Hot Yoga DeLand brings back annual festival with classes, vendors, sound bath

Hot Yoga DeLand is set to turn downtown DeLand into a weekend-long yoga crawl, with DeLand Yoga Fest bringing 28 instructors, local artisan vendors and classes across multiple venues on April 25 and 26.

The festival’s biggest draw for newcomers may be its easiest one: a free community class at noon on Saturday. From there, the schedule stretches into a Saturday night sound bath at 6:30 p.m. led by Chelsea Conrad of Bodhi + Sol, then rolls into more classes on Sunday, giving the event a format that looks less like a single workshop and more like a full citywide wellness takeover.

The main hub is Artisan Alley Garage, with sessions and events spread through downtown spots including Bodhi + Sol, Venue 142, Loosen Up DeLand, Oliver and Gray and Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co. Visit West Volusia describes the setup as walkable and intimate, with three class waves each day at 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The lineup is meant to move between energizing Vinyasa and grounding Yin Yoga, with beginner-friendly offerings alongside more challenging options.

That mix fits the way Hot Yoga DeLand presents itself year-round. The studio says its core values are inclusivity, integrity, kindness and compassion, and it offers heated and non-heated classes for all levels. Heather McIver, a co-owner and instructor, is a DeLand native who says she values giving back to the community where she was raised. The studio has also leaned on public-facing events before, including a free outdoor yoga class for its one-year anniversary celebration.

DeLand Yoga Fest also reaches beyond the mat and into the local business district. The event’s travel page advertises a special hotel rate at the Courtyard by Marriott DeLand Historic Downtown, while the downtown venue list folds in restaurants, bars and retail spaces that make the festival feel built into the neighborhood rather than dropped on top of it. That kind of setup matters for a local yoga scene because it lowers the barrier to entry, brings in people who may not be regular students and turns yoga into something shared across the whole city, not just inside one studio.