About the Lotus Education & Arts Foundation

Lotus is...
a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Bloomington, Indiana (est. 1994). Its mission is: To create opportunities to experience, celebrate, and explore the diversity of the world's cultures, in music and the arts. Lotus presents the annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival in the fall, Lotus Blossoms education outreach in the spring, its annual benefit events Edible Lotus and Summer Night of Lotus, and occasional concerts.

> Lotus is named partly in honor of Orange County, Indiana musician Quinten Lotus Dickey (1911-1989). More about him here...

> Staff & Board lists here...

> For more information on the Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, read Bringing the World to Our Neighborhood: The Lotus World Music & Arts Festival (Indiana University Press).

> Lotus artist archive - who's been to Lotus (Festival and other events, and when).

Some Lotus History Highlights

1994 • First Lotus World Music & Arts Festival draws 900 people to downtown Blomington for one evening of world folk music.

1995 • The Festival grows to 3 days and is mentioned on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The Lotus Education & Arts Foundation (LEAF) is formed. The Lotus World Music and Arts Festival wins a Promotion Award from the Commission for Downtown Bloomington.

1996 • First Lotus Festival Children’s Bazaar (held during the festival), produced in collaboration with area teachers and Indiana University studies centers, with arts and crafts, live performances, and presentations on world cultures.

1998 • The Festival grows into a 5-day event, with an attendance of approximately 9,000. “Friends of Lotus” donor campaign introduced.

2000 • First Edible Lotus benefit dinner, with international cuisine from area restaurants. Lotus Festival features artists from 18 countries. Family Day entertains and educates more than 600 people, the Bloomington Herald-Times provides day-by-day coverage, and the Convention & Visitors Bureau reports that the Festival generated an economic impact of more than $70,000. Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez invites Lotus to participate in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Management Project.

2001 • The first annual Lotus Blossoms Educational Outreach Program presents workshops and performances in 9 local elementary schools. The Lotus Festival goes ahead as a celebration of diversity and cultural tolerance, just after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington D.C. The Lotus Foundation receives an Indiana Governor’s Arts Award presented by Governor Frank O’Bannon.

2002 • Lotus Blossoms presents artists from 4 countries in area schools and on the IU campus. People from over 20 states visit Bloomington for the Lotus Festival. The Lotus Foundation receives a Community Enhancement Award from the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

2003 • 10th annual Lotus Festival draws record crowds; first Festival Processions and open-air stages. Lotus Volunteers receive a Herald-Times Volunteer “Hearts and Hands” Award for volunteer engagement. Lotus is awarded a Business Investment Incentive Grant by the City of Bloomington to support the professional presentation of the Festival. The Festival receives an award as Best Festival from the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

2004 • Lotus Blossoms tours to 14 schools across 4 counties. Edible Lotus raises $15,000. The Lotus Foundation is presented with an Arts & Cultural Organization Leadership Award from the Bloomington Area Arts Council.
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2005 • Lotus Blossoms in 19 schools / 5 counties, for 8,000+ students; Adopt-a-School donor program launched. First Summer Night of Lotus launches the festival season. The Festival introduces Lotus in the Park, a day of free performances, workshops, and arts activities that attracts 1,000+. First collectible Lotus Pin. The Lotus Foundation receives a “Business of the Arts” grant from the City of Bloomington supporting free Lotus in the Park programming during the Festival.

2006 • Lotus Blossoms in 21 schools and 6 counties, engaging 11,000+ students. Lotus joins forces with Downtown Bloomington, Inc. and Creative Bloomington to promote downtown businesses through the Festival.

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