PRESS RELEASE FROM BHAKTI FEST

Joshua Tree, CA – Bhakti Fest, Southern California’s top yoga festival and North America’s largest gathering of Kirtan musicians, is pleased to announce two late breaking program additions along with recently added presenters.

The Peace Guardian kids program brings 50 kids to Bhakti Fest for a variety of programs and to enjoy the natural beauty of Joshua Tree. Peace Guardians educates youth who are low-income, homeless, autistic, and at-risk. They offer community outreach and mindfulness enrichment programs at no cost. Peace Guardians programs leave kids feeling empowered because they learn how to express themselves in an emotionally healthy way. In addition, they are educated on the benefits of organic food and healthy eating. The aim is to reduce stress, social anxiety, and juvenile delinquency and to improve school test results, neuroplasticity, metacognition and cognitive flexibility. Other benefits are increased hand-eye coordination and hemispheric integration.

This year, eight-year-old Cali DiCapo, Sunwarrior’s first female Child Ambassador will be speaking to the children, from mostly inner city neighborhoods in California, about the importance of illuminating mind, body, and planet. She will be accompanied by the Peace Guardians organization, After School All-Stars Los Angeles, and vegan chef and musical artist DJ Cavem. The program is sponsored by Sunwarrior, a growing health food company committed to making only the best plant-based foods, proteins and supplements. The company’s mission is to illuminate body, mind and planet.

Another exciting late edition to Bhakti Fest 2017 is the Jaganath Dome Experience. Presented by 360 Dome Pro, it is a fully immersive 360/VR dome venue featuring inspiring works of transformational art and wisdom inspired by ancient Vedic culture of India. The Dome will feature though provoking programing and content such as “Samskara” by renowned artist Android Jones (a visual artist for the Grateful Dead) and “Vedic Universe” as well as scenes from the legendary Indian epic poem The Mahabharata. There will also be thoughtful discussions and dialogs with the host and producer Swami Avadhut and special guests. The 360 Dome Pro experience has been a huge hit at recent festivals events on the west coast including Coachella, Burning Man, Lightning In a Bottle, and Symbiosis. Attendees will experience the next level of conscious elevation!

Other new additions to the Bhakti Fest lineup include yogis Carmen Curtis of Aireal Yoga, Jivamukti leader Jules Febre, and Hemelayaa Behl; Kirtan wallas Adam Bauer, Kirtan Soul Revival, and Mantras Con Amor; workshop leaders Sri Prem Baba, Jeffrey Armstrong, and the Kirtan Rabbi.

Bhaktis will feast on a variety of raw, vegan, and vegetarian food and beverage options. There is an extensive marketplace with eco-friendly, sustainable vendors who offer yoga gear, clothing, devotional art, musical instruments, CDs, crafts, jewelry, and more. Bhakti Fest’s own Bhakti Shoppe will feature highly sought-after items from the bazaars of India.

The Joshua Tree Retreat Center offers the perfect setting for inner reflection and spiritual reconnection, with its natural high desert beauty. Accommodations onsite still available include glamping, camping, and RV parking. This year we have added 12 RV trailers, with a/c, electricity, and full amenities inside, for rent for groups of two to six people. This addition will bring a sweet new dimension to our housing offerings on site. There are also several hotels within a few miles of the retreat center that offer discounts for attendees. Info on lodging is available here.

With a world-class lineup of musicians and yoga instructors, more than 60 conscious workshops, and 100 artisan vendors, Bhakti Fest offers the most heart-opening, consciousness-raising experience of any festival on the scene today. Attendees describe the festival as “being immersed in the greatest conscious party you have ever experienced, filled with music, yoga, dancing, love, light, and heart centered community.”

Tickets for Bhakti Fest West 2017 are available here. The non-profit festival donates a percentage of its funds to charities and other nonprofit groups that provide food, education, and environmental beautification programs around the world. These include Food for Life Vrindavan, Love Serve Remember Foundation, Ramana’s Garden, and the Seva Foundation.

Bhakti Fest would not be possible without the generous support of their sponsors. This year Bhakti Fest welcomes these conscious partners into the fold; Organic India, Ancient Organics, Health-Ade Kombucha, Qure Water, Desert Essence, Divinitree, Fermalife, Larva Designs, Mandala Publishing, Mantralogy, Solti Juice, White Swan Records, Yoga Alliance, and Banyan Botanicals.

For more information please see bhaktifest.com.