Alignment is a series of intentional wellness festivals designed to create a space where individuals can nurture their mind, body, and spirit. These outdoor summer experiences blend holistic practices like yoga, sound healing, herbal medicine, and live performances to inspire meaningful connections and personal growth. The festival also amplifies artists and businesses in the community through live art installations, vendor markets, horseback riding, community workshops and more. The core goal of Alignment is to provide a sanctuary for self-care and empowerment, while fostering a deeper relationship with nature and community. By emphasizing natural preventative care, sustainable practices, and wellness education, the project aims to cultivate a culture of well-being beyond the festival itself, encouraging attendees of all ages to carry these practices into their daily lives.

Taylor proudly hosted her intentional Alignment festival for Urban Creators on September 28, 2024, as a result of receiving the KECC micro-grant. This vibrant outdoor experience brought together over two hundred and fifty attendees of all ages for a day filled with intentional wellness and community connection. Highlights included an energizing yoga workshop, community African dancing in the dome, horseback riding in the park, and reiki healing sessions in a serene pyramid shed. Guests explored a curated marketplace featuring goods, food, and produce vendors, while enjoying captivating performances from local DJs and artists. Alignment also featured a local nonprofit that provides a unique reading experience with free children’s books, free medical testing for adults, and access to food trucks serving some of Philly’s best flavors. One of Alignment’s most cherished moments was the community paint station, where attendees collaborated to paint the letters of the word ALIGNMENT, symbolizing the unity and creativity of the day. The Alignment festival exceeded our expectations, creating a memorable experience that inspired connection, joy, and wellness for all who attended.

The Alignment festival has significantly impacted the community by creating a safe and inclusive space for individuals to connect, heal, and celebrate wellness. The festival brings together diverse community members, fostering unity and a shared sense of purpose. Since its ideation and inception by Taylor Nickens in 2022, Alignment has grown from an intimate thirty-person dinner and workshop series to a thriving annual wellness festival with over 250 attendees. Over the years, the festival has provided a platform and financial support to more than 57 performing artists and DJs, 200 vendors, 30 healers, 22 muralists, and 32 neighboring nonprofit organizations. During September’s festival, nonprofits such as Treehouse book club distributed 100+ free books to children, while over 50 adults accessed free medical testing services, compliments of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, making wellness and resources more accessible to the community by being in the community.

Beyond the festival itself, Alignment has had a ripple effect on the local creative economy and community organizations, focusing on highlighting the creativity and richness of the Philadelphia community.

Activities such as yoga workshops, reiki sessions, and community African dancing allowed attendees to align their minds, bodies, and spirits, while food trucks, local DJs, and mural art installations celebrated Philadelphia’s diverse and creative spirit. The Alignment festival has grown into a cornerstone of community connection, joy, and wellness, fostering a culture of collaboration and empowerment that continues to make a lasting impact.

One of the most memorable highlights of the Alignment festival was the inclusion of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, which gave both kids and adults the chance to experience horseback riding in the heart of their city. This unique opportunity allowed attendees to connect with nature and animals in an urban setting while creating lasting memories.

Another major highlight was the inclusion of free medical support, offering essential services such as drug, STD, and pregnancy testing, making wellness more accessible for all attendees—compliments of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

Another defining moment was Ursula Rucker’s involvement, one of Philly’s top spoken word and recording artists and a veteran in the city’s creative community.

Ursula’s performance and artist writing workshop brought powerful energy and storytelling to the festival, further solidifying Alignment’s commitment to highlighting local talent and creative expression.

The Alignment festivals this year were especially complimented on the diversity of healers, artists, businesses, and performers, which created an enriching and inclusive environment that resonated deeply with attendees. The Alignment festival was not only an opportunity for personal wellness but also a celebration of the richness and vibrancy of the Philly community. The diverse attendance was a testament to Alignment’s welcoming, open spirit, drawing people from various backgrounds, ages, and experiences, all coming together in a shared pursuit of connection and well-being.

The weather was challenging, as a completely outdoor festival is always a wild card. While the unpredictability of rain presented some logistical obstacles, Taylor leaned into the unpredictability and embraced the rain as a Mother Nature gift feeding the produce and herbs grown on the land. It added a unique, grounding energy to the event, inviting attendees to slow down, connect with the earth and each other in areas with covering, and be present in the moment. The Alignment team was able to adapt with flexible layouts and contingency plans for all outdoor activities, ensuring that everything continued smoothly regardless of the weather.

Another challenge was ensuring proper community outreach and engagement to bring in attendees and provide meaningful opportunities for local nonprofits, vendors, and creatives to thrive. To overcome this, the Alignment team leaned heavily on collaboration and partnerships, working with neighboring organizations and leveraging social media platforms to amplify the festival’s message and attract resources. Despite these hurdles, the festival was a success thanks to careful planning, adaptability, strong communication, and Taylor’s dedication to remaining focused on creating connection, joy, and wellness in the North Philadelphia community.

In the next six months, Alignment is focused on laying the foundation of expansion for the 2025 festival. Taylor is actively applying for grants while seeking farms and outdoor urban spaces that can support the immersive experience Alignment aims to offer. The goal is to host the festival between July and September 2025, in land that will allow for even more expansive programming, including more extensive wellness workshops, more immersive art experiences, and opportunities for guests to connect with nature meaningfully. In addition to securing the location, Taylor is planning to continue building partnerships with local nonprofits, artists, and healers, while working to create new opportunities for smaller, intimate wellness gatherings throughout the year. As the festival grows, Taylor is focused on creating a more sustainable, accessible, and diverse experience for all participants. While the next six months will be a period of planning and partnership-building, Taylor is excited to turn our vision for Alignment into a reality in 2025, creating a “Day Retreat in Philly” that reflects her community’s values of connection, healing, and well-being.

A Year in Reflection

Taylor Nickens’ Knight Emerging City Champion project, the Alignment Festival, was a multidimensional wellness and arts experience rooted in Black joy, movement, healing, and community connection. Set in the vibrant outdoor space of Urban Creators in North Philadelphia, the festival welcomed community members of all ages and backgrounds to explore wellness through music, creativity, and nature.

The festival directly engaged more than 500 community members and provided free, immersive programming that included yoga, Afro-Caribbean dance, sound baths, live music, art installations, and local food vendors. Each activity reflected Taylor’s vision of making wellness and joy accessible and culturally resonant for her community.

Organizing a large-scale, community-centered event reaffirmed my belief that wellness and joy—especially when rooted in cultural traditions and collective care—are essential tools for building community.

One of the most powerful moments was witnessing children and adults riding horses through the neighborhood park in collaboration with the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club—a joyful and affirming reclaiming of space that captured the heart of the festival: healing in public, together. A collaborative art installation, where attendees painted large “ALIGNMENT” lawn letters, symbolized unity and creativity and is intended to return for future festivals.

Partnerships were central to the project’s success. Taylor worked with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Rise and Ritual, and numerous local vendors and artists to offer wellness and creative programming that reflected the richness of North Philadelphia. Beyond the day of the festival, the project’s impact continued through new collaborations, vendor opportunities, and sustained community engagement.

Challenges such as weather unpredictability and managing a large-scale vision with a small team tested the project’s flexibility. Taylor met these challenges through careful preparation, delegation, and adaptability—lessons that continue to inform her approach to event planning and community care.

Looking ahead, Taylor envisions expanding Alignment into a multi-day festival and year-round wellness programming that deepens its focus on creativity, connection, and collective healing. She also plans to link the festival to her new tea shop, Rise and Ritual, a space grounded in plant-based healing and ancestral practices. Together, these initiatives aim to sustain a culture of wellness and empowerment beyond the festival itself.

Events like Alignment fill a critical need—creating space for people to feel seen, celebrated, and supported through intentional, healing-centered experiences.

About Taylor Nickens

Taylor Nickens is a passionate herbalist, event curator, and wellness advocate with a deep-rooted connection to nature and holistic healing. Over the years, Taylor has dedicated herself to studying and working with plants as medicine, combining this knowledge with a love for intentional community-building and inspired by the power of preventative care and the harmony that tea and plants bring to our lives. Taylor has built a career around creating spaces where people can connect, heal, and thrive. Taylor’s journey has taken her across different landscapes, deepening her appreciation for the land and its gifts, which fuels her mission to share this wisdom with others. Whether it’s through hosting monthly wellness festivals, tea-blending workshops, or curated experiences, Taylor’s goal is to inspire others to align their lives with nature and embrace holistic well-being.

Follow Taylor @ taylornickens, @ taylornickensevents, @ urbancreators
Urban Creators Website
Rise and Ritual Website
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