Mental Health Awareness Month at Cascadia

Cascadia Art Museum is observing Mental Health Awareness Month this May, and our programming will center around this important theme. While we recognize that art supports mental well-being year-round, this month offers a meaningful opportunity to highlight this connection.  

Art has the unique ability to support mental health in many ways—it encourages mindfulness, reduces stress, fosters self-expression, and creates space for reflection and connection. Whether through quiet observation in the galleries or hands-on creative activities, engaging with art can be both restorative and empowering. 

Throughout May, our programs will focus on these benefits, offering visitors opportunities to slow down, look closely, and connect more deeply with both the artwork and themselves. 

Yoga in the Museum

Tuesday, May 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 23rd and 30th, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Come and enjoy a Yoga practice in the beautiful and peaceful setting of the Cascadia Museum in Edmonds.

This class explores both stillness and fluid movement. If you are looking for a way to compliment your stretching routine with balance, core strengthening and posture exercises, this is the class for you.

To Note:

  • Some previous experience with stretching, Yoga or Pilates is recommended
  • Please dress in layers and bring your own yoga mat and water bottle with a closable lid
  • Class time is approximately 55 minutes

Instructor: Julie Williams

Julie Williams Julie’s career in health education spans over 40 years, during which she has been an instructor for a myriad of fitness modalities in both group and private settings. Her wide reaching experience includes teacher training, strength and stretch programs for athletes, functional training, core training, Yoga, Pilates and rehab therapy. Julie’s detailed instruction and attention to form provides her students with a safe, all inclusive workout experience. She is a certified Exercise Physiologist with The American College of Sports Medicine.

 

Reserve You Space for Yoga in the Museum Here

Puzzle Night at Cascadia Art Museum

Wednesday, May 27th, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Free!

Take a break and join us for a relaxing puzzle night at the museum. In observance of Mental Health Awareness Month, spend the evening piecing together puzzles, enjoying light snacks, participating in a puzzle swap, and entering to win raffle prizes.

Puzzles offer a range of wellness benefits, from improving memory and boosting mood to reducing stress.

While you’re here, take a moment to explore the galleries and spend time with the artwork.

Feelings Come to Life: Creative Emotion Puppets

Saturday, May 30th, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Big feelings, curious minds, and creative play come together at Cascadia Art Museum for a one-of-a-kind Family Art Day experience. Led Sofiya Ko, a registered expressive arts and somatic therapist, families will explore emotions through gentle movement, simple tools for regulation, and hands-on puppet-making that brings feelings to life through story. Designed for connection and imagination, this intimate workshop invites families to play, create, and discover new ways of understanding each other.

About the Teaching Artist

Sofiya Ko (she/her) is a registered expressive arts therapist and licensed mental health counselor with extensive training in trauma informed practices like EMDR, Somatic Therapy, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Perinatal and Postpartum Mental Health. Her community workshops incorporate self-expression and play to help participants experience connection and gain a deeper knowing of self. In private practice she supports new parents with a history of trauma who are ready to break generational patterns. She also provides supervision to emerging clinicians and teaches continuing education at Northwest Creative Expressive Arts Therapy Institute.

Learn more about Sofiya’s practice www.sofiyakowellness.com