Balispirit Festival

The BaliSpirit Festival has evolved into South East Asia's most popular Yoga, dance, and world music festival
. The annual event now takes part over five days and four nights and involves a series of daytime workshops and master classes and nighttime concerts held at two venues: the Bali Purnati Center for the Arts in Batuan, Bali, Indonesia and the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA) in Ubud, Bali. The next festival will be held from March 28 - April 1, 2012.
In 2011, the Festival attracted an international audience of roughly 6,000 guests, with over 100 presenters from 47 countries
. The highest single attendance of over 2,000 guests was estimated at the ARMA One World Stage on March 26, 2011
.
Founders and history
The BaliSpirit Festival was founded by Meghan Pappenheim, I Made Gunarta and Robert Weber, all of whom remain actively involved with the Festival’s planning and execution.
Now in its fifth year of operation, the Festival has every year grown considerably in size, popularity and patronage
. Most recently, the event has featured a wide variety of activities and services on offer such as: providing a stage for Balinese and Indonesian culture and talent, an eco-inspired marketplace (Dharma Fair), a range of organic food options, a day dedicated to family entertainment (Hari Cinta Keluarga), space for NGO presentations, a gratitude garden, and an official festival charity initiative (Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV/AIDS)
.
In 2011, the festival presented a special symposium to share views on yoga as a culture of service
, and held daily press conferences featuring both Bahasa Indonesian and English speakers
.
The first four day festival was held after Nyepi in 2008, which is an important part of the Balinese calendar. But the Festival’s rapid growth since and its new status as one of the regions largest promotions requires the use of two venues.
Message and vision
The BaliSpirit Festival was founded on the principals of developing positive human potential and conscious living. The goals of the organizers are to promote education, build community and provide enlivening entertainment, among others. The Festival champions Indonesian and Balinese talents as well as those of international presenters.
Featured guests and presenters
The BaliSpirit Festival will have attracted hundreds of presenters from all over the world by its fifth anniversary in 2012. Some of the most renowned include international Yoga masters Shiva Rea, Danny Paradise, and Mark Whitwel, and musicians Michael Franti, Ayu Laksmi and Afro Moses.
Community action
Two of the Festival’s three founders (Pappenheim and Gunarta), who are also the founders of the BaliSpirit Group, are staunch advocates of providing support for Balinese communities in need. The BaliSpirit Group largely through its Festival actions, has contributed $55,000 to various non-profit causes including a natural birthing clinic Bumi Sehat) and the Pelangi School
.
In 2010, the BaliSpirit Festival launched the Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV/AIDS (Let’s Talk About HIV/AIDS) outreach initiative, which will have reached 26 schools by the end of 2011. This program has raised awareness among hundreds of school aged children about the growing threat of HIV/AIDS in Bali, where infection rates are increasing rapidly. It has also provided a safe environment for sex education and open discussions to reverse the social stigma of HIV infections in Balinese communities
.
In the Summer of 2011, the BaliSpirit Festival started a new environmental restoration partnership with the Environmental Bamboo Foundation and the East Bali Poverty Project in an effort to reforest and revitalize the devastated economy of the Desa Ban region of East Bali
.
Sponsorship
As with many festivals in Bali, the BaliSpirit Festival is partly supported by government officials, sponsored by international embassies and a few private organizations. However it is mostly financed by its founders.
In 2011, several members of the diplomatic community attended the Festival and the Gov. of Bali gave an opening address in support of the Festival’s principals of diversity, environmentalism, and universality
. The BaliSpirit festival has been the biggest festival in indonesia since it was founded.
Summaries
“The BaliSpirit Festival is a leader among a new generation of festivals for the rapidly growing holistic travel marketplace. Combining over 100 yoga, dance and music workshops with nightly world music concerts, this annual event provides a platform of inspiration and the opportunity to affect positive change at the personal and community level." (summary cited from 2011 promotional materials)
"Balispirit Festival strives to further encourage the global spirit of learning and collaboration through a celebration of the world’s creative and spiritual diversity. Balinese and other Indonesian maestros will collaborate with their global counterparts in our 2009 comprehensive Festival workshop and performance program." (summary cited from 2009 press promotion)

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