20 years of Lotus

In 1994, a group of volunteers had an idea for a world music and arts festival in Bloomington.

But they didn’t want to name it “Bloomington World Music and Arts Festival.” They wanted it to be different.

At a meeting, they began thinking about what made Bloomington special. There are two other Midwest states that contain cities with the name — Minnesota and Illinois — so they figured using Bloomington would be confusing.

Then someone mentioned southern Indiana songwriter Lotus Dickey, and everything changed.

Everyone in the room knew of and admired Dickey.

“We immediately recognized and knew that the Lotus Music Festival was going to be it,” Lee Williams, director of the Lotus Foundation, said.

The Lotus World Music and Arts Festival has become a major Bloomington event. It involves multiple venues, art displays and musicians from around the world.

This year, the festival turns 20. To celebrate, Williams said they’re reflecting on the festival’s history.

“Looking back is important because we did it,” he said. “Someone had the idea, and then we were off.”

Williams said he remembers the foundation’s beginnings with pride. The Lotus Education and Arts Foundation started as a group of volunteers. Now, it is a sophisticated arts organization planning a big event every year.

Dowmtown Bloomington becomes a walking song with music sounding from tents set up in front of various businesses. Artists also perform in churches and theaters.

But the festival isn’t all about music. Visual and performance artists also come to show off their work, and it becomes a celebration.

The festival reflects the Lotus Foundation’s mission, which is to “create opportunities to experience, celebrate and explore the diversity of the world’s cultures through music and the arts.”

Miah Michaelsen, assistant economic development director for the arts in Bloomington, said the city is a perfect fit for the Lotus Festival.

“It embodies what people think is great about

Bloomington — the inclusiveness, the cultural awareness and the wide variety of musical tastes,” she said.

For the anniversary, the festival is bringing back some Lotus features from throughout the years.

Brooklyn’s Red Baraat, Chicago’s Funkadesi and Finland’s Frigg are some of the fan-favorite bands returning to the Lotus stage.

The Lotus parade also returns this year, which hasn’t happened for several years.

The foundation has also created a backdrop for the stage at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Williams said the foundation created one for the festival for many years, and then stopped, but it will be brought back this year.

It took nine months to create and will be on display all five days of the festival.

“That’s the mindset, not anything new, but looking back and feeling really good about how far we’ve come,” Williams said.

Williams pointed out that although Dickey is beloved, the original idea was to have a world music festival. The naming came later.

Still, the festival continues to preserve Lotus Dickey’s memory and spirit.

For many years, a tribute performance went on as part of Lotus in the Park. The show featured some of Dickey’s original songs performed by musicians who were close to him.

This year the festival will present a Lotus Dickey Song Workshop in which attendees will learn some of his songs.

Williams said he and other members of the foundation think festival-goers should be able to know Dickey for free, so the workshop will take place in the park like the tribute performances.

“He was an amazing human being in addition to a musician and songwriter,” Williams said of Dickey. “He was contagious.”

Williams said he also loves the name Lotus because of everything the flower represents.

In Asian tradition, the lotus blossom represents beauty, grace and love. Since Lotus refers to both the flower and the musician, Williams said they have something that reflects both Bloomington and the world.

“It’s a perfect name,” he said.