About Us
Our Story
The Wellness Connected Festival is a community-driven celebration of healing, connection, and personal growth. Founded in Big Bear Lake, California, our festival was created with a simple vision: to bring together people from all walks of life in a welcoming space where they can explore holistic wellness, discover new perspectives, and reconnect with themselves and one another.
Now celebrating our 6th Annual Wellness Connected Festival, we've grown from a small grassroots gathering into a vibrant two-day experience featuring wellness workshops, holistic practitioners, inspiring speakers, artisans, music, movement, and meaningful community connection. While our festival continues to evolve each year, our purpose remains the same—to create opportunities for healing, education, and authentic human connection.
Our Mission
Our mission is to cultivate a heart-centered community where healing, education, and collaboration thrive. We bring together local and visiting healers, practitioners, educators, artists, and wellness professionals who generously share their knowledge, experience, and unique gifts.
Through interactive workshops, holistic services, music, movement, and shared experiences, we encourage each person to nurture their mind, body, and spirit while fostering compassion, connection, and well-being within our community.
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Our Vision
We believe that meaningful change begins within each individual and expands outward into our families, communities, and the world. By creating spaces that inspire learning, self-discovery, and genuine connection, we hope to contribute to a more compassionate, conscious, and connected future.
Whether you're taking your first steps on your wellness journey or have been walking this path for years, we invite you to join us in celebrating healing, community, and the transformative power of coming together and raising the vibration of collective consciousness for the greater good. The Wellness Connected Festival is more than an annual event-it is a reflection of a shared vision to create spaces where healing, connection, education, and community come together. Join us in shifting the collective consciousness towards a New Earth filled with love, beauty, and spiritual connection.
We invite you to learn more about the inspiration behind the festival by meeting our Host and Organizer.
About Host and Organizer
Selia Jimenez: A Journey of Healing and Community
My name is Selia Jimenez, and I am the Owner and Operator of Soothing Canna Massage & Wellness, nestled in the beautiful mountain community of Big Bear Lake, California. As a California State Certified Massage Therapist with over 20 years of experience and a proud member of the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, I have dedicated my career to nurturing the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of those I serve. Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working at renowned wellness destinations, including Glen Ivy Hot Springs, The Viceroy Palm Springs, and The Parker Palm Springs, experiences that have shaped my passion for holistic healing.
My journey has not been without its challenges. For many years, I struggled with addiction, living a life that had become unmanageable. I reached a point where I knew I had to make a choice—to change my life or risk losing it. During my recovery from opioid addiction, I discovered the healing potential of cannabis through mindful micro-dosing. That experience transformed my life and inspired me to learn everything I could about this ancient plant medicine. Through education and personal experience, I developed a deep understanding of different cannabis strains, methods of consumption, and the role plant medicine can play in supporting healing and spiritual connection.
In early 2017, my journey took another unexpected turn when I was involved in a serious car accident that left me with debilitating pain and seizures caused by prescribed pain medications. After experiencing the devastating side effects of those medications, I sought alternative approaches to healing and discovered the benefits of CBD and THC topicals. The relief I experienced was profound and inspired me to begin creating my own cannabis-infused products. That chapter of my life strengthened my commitment to helping others explore natural options for pain relief and wellness while remaining deeply connected to the healing power of plant medicine.
As the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, it is one of my greatest honors to serve as a Community Care Provider for our nation's veterans. Supporting those who have served—especially individuals living with chronic pain, service-related injuries, and the lasting effects of military service—has become one of the most meaningful parts of my practice. By integrating therapeutic massage with cannabis-based treatments and holistic wellness approaches, I strive to provide compassionate, individualized care that helps improve quality of life and supports each veteran's healing journey.
Today, I am devoted to helping others discover natural pain relief and holistic healing in the beautiful setting of Big Bear Lake. My passion for community wellness led me to take over the Wellness Connected Fair, where I discovered my love for bringing people together in a celebratory, festival-style atmosphere. That passion evolved into the Wellness Connected Festival, which I now proudly host and organize. My vision is to create a welcoming space where healers, artists, educators, and community members can share their gifts, explore diverse healing modalities, and strengthen the connection between mind, body, and spirit.
I believe healing is about so much more than relieving physical pain. It is about restoring hope, creating meaningful connections, and empowering people to rediscover their own inner strength. My own experiences have taught me that some of life's greatest challenges can become our greatest purpose. Whether I am working one-on-one with a client, serving our veterans, or bringing our community together through the Wellness Connected Festival, my mission is to help others feel seen, supported, and inspired on their own path toward healing and wellness.
