April 26 – 30, 2016
Shitim, Route 40, Israel
It is the 27 time that Zorba the Buddha International
Festival is happening in the Desert Ashram in Israel. This is a festival where
all the edges meet - the great celebration of life, dancing, movement, music,
deep yoga, the spirit of meditation, and the silence of the desert. Between
total ecstasy and therapy, that is where the magic happens. Healing and meeting
with amazing people from all over the World, openhearted encounters, connecting
with oneself and with nature.
In five days of a great variety of workshops, live music
concerts, meaningful socializing, and the vast desert around, you will have no
other option rather than to simply surrender to the endless beauty around you,
to meet your true nature, which is nothing else than endless silence, joy, and
bliss. Yes, when we are courageous enough to free our mind and spirit - the
magic reveals itself.
We invite you to open up your hearts, to really hug one
another, touch and be touched on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels, to
let go and dance until your body is falling apart. To be the dance, and not the
dancer.
We are so used to believing that materialism stands
opposed to spirituality, that the Zorba contradicts the Buddha. Let yourself prove
it is wrong and fall in love with life again. When you are not afraid to shout
as you never have before, to walk up to that sexy lady, you just saw dancing on
the dance floor, to dive into the deep dimensions of existence, you become a
whole person – Zorba the Buddha.
Zorba the Buddha festival is a celebration of the
complete being. Osho, the teacher who defined the term Zorba the Buddha,
determined that the new human being is one who knows how to go deep into
meditation, but does not forget about celebrating life, and the joy within it.
It is this combination, which makes him a whole human being, a new one, with a
message.
This great idea was the source and the reason of the
festival, you may become a part of.
Now, imagine an open, wild desert landscape and a green
magical oasis in its heart. Imagine a place where everything is possible: you
can go to a deep mediation inside the outside of the desert, to give in to a
live-trance dance, you can get inside a breathing workshop, discover how it is
to get inside someone else's skin in theater workshop, or shake your body to
the sounds of high-quality live concert. And if suddenly what you crave for is
tea and home-made cake or cookie, there is an open seat for you in the colorful
chai-shop. There is also a variety of treatments, you can choose from in the
therapy area, if relaxing your body is what you wish for.
Zorba the Buddha festival combines all of the worlds to a
one whole wonderful experience. The workshops, the parties, the live concerts,
the wild desert, live energies, the ultimate freedom atmosphere and the
beautiful people makes this festival a one time, MUST event.
The spiritual journey begins…
Cost: Starting with $97/festival, camping, and
parking. Tickets will be available from 01-26-16.
Questions and
Answers
1. Q: Is the festival schedule April 26 - 30, 2016 final?
A: Yes, the announced dates are final.
2. Q: Do you have the preliminary program outline? The
2015 program looks very interesting and versatile, covering a wide spectrum of
interests.
A: The program is now on the final development stage. We
will publish the line up around the end of February.
3. Q: How many of the workshops will have English
language support? How many of them will not require the verbal comprehension?
A: Zorba Festival is very friendly towards English
speaking participants. Every year, we have non-Hebrew speakers coming to the
festival. You may get the detailed information on the festival on our website,
professionally translated to English; the featured lineup will also published in
English, as available. We routinely ask our workshop leaders to provide the
necessary guidance in English in case the participants require it. Most of the
people, who provide support during the festival in all functional areas, speak
English. In addition, as you mentioned, some of the festivals content does not
require any verbal communication. Frankly, looking through the list of
musicians that we are planning to host this year, we were amused ourselves to
notice that only one of the bands has Hebrew language songs in their repertoire.
All the rest write their songs in English.
4. Q: Do you plan workshops on the following topics:
contact improvisation, free-style dance (Ecstatic, 5-rhythms, Biodanza, Dance
Elementals, etc.)?
A: There are many movements & dancing workshops in
the festival. Actually, there is a whole area "world", of hip-hop,
contact improvisation, free movements etc. And, of course, the Four Elements
dancing meditation, which is considered as one of the main events of the
festival.
5. Q: What is the cost structure (early bird prices,
living accommodation packages, part-time, etc.) Do you have group discounts?
A: The starting price is 389 shekels for a ticket,
and it will go up to 539 shekels at the gate (probably we will be sold out by
then and will not sell tickets at the gate). There are no group discounts
available. The ticket includes sleeping at the camping area. From the 26-th of
January, the rooms will be available for renting. The prices will go from 1,060
shekels for a bed in a dormitory room, and up to 4,680 shekels for a 4 people
private room onsite. The conversion to dollar is very simple now – just divide
all the prices in shekels by 4 to get price in dollars.
6. Q: Transportation from Airport, Tel Aviv, and Beer
Sheva), parking onsite (cost and availability).
A: There will be an organized bus to and from the festival;
it will go through Tel Aviv and Beer Sheva.
If you want to use public transportation, there is a bus
from Beer Sheva going straight to the Ashram. It is recommended to book tickets
to this bus in advance. Getting to Beer Sheva from the airport is simple, as
there is well developed public transportation - buses and trains. If you prefer
to rent a car, there is a free parking area for the festivals participants. The
no-traffic drive from the International Airport Ben-Gurion to the festival
grounds is less than 3 hours.
7. Q: How hot it can be during the day, and how cold
during the night?
A: The festival is on April, it is spring in the desert.
Can be pretty hot, but we do not expect any extreme weather. It is always good also
to have something warm to wear in case it gets colder at night.
8. Q: Can the tents and/or sleeping bags be rented
onsite?
A: There are no tents or sleeping bags for rent. You have
to bring your own camping equipment.
9. Q: Is the activities schedule goes around the clock?
A: The activity starts at around 7:00-8:00 o'clock in the
morning, and goes late into the night.
