On the morning of Sunday, June 21, 2026, Yoga in the Park returned to The Park at Harlinsdale Farm, turning the lawn near the restored Hayes House Museum and Event Venue into an outdoor space for yoga, wellness, and community support.
The annual Franklin event brought together yoga teachers, wellness leaders, small businesses, families, children, and foster animals in celebration of International Day of Yoga, while also raising awareness for Ellie G’s Dream World.
With 300 people registered this year, Yoga in the Park reflected the steady growth of a Franklin tradition that began as a smaller outdoor gathering and has continued to expand over the years.
The 2026 event included meditation, a sampler-style yoga class, breathwork, restorative movement, a sound bath, food and coffee vendors, wellness booths, a Kids Zone, merchandise, and opportunities to support Ellie G’s Dream World, Franklin’s first inclusive playground.
Hosted by Yoga in the Park IDY, Be Well Mel, and Friends of Franklin Parks, with support from the City of Franklin Parks Department, the event brought together sponsors and vendors, including Vui’s Kitchen, Kendra Scott, Pink Cloud Coffee, Robin Barnes Sound-Healing, Ground Floor Yoga, Twine Graphics, and Gals Off the Grid.
A Franklin Celebration of International Day of Yoga
International Day of Yoga is observed globally on June 21, bringing attention to the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of yoga. In Franklin, the day has become more than a yoga class. It is a local wellness event rooted in nature, movement, and time spent together.
Melissa Mooney-Lopez, founder of Be Well Mel, serves as the Lead Ambassador for Yoga in the Park and has helped shape it into the event it is today. A certified integrative nutrition health coach and yoga and meditation teacher, Mooney-Lopez works with clients on stress, nutrition, and holistic well-being, a background that connects naturally to the event’s focus. She described the purpose of the morning as both local and global, with Friends of Franklin Parks and Ellie G’s Dream World at the center of the giving-back component.
“Yoga in the Park is a celebration of International Day of Yoga,” she said. “Friends of Franklin Parks is our host, and because they do this beautiful event and give us the space, we love to give back to them.”
Mooney-Lopez said the event’s purpose has remained consistent even as it has grown.
“We just love bringing the whole community together for wellness and yoga and to celebrate International Day of Yoga, which is a global movement, and to help raise awareness for the many benefits of yoga,” she said. “Physical, mental, connecting people in community — you have this loneliness epidemic and disconnection epidemic. So really just trying to bring people together, bring people into nature, getting them off their devices, and into the parks.”
How Yoga in the Park Has Grown
Yoga in the Park began as a much smaller outdoor gathering, rooted in a simple idea: bring people together in Franklin to celebrate International Day of Yoga outdoors.
Jason Collins, former owner of the I Love Juice Bar in downtown Franklin, was there with a yoga mat as an attendee, but his connection to the event goes back to its earliest days. He said the idea began when he and Torrey Barnhill, Executive Director of Friends of Franklin Parks, talked about holding a yoga event in the park in honor of International Day of Yoga.
“When I started, we had like 10, 20 people,” Collins said. “Melissa has made it as great as it is today.”
After eight years, Yoga in the Park has become a familiar part of Franklin’s summer calendar. Mooney-Lopez said it has changed over time, from earlier gatherings that included hundreds of attendees and even goat yoga to the larger event seen at Harlinsdale today.
“Every year, it ticks up,” Mooney-Lopez said. “We were getting close to 100, and then we had 100, and now we’ve got 300 people registered.”
Collins said his role today is one of support. He still helps when needed, but he also gets to enjoy the event as part of the tradition it helped create.
“Now I’m just a supportive person that’s able to enjoy the park,” he said. “This is such a good family event.”
The Mind-Body Benefits Behind the Morning
Before the yoga practice began, attendees heard from John Mabry, a speaker and life coach whose work focuses on connection, recovery, and wellness. Mabry shared a personal story about trauma, loss, addiction, and the role supportive spaces have played in his healing.
“Yoga has been one of those for me,” he said, referring to the practices and support systems that helped him rebuild. “This is a way that you get put back together, one breath at a time, one class at a time, one community at a time.”
His remarks set the tone for the morning, reminding attendees that yoga is not only about physical movement, but also about being seen and supported.
Mooney-Lopez echoed that message as she spoke to the crowd before leading the opening meditation.
“I hear that story all the time: yoga saved my life, community saved my life,” she said. “Yoga put me back together in ways that I never knew that I needed to get put back together.”
She also connected the Franklin gathering to the larger purpose of International Day of Yoga.
“All over the world, in parks, in open spaces, in studios, maybe in just somebody by themselves in their home, people are coming together globally,” she said.
Wellness, Small Businesses, and Community Booths
A key part of Yoga in the Park is the way it brings local small businesses and wellness leaders together in one place. Booths and vendors gave attendees a chance to meet local business owners, learn about services, grab coffee or food, and support Franklin-area organizations.
Mooney-Lopez said that support for small businesses is one of the goals of the event.
“We really want to bring small businesses,” she said. “That is such a thread in this whole event — community and connection. We’ve got this beautiful park, and it’s the jewel of it all, bringing us all together.”
Among the vendors was CoreLife Eatery, represented by Kelsey Searles and her daughter, Quinn. Searles and her husband, Scott, own the Franklin location as well as a CoreLife Eatery in Murfreesboro. In addition to operating the restaurant, Searles is also a personal trainer, fitness instructor, yoga instructor, and alignment practitioner, which made the event a natural fit.
“We just came out to support Franklin,” Searles said. “We live here. It’s our community. Obviously, I’m a yoga instructor, and I love this. Today, we’ve got some snacks and stuff for people if they want, but really, it’s just about supporting the community and getting out and meeting people.”
Kids Zone, Puppies, and Family-Friendly Activities
Yoga in the Park also included a Kids Zone, giving families another reason to spend the morning at Harlinsdale. Activities included yoga, games, arts and crafts, and a visit with foster dogs and puppies from Rubies and Rogues.
Rubies and Rogues, a community organization focused on animal rescue and support for local families, brought the animals to the event as part of its work.
“We help families and animals,” Mary Selvidge, co-founder of Rubies and Rogues, said. “We help families that are going through hardships, and we work to bridge that gap. And then, of course, we do rescue.”
The organization’s connection to the yoga community began before this event. Mary said Rubies and Rogues has been doing puppy yoga in some form for more than a year, including monthly events that helped connect the organization with Be Well Mel.
“We use yoga because it’s a contained environment for our very young litters when they’re coming up for adoption,” she said. “They get out and work on socialization.”
For families visiting the Kids Zone, the Rubies and Rogues animals added another interactive element to the morning.
Image: Friends of Franklin Parks
Friends of Franklin Parks and Ellie G’s Dream World
Friends of Franklin Parks used the event to share more about its work, encourage attendees to get involved, and raise awareness for Ellie G’s Dream World, Franklin’s first inclusive playground. Sponsorships, vendor participation, merchandise sales, and donations from Yoga in the Park supported the project.
The playground is planned for the new Pearlene M. Bransford Complex, known as The Pearl, and is currently in development. Friends of Franklin Parks is helping fund the project in partnership with the City of Franklin, with community donations and event support playing an important role in the fundraising effort.
Katie Murphy, Communications and Outreach Manager for Friends of Franklin Parks, said the project is designed so children and adults of all abilities can use the playground equipment.
“It’s going to be really important for all members of the community, and everybody can benefit from it,” Murphy said.
Ellie G’s Dream World is named in memory of Elliott Grace, whose story has helped inspire a playground designed around inclusion, access, and shared play. Murphy said events like Yoga in the Park help bring more awareness to the project as fundraising continues.
“Now we can do more grassroots funding for this, so Yoga in the Park is great,” Murphy said. “We’ve had a great partnership with them, so we’re lucky to still be a part of this.”
Murphy also pointed to Friends of Franklin Parks’ 15-year history and its partnership with the City of Franklin Parks Department.
“We could not have the parks that we have without them,” she said.
For those who were not able to attend Yoga in the Park, donations can be made through Friends of Franklin Parks, where supporters can learn more about the playground, the fundraising campaign, and the story behind the project. Murphy said one of the most helpful things people can do is spread the word.
“The best way that people can support it is just kind of spreading the word,” she said. “And then, obviously, once it gets finished, go and enjoy it.”
A Morning of Movement, Mindfulness, and Purpose
At its center, Yoga in the Park remained what it was created to be: a gathering built around yoga, mindfulness, and time spent outdoors. The morning gave attendees a chance to slow down, move, breathe, and take part in a global celebration of International Day of Yoga.
The event also carried a local purpose through its support of Ellie G’s Dream World. By raising awareness for the project, the day connected Franklin’s wellness community with a future public space focused on access, belonging, and shared play.
For Mooney-Lopez, that is the heart of the event.
“We love bringing the whole community together,” she said.
At Harlinsdale, that spirit showed up in simple ways: neighbors rolling out mats together, families spending the morning outside, local businesses meeting new faces, and a community rallying around a playground designed for children of all abilities.
