Lotus Festival 2007 acts announced

Coordinators of the annual Lotus World Music & Arts Festival held their kick-off event, Summer Night of Lotus, on Friday to announce the lineup for the 14th installment of the annual event, set to take place Sept. 27-30.\nTwenty-one artists are currently lined up to perform, though they are subject to change. All but the group Balkan Beat Box are new to the event this year.\nArtists from all over the world, with acts ranging from traditional and modern Slovenian funk to Louisiana old-time music are scheduled to perform during the September weekend.\nEach year, the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation organizes and plans the festival. Director Lee Williams said artists come to Lotus from all over the globe.\n“Not very many of (the artists) are household names for students or members of the community, so people come to the festival to discover artists,” Williams said.\nBalkan Beat Box will be the most commonly known group this year, Williams said. The band will be performing at the festival for the third consecutive year. \nBalkan Beat Box is a group of seven to eight musicians from around the world who use instruments and dance moves to create a performance that, according to their Web site, is “synchronized to keep the audience guessing where the next surprise will appear from.”\nActor and singer/songwriter Jeff Daniels and Balkan Beat Box are the only two performances set for Thursday night, because both will attract such large crowds. Daniels will be performing at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, while Balkan Beat Box can be seen in an outdoor tent.\n“It’s going to be crazy. (Balkan Beat Box) draws a huge crowd. The fact that we only have them for one night, I think is going to bring a lot of people out,” said Michael Valliant, a member of a committee that oversees venue placement and direction.\nPlanning for the Lotus Festival lineup usually begins around February and ends in June, but Williams said work is always in progress for the event and that he is already considering 10 or more artists for the 2008 festival. He said he chooses from a group of 200 to 300 artists each year.\n“When we were first starting out, when no one, not even in Bloomington, knew who we were, it was really hard,” he said. “Lots of people want to play Lotus now because we are so well-established.”\nThough the festival only lasts four days, Williams said it has a substantial effect on the city. Hotels and local businesses see an increase each year in business from attendees. \nTosha Daugherty, director of marketing and communications for the Bloomington Conventions & Visitors Bureau, said that this year the city is expecting a $150,000 economic impact from the performers alone.\n“Much bigger than the economic impact, Lotus makes people smile,” Williams said. “They walk around and just can’t believe how wonderful it is. It’s pretty intense. You are walking all over the place, trying to take in as much music as possible.”\nLast year’s festival had about 6,600 attendees, many of whom were IU students. This year’s turnout is expected to be even bigger. Williams said attendance rises almost annually, sometimes as much as 5 percent. \nThough the large number of attendees means street closings and heavy traffic for a large portion of Bloomington, locals still welcome the event each year. \n“The community is always very supportive of Lotus. It’s not only a great event for visitors, but for locals as well who volunteer,” Daugherty said. “It’s just a really great community event.”