Looking for activities in LA this weekend? Consider WE RISE LA, a 10-day pop-up immersive experience featuring performances, an art exhibition, and workshops around mental wellbeing, in time for May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
The festival, which runs from Saturday, May 18 to Monday, May 27 in Downtown LA’s Art District, will bring together artists, activists and mental health professionals for a range of programming.
The schedule is intended to “raise awareness about available resources designed to support a sense of belonging,” the event promises.
Some events include: A Workshop on Connection, Mental Health & Work (Sunday, May 19); A Social Think Tank on the Arts, Mental Health & Education (Tuesday, May 21); a Teen Town Hall (Friday, May 24); and a Memorial Day BBQ (Monday, May 27).
With LA’s diversity, WE RISE LA also seeks to open up these conversations and resources across the city’s cultures, like the Filipino American community.
“Being a second-generation Filipino, I remember growing up and having really difficult conversations with my parents regarding how I’m feeling or how I’m thinking, and then not really wanting to talk about it,” said Audra Casabella, a supervisor for the law enforcement unit at the LA County Department of Mental Health. “So I feel like this gives the Filipino community an opportunity to normalize some of the things we’re thinking and feeling that sometimes in our families it’s a difficult conversation to have.”
The 10-day festival is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health through funding from the California Mental Health Services Act.
WE RISE LA takes place at 1262 Palmetto Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. It runs 5 to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
The access hotline operates 24/7 at 1-800-854-7771 or you can be connected to a crisis counselor by texting “LA” to 741741 anytime.