Spring has sprung and festival season is upon us and it seems to get bigger each year.

Festival business is literally booming with no sign of slowing down with millennials.

I noticed many festivals have a theme or sub-culture that they cater to. Festivals around yoga and health, music, art, food, sports, comic books and more—if you have an interest, odds are there is some type of gathering made for you.

But what about those of us with a variety of interests, who can fit in just as easily with the enthusiastic concert goer just as the zenned out yogi?

Well, I’d like to share with you my experience at a festival which blends these aspects together and creates a unique community in the Arizona desert.

Festivals create connections—between fans and artists and fans with one another; friendships are formed and memories made.

I began going to the Vans Warped Tour as a teenager and found a bond with the other kids and the love we shared for music. It gave me a sense of community and belonging which I couldn’t find anywhere else. When I entered my 20s, Coachella, Bonnaroo, SXSW, Wanderlust and literally dozens of other music festivals were all the rage. I have made my rounds to the different regional festivals over the years and into a lot of other scenes and subcultures.

Over time my interests shifted from strictly one genre of music to appreciating the art, people and cultural theme of these different events.

Only recently have I begun to explore what still has to explore the Transformational Festival, which bridges a community-building ethic, centered around celebrating life, personal growth, social responsibility, healthy living, and creativity. Burning Man serves as the token event of this nature but smaller, localized events have been coming up, which are woven with a similar thread.

The idea of transformation is important as that is exactly what these festivals inspire within those who attend—change.

I had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Desert Canvas: Rebirth which took place in one of the best places to spend a winter in—Tempe, Arizona. I was intrigued after reading the Facebook invite as it mentioned a blend of live bands and DJs, yoga and meditation, guest speakers and art.

When I arrived at Kiwanis Park, I was greeted by the friendliest and most welcoming group. I walked right up to the ticketing table and had no issues getting my ticket. If you have ever worked in the music business, you know the drama that can involve being on the guest list, so this was off to a great start.

When I entered the event itself I found a few sponsor tents but nothing too overwhelming like when you attend a local art festival. People were soaking up the sun, enjoying the bands covering songs from the Beatles to The Lumineers, acro yogis were pushing the limits of gravity, and girls with flowers in their hair were dancing. It was a honestly a blissful and beautiful scene and almost something out of a movie.

Some standouts of my experience involved taking my very first Acro flight with the help of AcroBody Tempe which was terrifying and amazing all at once. It’s something I never would have believed I could do a few years ago. I also connected with True Rest and learned about the benefits of floating. Other tents included local yoga studios, yoga inspired apparel lines and artists, all of which were informative and welcoming.

There was TED-style talk on goal setting from one of the organization’s founder Todd VanDuzer who is a successful young entrepreneur. They also built a goal booth where attendees were instructed to write three goals and seal them in an envelope which would be mailed back to them in three months time. Being a personal development junkie, I jumped on this right away and was guided through the process by one of the many volunteers.

As the sun set we were immersed in a crystal bowl meditation which almost everyone participated in. That was actually one of my biggest impressions from this event—the inclusion of all walks of life, backgrounds, ages and styles. Following the meditation and live bands, the stage shifted to a DJ and light show complete with lasers. It was actually really cool and felt like an outdoor nightclub without the obnoxious people; everyone was so kind and genuine and just celebrating being alive in the here and now. There were hoopers and flags and people putting on light shows. All attendees were just doing what they loved and it was pretty amazing.

Overall I made more new friends than I could count on two hands and made so many connections that day and met so many like minded people. I found the experience made me less quick to label a festival as just one thing, one for yogis or a certain genre of music fan or art but one for everyone—the young, the old, the students, the teachers. It was truly a feeling of coming together to celebrate the common things we all share.

The concept of co-creation was new to me but it left me inspired to find ways to bring people with ideas together. The notion that alone I can be good but together we can be great.

I would learn later that this began organically as a weekly yoga hangout in the park which would grow and evolve into the festival I attended. Each week they had more people showing up and decided to form a full day festival which was Rebirth, the entire thing was planned and executed in a few short weeks.

Shortly after Rebirth they announced the next festival which is taking place for three days in April just outside of Phoenix. It is called Munduzer and pushes the envelope of creativity and innovation on what a festival can be. I’m really excited to see what experiences and change will be found and encourage others to reach out of their comfort zones and connect with others.

Connection and co-creation are at the helm of what I found with Desert Canvas festivals and it was right in my own backyard.

Instead of saving up a year for a trip to a major festival, see what is happening around you already and how you can help co-create, which is a new festival model Desert Canvas is proving works in Arizona.

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Author: Kourtney Mei

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

Photos: Author’s own