Sunflower Garden is Toronto's first alcohol-free music festival

TORONTO , ONTARIO , CANADA, May 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sunflower Garden is Toronto's first alcohol-free music festival, and is a conscious celebration of music, wellness and community hosted in a sunflower field in full bloom just 40 mins from downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

From 11 AM to 11 PM on August 23rd, up to 5,000 attendees will enjoy live music, wellness activations, art installations in an eco-consciously curated space. This all-ages event showcases female talent, honours mindful connection, and immerses guests in the healing power of nature.

Festival organizer, Luciana Santaguida, started curating alcohol-free spaces where music and mindfulness coexist in 2015 when she founded her NÜLOVE series. “I started running a brand called NÜLOVE which fused music and wellness with yoga, sound healing, live DJs, and vendor markets,” she explains.

As a performing artist for over 14 years, she had watched audiences at too many shows dissolve into blurred memories as they grew buzzed on arrival to her concerts. “People were getting drunk and disassociating, completely missing the message coming from the art. That made me sad,” she reflects. “Concertgoers didn’t really have this space to be present to take in the music fully.”

NÜLOVE offered Santaguida and her community a dedicated space for presence and connection, far removed from the bar and nightclub scenes. After touring as a DJ and singer across twelve countries and witnessing the persistent gender imbalance on festival line-ups, Santaguida felt called to elevate her mission. She knew it was time to build a stage that not only championed female talent but also fostered true harmony between women and men in the industry.

“I want to shift the culture around how we connect with music,” Santaguida explains.

Her decade-long commitment to crafting mindful, sober concerts laid the groundwork for Sunflower Garden. By spotlighting female artists alongside balanced male acts and integrating wellness activations throughout the day, Santaguida aims to reshape how audiences experience live music and community.

Santaguida believes deeply in music’s healing potential. “Music is medicine. Music is healing. Dancing to music is healing,” she says.

Integrated wellness spaces and zen zones around the grounds feature guided sound baths, yoga, meditation, and more, designed to deepen presence and foster inner awareness. Creating space and intentional moments for attendees to tune inward. Encouraging attendees to pause, feel and breathe, and absorb the experience.

"Sunflower Garden begins with an opening ceremony and a land blessing by an indigenous elder, meditation and sound bath, which brings us into our live musical acts," she says.

Beginning with Juno-nominated Canadian vocalist Desirée Dawson, and Toronto-born singer Maria-Therese, LUCIANA, and Manta Jae, a large kirtan ensemble. Then the day continues with DJ sets, bringing the vibes even higher, into the night.

Luciana Santaguida has devoted more than a decade to fusing performance and wellness. She is a singer, DJ, sound healer, yoga teacher, spiritual mentor, and wellness practitioner.

“We're not taking time to feel what's coming up, to feel what we're moving through or moving with. We can't know what's going on internally with ourselves if we don’t pause. So, the integration spaces, the wellness practices, the programming that's happening alongside the music, and the different activations and installations, are designed to help create that moment of pause, that moment of connection,” said Santaguida.

Sunflower Garden Festival is founded on values of conscious connection, authenticity and clarity, wholeness and balance, creativity and empowerment, and community integration. A strong emphasis on environmental responsibility runs throughout every detail.

Guests will connect with nature and reflect in thoughtfully designed spaces. Every element, from reusable cups and rented utensils, to carefully sourced décor, minimizes environmental impact and fosters harmony with the natural world.

Attendees will experience intentional music curation, dedicated integration spaces, holistic wellness activations, immersive art installations, mindful environmental practices, and a custom botanical bar designed for this event.

A female-focused artist roster and commitment to local, ethical, and sustainable vendors and artisans complete a celebration designed to uplift, inspire, and connect us all.

Tickets are now on sale for purchase.

Paul Fitzgerald
Salt & Pepper Media Inc.
+1 289-795-6176
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