“What does it mean to connect cultures & create community through music & arts? It’s simply this… To create a container to hold experiences so profound, so inspirational, and so unifying that they shatter all expectations of who we think we should be… awakening us to who we truly are when we embrace the world as family.  LEAF believes a single moment can transform one’s life for the better. When you multiply those moments by 25 years, 50 festivals and hundreds of thousands of individuals hailing from all over the globe… we believe we are  transforming the  world for the better.  What do you experience at LEAF Festival?  Powerful artistic expression, enduring cultural legacy, a welcoming community of all walks of life? Absolutely…, and it goes a bit deeper than that. What brings people back time after time to our little oasis in the Blue Ridge Mountains?  True healing, transformation, and perhaps even a little bit of real magic.” “LEAF creates gathering in such a unique way that the diversity of experiences, artists and people allows a connection and breaking of barriers to happen so quickly and effectively in a way that hours of conversation can rarely do and that really transforms someone and opens their minds. ”

“When you teach children how to sing and dance you teach them how to build community. LEAF is An incredible gathering of amazing people, creating fun transformative music, poetry and stories ... thank you for your dedication to COMMUNITY and peace!!"

“I have been going to LEAF since I was 3 years old, I am now 24 and it is the closest thing to home for me. Every year is a new experience, time to spend quality time with loved ones, dancing, singing, laughing, and finding our best selves. There is no one moment I can draw out because every moment at LEAF is beautiful!”

From the entire LEAF family, we say "THANK YOU!" “Medaase” Malawi “Zikomo” Ivory Coast “Ayo Ka” Algeria “Sahha” Mexico “Muchas Gracias” Tanzania “Asante” Brazil “Abrigada” Uganda “Weebale” Rwanda “Murakoze Urakoze” Ukraine “Spasiba” Puerto Rico “Muchas Gracias” Egypt “Shukran lak” New Orleans “Thank You!”