The BaliSpirit Festival is making a return, from March 29 to April 3, for its ninth celebration in Ubud. This gathering of internationally renowned yogis, musicians and dancers attracts many who are seeking an inspiring cultural and spiritual experience.

Drawing a global audience of 7,000 from over 50 countries, the tranquil town of Ubud will be transformed into an international cornucopia of world music and yogic fun.

Spirituality is at the heart of the festival, which is why it offers rejuvenation and inspiration to all participants, providing over 230 daily classes in yoga, meditation, healing, dance and music, along with seminars and workshops focusing on healing, health, spirituality and personal development.

It also brings together dozens of top international performers and world-class musicians, attracting a truly global audience to the annual event.

“The BaliSpirit Festival attracts a globally diverse blend of headlining and emerging artists performing high-vibration music on a gorgeous outdoor tropical temple stage. This is sacred celebration at its best!” commented Rob Weber, this year’s festival music director.

This year, the festival seeks to awaken and nourish the potential inside every individual, leading to positive change in our homes, our communities and around the world.

The devotional Bhakti Nights and the vibrant One World One Stage night concerts provide a vast diversity of performers across two stages, featuring over 100 extraordinary international performers committed to delivering inspiring messages through their music.

Bhakti Nights kicked off on Wednesday, with an evening of sacred chant and ecstatic dance led by Suzanne Sterling and DJ Taz Rashid. Bhakti Nights takes place on the intimate Watergarden Stage of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA).

This will be followed by Thursday night’s Heart Opening Ecstatic Journey featuring luminescent folk with Elijah Ray, Eve-Marie-Roy, Lindsey Wise, Sacred Sonics and DJ Raio and a Sacred Cacao Ceremony led by Malaika.

After a day full of relaxing activities, festival-goers can enjoy a series of nighttime concerts. Over the weekend, from April 1 to 3, the One World, One Stage music concerts will take over ARMA’s outdoor stage.

These concerts bring together music and traditions from every corner of the planet, staying true to the festival’s message of peace, love and positivity, combining genres such as world, folk and electronica, with traditional and modern dance and physical theater on two stages.

The sophisticated lineup includes award-winning performers such as Poland’s Kayah and Transoriental Orchestra, HANDS Percussion from Malaysia, the ceremonial Lulacruza from South America, Dafra Kura Band featuring Olivier Tarpaga and Boubacar Djiga from Birkina Faso, West Africa, Siddi Dhamal from Gujarat, India as well as Bali’s own Balawan — Batuan Ethnic Fusion.

For the dancing crowd, the headliners are singer-songwriter Samuel J from the UK, as well as the US band Nahko and Medicine for the People, making a triumphant return to Bali from their world tour.

The Australian Opiuo Band, with DJ Opiuo at the helm, has put together an exciting live act including slamming percussion, live vocals and horns to close out Saturday night.

This unique series of concerts knits together the distinctive traditional and contemporary music of Bali and greater Indonesia with visiting artists from every world genre and every part of the globe.

In addition to these public performances, the festival will launch its first ever World Spirit Conference, a fringe conference for Balinese students and musicians.

Along with the myriad workshops offered, the daytime events feature the organic, healthy Dharma Fair for those who want to indulge in a little conscious shopping. This is a daytime community market with local vendors selling organic foods, locally made handicrafts, jewelry and other products.

Also featured in the Dharma Fair are the Healing Huts — a healing village, a Kids Zone and a community music stage that showcases Indonesian and global musicians throughout the day, creating a dynamic and captivating festival vibe.

This year, the festival also moves to a new daytime program location in Bhanuswari Resort and Spa. Hidden away in the southern foothills of Bali, just a short 10-minute drive from Ubud city center, Bhanuswari Resort and Spa gives new meaning to the word tranquility.

The breathtaking beauty of terraced rice fields, towering coconut trees, natural spring-fed streams and luscious flowering gardens envelop this perfectly secluded sanctuary of peace.

Over the past six years, the BaliSpirit Festival has worked alongside partner organizations in Bali, as well as international yoga teachers and musicians, to raise more than US$65,000 for the festival’s annual Karma (giving back) outreach initiatives.

Funds have contributed to children’s programs, multicultural education and performances, health clinics, HIV and AIDS awareness and environmental protection. The BaliSpirit Festival currently operates two outreach programs annually: the HIV and AIDS education program Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV & AIDS and the reforestation initiative, Bali ReGreen.

Founded as a premier international and holistic wellness and world music destination, the event contributes positively to the ecological health, cultural vibrancy and overall vitality of Bali and greater Indonesia.

The BaliSpirit Festival is indeed a celebration — of the richness of culture, the sanctity of the environment and harmony between people of all nations. It encourages positivity and life-affirming fun through a sharing of knowledge.