An Experience of Community and Connection by Carina Caldarone

My connection with Pranafest began during a time of transition in my life. After 30 years in the film industry, I was starting a new chapter and training to become a yoga teacher with The Mindful Yoga School.

Around that time, I noticed a Pranafest pamphlet at my local studio, Bikram Yoga Sunshine Coast. Several students had attended the festival before and spoke about it with such warmth that it stayed with me. It wasn’t just what they said, but it was the energy behind it. (The prana!)

So in 2024, I decided to volunteer, simply to experience the festival from the inside.

From the moment I arrived, there was a feeling that’s hard to fully explain. Driving into the countryside beneath the Pranafest welcome sign, I was met with smiling faces at the front gate, guiding everyone where they needed to go. The organisation across the park was impressive, a real credit to the team.

Yoga sessions unfolded in open spaces, music drifted through the trees, and people gathered between workshops, sharing conversations and meals.
Art installations and spontaneous little moments of joy seemed to appear everywhere you looked. It felt less like an event and more like a gathering.

There was something special in the atmosphere; it was a shared energy moving through the whole space.

One moment that felt particularly meaningful was discovering that Erin Lee, the teacher guiding my own yoga journey, was also teaching at the festival.
Practising there in the open air felt like one of those quiet reminders that life sometimes moves in circles, bringing things back together in unexpected ways.

In 2025, I returned again, this time spending the weekend with my daughter. Experiencing the festival together made it even more special. We wandered through the grounds, explored the markets, watched performers bringing light and laughter to the crowd, and shared quiet moments around the fire as the sun set.
Meditation, music, and conversation floated through the air.

Looking back, what stays with me most is the feeling that Pranafest creates: a safe space where people of all ages and from many walks of life gather with a shared openness to wellbeing, learning, and connection.


P.S. When people ask what makes Pranafest so special, the answer for me is simple: the people. The energy they bring, the openness they carry, and the way that shared intention transforms the space into something quietly sacred.

Keep connected on the Pranafest Facebook and Instagram pages!

For more info, please visit: www.pranafest.com.au

To purchase tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/pranafest-2026/tickets