The BC Brain Wellness Program is excited to be collaborating with the University Neighbourhood Association to bring you the Soup + Social Series. This Fall series offers a monthly opportunity for participants to broaden their nutrition knowledge, connect with peers and cultivate friendships over a bowl of warm soup.

Calling all creatives to join us for a drop-in style, in-person workshop! You are welcome to come anytime during the workshop time.

This dance class has been called Think Feel Dance in the past, but the class is about a river that flows through each of us. Please join us as we follow and strengthen the currents of our imagination to discover possibility and joyful creation in movement.

Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s street portraits and interviews in Humans of New York, Stories Across Time brings together people of different generations, cultures, and experiences to capture everyday life through storytelling. 

Celebrate the autumn harvest with seasonal cooking in our interactive virtual cook-along! Join our BC BWP registered dietitians, Yolanda Wang and Raihan Hassen, along with dietetics student Diana Bratu, as they each share a unique, seasonal recipe featuring autumn’s star ingredient - apples - showcasing the versatility of seasonal produce in the kitchen.

BCBWP is partnering with UBC's Women Empowerment Club to create a collaborative, intergenerational event, that will run as our typical Art from the Heart classes go, but with a twist - half of the class will be young women studying at UBC! Participants will create their art based on a prompt, and then be given the chance to have an intergenerational dialogue with other participants about their own artwork. It's the perfect opportunity to blend creativity, community building and women empowerment for people of all ages! Open to all self-identifying women or gender diverse people. 

Celebrate the beauty of autumn in this nature-inspired art workshop. In Traces of Fall, artist Sabine Fedder will guide you through creating a painted study of a single fallen leaf chosen by you. 

You are encouraged to find a fallen leaf outdoors that catches your eye, whether through its shape, colour, texture, or even its imperfections.

Join us for an exciting presentation with Dr. Deanna Gibson on the gut microbiome and its role in health. Come to learn how the gut microbiome influences inflammation and brain health, and the impact of diet and live biotherapeutics like probiotics, to support a healthier gut!

Join us for an in-person Improv for Brain Health workshop, to connect, exercise your brain and share some laughs! Through fun games and exercises, participants will learn improv skills and explore how they can be applied to life and foster wellness. No improv experience required, everyone is welcome! 

Join the BC Brain Wellness Program for our annual hybrid World Brain Day celebration! This year’s event will explore the interconnections between the mind, well-being, and resilience throughout life, especially as we head into older age. Enjoy an engaging session of presentations and activities with Dr. Julia Henderson, Sandra Tjoa, Mady Mooney, and Cynthia Friesen!

Join us for an engaging presentation on older adult mental health with Dr. Nelly Oelke! She will share her work on fostering mental health conversations among older adults, healthcare providers, and care partners.

Join us for a rejuvenating Forest Bathing Connection Walk , where you'll immerse yourself in the tranquility of nature while fostering a deeper connection with yourself and others. This mindful walk encourages presence and reflection, allowing you to fully experience the sights, sounds, and scents of the forest.

Join us for an exciting presentation with Dr. Amrit Dhariwal and Dr. Andrea Chapman on somatization - when emotional or psychological distress/factors manifests as physical symptoms. Learn how the mind and body interact in this process and discover valuable community resources that can support individuals experiencing somatization.

Join us for a VanDusen Garden fieldtrip where our Gardening and Cooking instructor, Joanna Wilke, will guide you through the beautiful gardens featuring seasonal highlight such as the Laburnum Walk. We will split into a few groups to enjoy the walk through the garden based on mobility and walking speed preference to tour the garden. At around noon, we will have a picnic lunch break by the Maze area, so please bring your packed lunch to enjoy with the group.

Join us for an engaging Wellness Wednesday talk with Dr. Joanie Sims Gould and Dr. Joanna Pozzulo, as they explore how engaging in activities with others can unlock new levels of well-being through the power of connection and community. 

Come join us for an in-person guided tour of the Nitobe Memorial Garden, one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan. Carefully cultivated to provide year-round beauty, the garden is especially photogenic in spring and fall when colourful cherry blossoms and maple leaves brighten the tranquil pathways.

Join the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre and the Movement Disorders Clinic on April 9, 2025 to celebrate Parkinson’s Awareness Month!

Join us for our April Wellness Wednesday with Dr. Ingrid Jarvis! The talk will explore how urban green spaces – like parks, gardens, and trees – support human health and well-being, with a focus on aging. We will discuss theories behind nature-health connections, existing evidence, and how this knowledge can help create healthier communities. 

Come join us for an art session that will let you use colour, shape and imagery to express what is meaningful to you. Discover how the creative process can foster healing and mental well-being. No artskills required. 

Seats are limited! We encourage you to bring their own supplies, but we will have some supplies available for people to borrow. If you intend to borrow, you will need to fill out the supply borrow form on the website. Light snacks will be provided at the end.

Join us for an in-person Improv for Brain Health workshop, to connect, exercise your brain and share some laughs! Through fun games and exercises, participants will learn improv skills and explore how they can be applied to life and foster wellness. No improv experience required, everyone is welcome! 

The use of online technologies, such as texting and social media, to connect with others has become a ubiquitous part of daily life.  In this upcoming research seminar series talk, Dr. Holtzman will review the latest evidence investigating the potential benefits and pitfalls of seeking support and connection online.  Particular attention will be given to research on aging populations and those living with chronic illness, such as chronic pain. 

Joani Bye will guide participants through a 90 minute capsule of what SongShine* has to offer. We’ll use relaxation techniques, breath exercises, diction work, imagination stimulation, laughter and great songs to help harness the power of the voice, both speaking and singing! Sound like fun? It is! Everyone is welcome, so come join us! Light snacks will be provided.

As the New Year approaches, many of us feel the pull to set resolutions for a fresh start, especially in the context of our well-being and health. But how often do those ambitious goals fade by February? In this upcoming Wellness Wednesday, Dr. Lutes will be talking about how small, relative behaviour changes lead to more sustainable lifestyle changes in the context of New Years resolutions. To end off, there will be a reflective engagement activity that will encourage you to think about your own goals and resolutions as we kickstart 2025! 

Come join us for an interactive music workshop with Cynthia Friesen! In this season of hope, come play with melodic, rhythmic joy! We will come together in breath, movement and vocal sounds, preparing our voices to rise up and awaken memories as we sing some treasured festive songs.

Across the globe, individuals are living longer, but not necessarily healthier. Top identified burdens of disease and early mortality include a wide variety of health conditions, with mental health disorders ranking near the top of the list. While genetics and biological factors no doubt impact mental health, so do stressful life experiences and health behaviours.

In this session, we will share our lab’s research on the role of psychological factors and health behaviours in cognitive health. We use naturalistic methods in our work – including wearable health monitors, saliva sampling, and mobile surveys — to track health, well-being, and experiences as they unfold in real-time. Our research has revealed reciprocal relationships between sleep and stress in daily life, in addition to links between stressors and fluctuations in everyday cognitive functioning.

Join us on November 16 for a FREE screening of the award-winning documentary “Capturing Grace,” which follows individuals with Parkinson’s as they prepare to stage a first-ever dance performance. Through determination, adversity, and contending with doubt, the film highlights the transformative power of art and the strength of the human spirit.

Come join us for an art session that will let you use colour, shape and imagery to express what is meaningful to you. Discover how the creative process can foster healing and mental well-being. No artskills required. 

Seats are limited! We encourage you to bring their own supplies, but we will have some supplies available for people to borrow. If you intend to borrow, you will need to fill out the supply borrow form on the website. Light snacks will be provided at the end.

Join the BC Brain Wellness Program and our community partner, Music on Main, at this in-person workshop. This participatory intergenerational event draws upon our collective voices coming together in a single space. Through breath and song, we will playfully explore a variety of vocal expressions. When we create vocal music together, we learn to listen and express our voices with care for ourselves and one another.