Born on Honduras’ Caribbean coast, Aurelio Martinez grew up steeped in the traditions of the Garifuna people, descendants of shipwrecked slaves who intermarried with locals on the island of St. Vincent and were deported to the Central American coast in the late...
Blog
Banda Magda
Banda Magda brings chic, lively style to the notion of “world music,” along with playful gestures and a splash of retro humor. Led by Greek-born Magda Giannikou – a singer, accordionist, and award-winning film scorer – the band moves fluidly from samba to Greek dance...
Arga Bileg
The seven-piece group Arga Bileg introduces jazz improvisation into Mongolian folk music traditions. The ensemble includes polished musicians, composers, and choreographers; their sound is elegant and compelling. Traditional Mongolian music is strongly influenced by...
Become a Lotus Sponsor — Help Bring the World to Bloomington
It takes lots of community buy-in to create the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival every year: from volunteers, from fans who buy tickets, from the City of Bloomington, and from the many diverse sponsors who step forward to provide crucial financial support. Large...
Partner Profile: Mathers Museum of World Cultures
At Lotus, we’re lucky to work with many community organizations -- to share resources, to reach larger audiences, to pool creative energy and ideas. One of our longtime community partners is IU’s Mathers Museum of World Cultures, which hosted the very first Lotus...
Growing a Perennial Lotus
We're proud to celebrate 20 years of Lotus. We've got deep roots in our community, and we're growing tall. Lotus has been working to build an endowment for a while, thanks in large part to the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County’s Matchstick Program....
2015 Lotus Blossoms — Featured Artists
This year's featured artists represent five countries (Finland, Japan, the U.S., Uganda, and Indonesia) and four continents (Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa). 2015 Lotus Blossoms programming takes place in February and March. If you are interested in bringing...
Sponsor Spotlight: Dr. Lisa J. Baker, DDS
As 2012 comes to a close, the Lotus board and staff are giving thanks for the 100+ sponsors who provided crucial support for both Lotus Blossoms and our 19th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. We’d like to salute one of our long-time, enthusiastic Festival...
Volunteer Voices: Nick Clark
Nick Clark’s six-year stint as a Lotus volunteer began with our Lotus Blossoms Bazaar and ended with the Festival’s Venues Committee. He and his family – wife Janice and daughter Isabel -- are leaving Bloomington for Oklahoma. Otherwise, we’d keep him on Team Lotus....
Festival Store + Festival Fare
Keep Lotus close to your heart with some Festival memorabilia — CDs from your favorite performing artists, T-shirts (you have three design colors to choose from), and even earrings and pendants re-purposed from vintage festival pins. While you're navigating the scene,...