New Year, New Dates and A Newly Imagined LEAF

Every year around this time we announce the dates for the coming year of LEAF Festival experiences. For 25 years we’ve raised the stakes, elevated different cultures, and encouraged our communities to come together in search of another culture, a new friend, and life-affirming experiences. And while 2021 will require more creative resourcing, and bring distance into our camaraderie, the tradition remains alive. As we enter into a new year and a new world, LEAF is proud to still be standing and excited to announce the dates for our signature events. 

Spring LEAF Retreat May 13-16 at Lake Eden
LEAF Downtown/ Reimagine August 27-28
Fall LEAF Festival October 14-17 at Lake Eden (Size TBD*)

These events will be limited in size, yet will retain all the LEAF Love. LEAF Members will have priority and at times exclusive access to these events. Members kept LEAF Mission alive and at work in the wild year of 2020 and it’s important that we celebrate that. Members are the back of our community. These are the global citizens who understand that when you support culture, artists, and teachers you are investing in the community and young people’s future. Our members kept us alive, and we are determined to offer safe and healing options that foster the LEAF Love, gratitude, and “You Got This” positive attitude that has carried us this far. 

Moreover, LEAF Festival has been more than a weekend escape, it has been a conduit for change, and a pathway forward. For the last 2.5 decades, lovers of music & arts have gathered at our majestic Lake Eden for a weekend of self-discovery, cultural immersion, and positivity. Friendships have formed, romance has blossomed and children have grown up before our eyes. More importantly, performers and aspiring artists from around the world have been stepped onto the stage and shared their craft with the world. One of LEAF’s most impactful purposes is the employment of artists from all backgrounds and calibers. Not only are they giving the opportunity to introduce their work to a new audience but they leave our time together knowing that their work is valuable and their career is in a new place than it was before. 

We did that. All of us. Together, we are bettering ourselves but we are also inviting others to find positive pathways towards change and we can’t wait to do it again. 

Please note that Spring LEAF Retreat will be members-only and tickets are currently on sale. Interested in being a member? Join or renew your membership today!

 

AN URGENT LETTER FROM THE LEAF BOARD:

For nearly 30 years, LEAF Global Arts has connected people through the power of art, music, and culture. Every shared moment has been made possible because of you – our community.

The LEAF Festival is critical to funding LEAF’s larger work: providing global cultural arts programming for thousands of local youth and preserving cultures and traditions around the world.

This year, we are facing a financial crossroads: between the loss of last fall’s Festival, losing a majority of our arts education funding in 2025, and not fully recovering from COVID, the future is bleak. The upcoming LEAF Festival could be our last if we don’t come together to sustain the heart of LEAF’s mission – but we have seen what this community can do when united for a cause greater than itself.

To open the Festival experience to as many people as possible, and to rally the full spirit of LEAF, we are offering a limited number of LEAF LOVE Tickets at a significant discount.

These special tickets, offered at 30% off (our highest discount, even more so than our Early Bird pricing) are our way of ensuring everyone has a place in this story. Full-priced tickets also remain available for those with the means to give a little more to help support LEAF’s vital work.

Your presence, your voice, and your support matter more than ever right now. Join us in making this LEAF Festival one that the world will never forget and ensuring the music continues for generations to come. 

Mayani is a Maasai boy from longido Arusha. He went to boarding school at 6 years old and lost his Maasai language and tradition. Since joining the LEAF program, he has learned to sing Maasai songs, practiced the ‘jump’ tradition and wear Maasai shukas (traditional clothing). Mayani is extremely happy and is currently teaching other youth the culture.