LotusFest

The intersection of Washington Street and Kirkwood Avenue was ablaze with color Friday and Saturday as community members gathered for this year's LotusFest.\nSince its 1994 inception, the local music and art festival has brought an international flavor to Bloomington every year. This year's celebrations had roots from all around the globe.\nKusun Ensemble, a Ghanaian dance and percussion group that performed both nights of the festival, led traditional African blessing ceremonies and performed dance numbers during their down-time at the festival.\n"The blessing is good ... but we don't know what they're saying," said Mary Athieno, a visiting student from University of Southern Indiana and a Uganda native. "This type of thing looks sort of strange in the middle of the street. It's like out of nowhere, people don't know what it is, they're just following."\nAlthough skeptical, Athieno was entertained by the festivities and danced with her cousins. \n"These blessings have different \nmeanings in different African countries. Where I am from, ours means something specific to us, but they are all religious," she said.\nIn addition to the Kusun Ensemble, other local artists showcased their talents. Local musicians played drums and other instruments as spectators held large poles complete with colorful flags and rotating face masks.\nBloomington resident Summer Vergiels appeared visually enticing as she stood barefoot in the middle of the circle of people and set fire to what appeared to be balls at the end of a pair of nunchaku, a martial arts weapon. \nVergiels made controlled movements with the flaming balls, and afterward, explained her art.\n"I'm a Poi Spinner," she said. "It is a traditional art which is practiced in Samoa, Guam and New Zealand."\nVergiels, who taught herself the art, said she does not feel spinning is dangerous as long as people step back while she performs.\nThe "Street Parade on Kirkwood," which was scheduled for both nights, allowed people of all ages, nationalities and interests to form a circle and participate in an improvised event. Lotus volunteers made their way through the crowd, handing out colorful flags and large masks on sticks for people to wave around.\nJunior Mea Kinder said she thought the parade created a festive atmosphere.\n"I normally don't do the whole parade thing, but tonight I wanted to do something a little different," she said.\nOther notable sights during the parade included ringleader and the mastermind behind the concept, "Parade King," Keith Romaine.\n"This idea is a collaboration that stemmed from an impromptu parade a few years back when an artist left the stage and led a parade around the festival," Romaine said.\nHe also credited many others with their contributions to get the parade up and running. \n"The parade should reflect people and be about people, and when the two come together, it is successful," he said. \nThe parade's energy reverberated indoors, in places such as the First United Methodist Church, where Teada -- a traditional Celtic group -- performed Friday night. As the acoustics of the church projected surround-sound quality to the packed pews, many onlookers were captivated by the sounds, tapping their feet and bobbing their heads to the beat. \nBrazilian acoustic performer Badi Assad was just down the street at the First Christian Church. She performed wildlife impersonations that were so lifelike that some attendants felt as though they were actually surrounded by wild animals.\n"This is crazy," whispered one audience member.\nChecking wristbands outside the church, senior and Lotus volunteer Hannelore Meier was happy to be helping out with the event.\n"It's a free ticket," she said. "But also because I've been a part of this community for the past four years, I enjoy being around all of the community members and getting a chance to interact with them."\nOutside the John Waldron Arts Center, people packed into a tent where artists Rachel Davis and Jake Armerding were performing acoustic contemporary American folk music. Sophomore and Lotus volunteer Sibo Lin was guarding the entrance. Lin is not a newcomer to the LotusFest. Originally from Evansville, he attended Signature School, a small charter high school that brings its students to attend the Bloomington festival every year.\n"The school is focused on global awareness," he said. "I'm back again this year because I like the music and didn't want to pay for a wristband because it's expensive. I'm a college student. But I really like this musician playing right now; I want to get her CD." \nLin and many other volunteers had to endure not-so-ideal weather conditions Friday night, but Saturday evening proved to be more tolerable.\n"The timing of the rain meant quick last-minute changes for a lot of things … we had a few glitches but everything is going well," said Tamara Loewenthal, sites coordinator for the festival. \nLoewenthal added Saturday's turnout was better than Friday's due to the change in weather.\n"We've sold a lot of student tickets tonight; a lot of students have come out," she said. \nBloomington resident Sierra Klahn, a listener at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, reflected on LotusFest as a local event.\n"I feel so fortunate to have been born and raised in such a wonderful and diverse town where I can experience an event like this," she said. "It's a blessing"