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2023 Lotus Festival to feature international artists, dance hall

By Isabella Vesperini

Posted September 20, 2023

The Lotus in the Park event will have an art camp geared more towards kids, local food trucks, outdoor performances and a merchandise tent. (Devan Ridgway, WFIU/WTIU)

The 30^thannual Lotus World Music & Arts Festival will have performances from over 20 international artists, including French band San Salvador, Haitian group RAM, Latin rock band Making Movies and more.

Katarina Koch, Lotus executive director, said her team started recruiting artists for the five-day festival in the spring. They were looking for artists that were already on tour and wanting to get global exposure. The festival is considered to be renowned in the world music community.

“We have been throughout these last 30 years, a place where artists and musicians have been able to make their break here,” Koch said. “They've gone on to do incredible things in their careers after coming to the Lotus Festival.”

Koch said she is especially excited for the new dance hall, which will be held at the John Waldron Arts Center. There will be 15-minute instructional dance sessions before each band starts their set, ranging from salsa to Irish and folk music dances.

“I think that music and art build community in a way that really is exciting, and it's celebratory and full of joy,” Koch said. “That's really what we want to be experiencing as people living together is laughter and fun and vibrant energy from our community.”

Koch said the Lotus in the Park event will have an art camp geared more towards kids, local food trucks, outdoor performances and a merchandise tent. The Fourth Street Stage will feature local artists and acoustic international artists every evening of the festival. There will also be yoga sessions at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts.

“We love to see young people coming out enjoying the music, having a good time with their friends and being able to just enjoy the vibrancy of the downtown life throughout the whole weekend,” Koch said.

Koch said the festival is run heavily on volunteers; almost 250 volunteers have helped with this year’s festival so far. The festival receives over $150,000 in ticket sales to help fund future festivals; the rest of the money comes from donations, sponsors and grants.

Koch said over 12,000 people used to attend the festival prior to the pandemic. Even though fewer people have attended following the pandemic, she hopes to welcome over 5,000 people this year.

“The Lotus World Music Festival is only here in Bloomington, Indiana,” Koch said. “We are really proud to be the largest World Music Festival in the Midwest.”

The festival will run September 28 through October 1. Tickets can be purchased on the Lotus website, with discounts for students and seniors.