Events

Report From 7th Annual Bhakti Fest: Vegetarian Oasis In The Desert

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Once a year 2000 people gather in Joshua Tree, CA for Bhakti Fest (known as “The Spiritual Woodstock of The New Millennium”). Festival goers are provided with Kirtan, yoga, and consciousness-raising workshops in a vegetarian, family-friendly environment free of alcohol and drugs. I wanted to share my personal experience as it was my first time attending this event. I am huge fan in the idea of festivals that provide this complete offering and vegan/vegetarian food. I hope that more event producers will follow.

Bhakti Fest offers nonstop sacred music performances on two stages, with Kirtan/chanting mixed in with a world-class lineup of musicians and yoga instructors, more than 60 conscious workshops, and 100 artisan vendors. This year was my first time attending, and I was a bit overwhelmed with how many options there were – having to choose between the legendary breath work of Michael Brian Baker and the high vibe beats of MC Yogi, for example. It’s so hard to choose when you are being immersed in the greatest conscious party you have ever experienced, filled with music, yoga, dancing, love, light, and heart-centered community. If I had to make a choice, my favorite experience would have been the Cocoa Ceremony and performance by Suns of the Earth. The ceremony was a combination of traditional I caros (ancestral medicine songs) and prayers with the (vegan) cocoa, along with original music that was sing-along-friendly that made you want to dance and celebrate life.

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As a vegan that is soy-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free, I was most grateful for the food selection. Lydia’s Organics had a selection of raw, vegan, and gluten-free options that were free of onions and garlic. When the heat was intense the watermelon or cantaloupe slushy, made with just frozen melon and ice, hit the spot. The curry plate with gluten-free flat bread was a festival favorite and one the first items to sell out. Lydia makes tons of awesome vegan products that are available at local California retails and online.

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This gluten-free, dairy free, vegan Ihsan Falafal is brilliantly wrapped in a collard leaf. I tried both the peanut sauce and tahini sauces, alternating dips and even mixing. The thing that I loved the most was that the collard wrap itself was soaked in water to make it easy to chew and digest. I may have to borrow that technique when I make collard wraps at home. Ihsan Falafal is available at several other farmers markets in the Los Angeles area, such as the Sunday market in Mar Vista. You can read their full HappyCow review here.


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Finding good South Indian street food in LA is like avoiding traffic—nearly impossible. When I saw gluten-free Dosa Dosa with vegan and vegetarian options, I started an ecstatic dance in the line. Inside the wrap was a delectable coconut sauce and lentils. It was so filling that I had to enlist a few friends to help me finish it. The Kitchari was as good as the Masala Dosas and for those vegetarian Ghee lovers, one could add a dollop on both.


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Rebbl, the brand known for its epic Kombucha, just launched new herbal tonics and was sampling them out. I have been a lover of Chinese herbal tonics for quite some time, so I could not contain my excitement when I was able to get an organic coconut milk-based tonic with Cocoa and Reishi mushroom and Ashwaganda Chai.

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When you spent a weekend under the hot dessert sun, you almost never forget sunscreen. I took a tip from a friend who recommended heavy doses of Vitamin C to prevent sunburn. Luckily, the HealthForce Nutritionals booth had plenty of their Truly Natural Vitamin C, sourced from Acerola Berry. I kept myself hydrated with a water bottle spiked with the Vitamin C and was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t even have a bit of redness on my skin the whole festival.

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In the morning my campmate surprised me when she brought out her Cocojack and we drank fresh coconuts for breakfast with reusable glass straws. The Cocojack makes it super easy and fun to open up coconuts. We also came equipped with Bamboo To Go Ware so that we could eat to our hearts’ content without creating excess waste.
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I spent most of Bhakti Fest without shoes and very little clothes because of the scorching heat. The girls at Teeki made me fall in love with their line of earth-inspired yoga wear which is made of 79% recycled plastic bottles. Teeki’s printing process to create their out-of-this-world prints incorporates a zero waste process that is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable process used in the garment printing and production industry. Teeki created a unique process to use the recycled products in all their fabrics incorporating up to 25 recycled bottles in each pair of pants. I got a couple pairs that were super-soft and breathable in the heat.

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I want to share my gratitude to all that contributed to this festival. There were so many amazing healers, vendors, musicians and artists that I was not able to include them all here. To see so much love and dedication to health, the planet, and oneness of humanity was truly beautiful.

Bhakti Fest is a nonprofit 501c3 organization and accepts tax-deductible donations. The festival donates a percentage of its funds to charities and other nonprofit groups that provide food, education, and environmental beautification programs around the world.

I wish all festivals had it together like this!

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