Honoring The Heartbeat: Mental Health & Wellness Powwow
Honoring the Heartbeat celebrates mental health, wellness, cultural resilience, and breaking the stigma around seeking help.
Saturday, May 3, 2025
ABOUT
Honoring the Heartbeat: Mental Health & Wellness Powwow connects to traditional cultural practices to highlight mental health and wellness. Our cultural practices have been part of resilience and wellness for Native communities for generations. Powwows are often spaces that provide comfort and safety for Native communities. The drums serve as reminder of our heartbeat and our spirit’s connection to Mother Earth, we connect to our physical and spiritual selves by dancing and singing and we honor our relationships by coming together. Connecting to these cultural practices fosters healing, reflection, and celebration. While we know mental health impacts all people, Native communities are disproportionately impacted by mental health struggles. Our goal is to help our community use cultural practices to support mental wellness and remind them that we are here and it’s ok to ask for help. Honoring the Heartbeat highlights the resilience of cultural healing – where community, spirituality, and tradition play key roles in supporting individual and collective well-being.
EVENT FEATURES
- Prayer fire
- Hourly raffle drawings
- Native craft vendors
- Free dinner
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Kids Coloring & Crafts
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Traditional & youth friendly prizes
- Family Workshops
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Narcan Training
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Mental health resources
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Private family care & decompression areas
FAQs
Parking
Wisconsin State Fair Park charges $10 to park in their lot, which is payable by credit card only. If you want to avoid the parking charge, there is plenty of free parking on the streets surrounding Wisconsin State Fair Park.
Getting Here
- Drive
- From the north: I-41 Southbound to I-94 Eastbound. Take the 84th Street exit.
- From the south: I-41/894 Northbound to I-94 Eastbound. Take the 84th Street exit.
- From the east: I-94 Westbound to 84th Street exit.
- From the west I-94 Eastbound to 84th Street exit.
- Uber/Lyft
- Uber and Lyft will drop off at a designated area just outside the Expo Center
- Ride MCTS
- Route 18 runs along Greenfield Ave. and National Ave. to downtown, dropping off closest to the Expo Center at the corner of 84th & Greenfield, as well as at Gate 2 on 81st & Greenfield.
- Route 33 runs along 84th Street and drops off closest to the Expo Center at the corner of 84th & Greenfield, as well as by Gate 4 at 84th & Washington.
Admission
Admission is FREE to the Honoring the Heartbeat Mental Health & Wellness Powwow.
Attending/Dancing at the Powwow
For a faster, more efficient check-in experience when you arrive at the event, attendees and dancers may pre-register through April 30th by completing this form. After April 30th, walk-up registration will be available for attendees and dancers on the day of the event. Dancers can register day-of from 11AM until 12PM. Attendees can register day-of from 11AM until 6PM.
Caring for Small Children & Decompression Areas
There will be separate designated areas for nursing and caring for small children as well as for any attendees or participants who need to take a break.
Carry-in Policy
Wisconsin State Fair Park does not allow carry-in of food or beverage items.
Carry-in items for family care or medical reasons are permitted.
Applying for a Vendor/Resource Table at the Powwow
Applications for vendors and community resource organizations is open until April 7th, 2025. Please reach out to Madison Black if you are interested in having a vendor table or an outreach table to promote community resources related to mental health, violence prevention, or substance misuse.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Katie Plautz
Event Coordinator
414-316-5058
kplautz@gliihc.net
Madison Black
Event Coordinator
414-316-3735
mblack@gliihc.net
*Contact Madison for vendor/resource table opportunities
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*This is an alcohol and drug free event