The Power of Preservation

This month at LEAF, we are thinking more about cultural preservation. Throughout the year, we spend a lot of time thinking about points of connection and opportunities for growth. At every turn, we are met with the human desire to stand on our own foundation. Rick Warren once said, “We are products of our past,” and with that sentiment, the only way forward is to know the direction from which we came. Not just space and time, but the texture and culture that characterizes it. Cultural preservation is crucial to human survival and is at the core of LEAF’s mission. Since launching in 2006, LEAF International has touched over 4100 youth in 11+ countries. In 2020, we had 14 programs in 10 countries and empowered 22 culture keepers across the globe to work with 550+ kids on a weekly basis. Keeping culture alive and is more than just storytelling. It’s documenting and studying languages, traditions, and ceremonies. It’s encouraging the use of indigenous languages and rituals. It’s creating a desire for longevity and offering the youth a chance to lean into themselves, learn from their roots, and become walking testaments to their ancestors’ greatest dreams. Our Global Engagement Director, Schree Chavdarov says that “we learn more about ourselves when we experience and are aware of other cultures. That is the true purpose of global citizenship” and at the foundation of what LEAF aims to bring to the world. The first step to building community and connecting culture is to ensure that when people come to the table, they bring an offering that’s true to their core.

 

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.