Each spring (March- April), Lotus hosts a roster of global teaching artists who travel to perform in schools, classrooms, and community centers across a multi-county area in south-central Indiana. Musicians, dancers, and storytellers share their cultures and heritage with thousands of students through performances and interactive activities, and they field student questions about their lives, childhoods, and experiences.
Lotus also provides Artist Study Guides and Artist Playlists for classroom and community group use.
If you would like to bring a Lotus Blossoms Artist to your school, classroom, or community, please email engagement@lotusfest.org for more information.
Another aspect of Lotus Blossoms is the annual Lotus Blossoms World Bazaar, a two-day “mini festival” that is hosted at Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington.
Created in 1996 with the help of area teachers, the Bazaar has become a tradition in Monroe County schools — public, private, and charter — as volunteers from the Bloomington community (and around the world) present arts, music, language, and international crafts that let kids get their hands on the world.
The first day of the Bazaar is just for schools, when Lotus buses in 1,000+ fourth-graders for a day of multicultural discovery. The second day, Saturday, is free and open to the public and welcomes people of all ages from across the community.
