A music festival will debut this weekend, offering concerts and activities — and an important purpose behind it all.

The Bright Music Festival, held Sunday at McCook Point Park in Niantic, addresses the issue of suicide among young people. So, in addition to bands performing and masseuses giving massages and yoga teachers leading sessions, information will be available about community resources that can help with mental wellness.

The idea is to, as festival information notes, to “de-stigmatize the conversation around mental health in a comfortable, safe and relaxed environment.”

Ann Schenk, a Bright Music Festival organizer, says it’s not going to be pedantic. It’s about spending a couple of hours at a beautiful setting, listening to music and having fun — and, along the way, having the door open to a direct conversation about the subject.

Schenk says, “The idea for the festival came from a collective sense of loss of youth in the region. Many of us had been touched by suicide among the young people in our region.”

The core group putting together the festival consists of parents — particularly mothers — from the region. They all had a connection to Stirling Danskin, a Waterford High School graduated who died by suicide in 2012. They christened the festival Bright Music because Stirling, who was a musician studying music production and promotion at the University of New Haven, was such a bright force, Schenk says.

With the festival, she says, “We have a goal and a wish to reach out particularly to the youth in the region just to let them know this is a caring community, we are here for them, there are resources available for them, they don’t have to be hurting, it’s okay to get help. And (we want) to start a conversation about that and offer some information about things that can help with increased coping skills and even with professional resources that are available for school-age, college-age (people) and anyone in our community.”

The organizers have been working since January on the project and were inspired by a similar festival in Vermont called The Spreading Light Music Festival.

Schenk says that two foundations have been particularly helpful — the Jordan Porco Foundation and the Brian T. Dagle Foundation. The former is a Hartford-based group whose mission is to prevent suicide among high school- and college-aged people; it is named for Jordan Matthew Porco, who committed suicide in 2011. The latter is named for East Lyme High School graduate Brian Dagle, who died by suicide in 2011. The foundation was created by his family and aims to offer “healing, hope and support to anyone who is suffering from a loss in life.”

Proceeds from the Bright Music Festival will be donated to these two organizations.

“You talk to most anyone ... and you find somebody has a personal connection — if you have lost a friend, lost a loved one or had their own mental health issue who are going to present and offer their services and donate their services care about the issue,” Schenk says.

The bands chosen for the fest boast diverse styles and are headed by young people from the region. The musicians tend to be in their 20s. On the bill are The Faceless Thursday, led by East Lyme High School graduate Noah Feldman and a group of his friends. The members of The Friendly Ghost are all Waterford High School alums, and Llama Tsunami is mostly Montville High School grads, Schenk says. Joining in, too, will be DRK electronica DJ group from New Haven.

The festival boasts activities, too, including short yoga sessions from Mystic Yoga Shala and Blissworks. Gary Gootnick from Earth & Sky: Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork will offer chair massages. Jana Flaherty from Blissworks will do foot reflexology. Jamila Henna Creations will create henna tattoos.

Among the booths are those featuring service groups; “Love Is Louder,” where visitors can write on a poster what can overcome pain caused by things like depression and loneliness; and a “9 Out Of 10” wall, where people can sign pledges to step up to help someone who is contemplating suicide.

The Bright Music Festival is co-sponsored by East Lyme Parks and Recreation.

The Bright Music Festival, 2-5 p.m. Sunday, McCook’s Point Park, Atlantic Street, Niantic; rain or shine; $5 donation suggested donation; brightmusicfestival.org.