly in this season, and hopefully for each and every one of them to come.

Tickets to the event are available to purchase through www.bodykindfestival.com, where you can also check out the full line-up.