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Goop is throwing a daylong wellness symposium in Stanley Park this October

By David Kitai /

This is very on-brand, Vancouver

It’s with a profound sense of ‘took you long enough’ that we learned the gold standard of “wellness” living, Goop, is putting on a day-long “in goop health” symposium at Stanley Park this October. Goop is Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness magazine turned quarter-billion dollar lifestyle enterprise. It might be the subject of a few quality parodies and the occasional Truth in Advertising claim, but it’s also pretty on-brand for Vancouver living. Alternative medicines, chakra-based dieting, a liberal use of the term ‘detox,’ reading Goop is basically taking a walk through Kits. The symposium promises to be a more intimate affair than events in NYC or LA. The day includes three talks featuring doctors, entrepreneurs, and scientists as well as “boundary-pushing celebrities.” There’s also a retail hall and three wellness workshops for mind, body, and beauty. Local restaurants, producers, and food vendors have been enlisted to cater the symposium. Speakers have yet to be announced, but past symposia have featured the likes of Chelsea Handler and Lake Bell talking with therapists, dieticians, and marijuana specialists. We’re not sure if GP—apparently that’s Goop for Gwyneth Paltrow—will make an appearance, but Goop’s chief content officer Elise Loehnen will be playing host. Vancouver has been absolutely crushing it on the wellness game for a while now, and Goop has taken some notice. In the Vancouver Sun, Loehnen said that was why they decided to host the symposium here. “Vancouver is ahead of the curve, for Canada, but also for North America, in terms of the way people live. Vancouver is, in a way, the poster child for what we’re trying to build.” Sure, the cynical amongst us can mock wellness living, but it’s something this city does well. If a multinational wellness brand wants to call Vancouver home for a day, why not sign up for a workshop, smear on a little glacial clay detox cream, and see what all the fuss is about?

In Goop Health Vancouver will be held at the Stanley Park Pavilion on October 27.More info and tickets here.