Attending a summer yoga festival is one of the easiest and best adventures for yogis of all experience levels. You can attend a festival near or far and be immersed in yoga classes, workshops, music, and outdoor activities for an entire weekend. To assist you in your summer yoga festival plans, we have compiled a complete 2017 yoga festival lineup below! Since most festivals offer early bird discounts, now is the time to pick your faves and dish out the cash for your tickets.
Find your festival focus
As you peruse the long list of yoga festivals below, you will notice each schedule has a unique assortment of options. The big three areas to focus on are teachers and presenters, types of music and bands, and other outdoor activities.
Most festivals offer a wide spectrum of classes and workshops, which is great if you like to dabble and explore different styles and teachers. About half of the presenters at the Asheville Yoga Festival are local or regional teachers while Boulder’s Hanuman Festival has more national and international teachers such as Seane Corn, Rod Stryker, Annie Carpenter, Amy Ippoliti, and Saul David Raye. If you like TED-like talks, look for a dedicated speaker/lecture section on a festival’s schedule.
The two main music options at a yoga festival are kirtan/chanting bands and chill or yoga music bands. Many festivals will feature one or the other, while some will offer a diverse mix of all. Since music will be the main or only evening entertainment, you might want to preview the music of any unfamiliar bands on the lineup (especially the headliners).
Even though yoga and music will consume most of your time, yoga festivals offer other unique activities such as massage/healing modalities, hiking, rock climbing, stand up paddle boards, acro-yoga, aerial arts, hula hooping, and mountain biking. Also consider the festival’s food options, the size and diversity of their vendor village, and if they have a children’s program.
Pick your perfect location
Just as students favor a specific yoga studio in town, yoga festival-goers gravitate towards certain venues based on location, cost, accommodations, and amenities. If travel time and cost are a big deciding factor, focus on festivals in easy to access locations (near major airports or close to home); if not consider a more remote or adventurous location.
Another big factor to consider is where you’ll be laying your head down after a long day of yoga: local hotels or camping. City-based yoga festivals take advantage of nearby hotels for accommodations (and may have some or all classes in their ballrooms). In more remote locations you’ll likely find camping or cabins. The Floyd Yoga Jam has a camping option for just about everyone: two tent campsites (wooded or meadow), car/RV camping, and a glamping (deluxe furnished tents) village.
Every yoga festival will be a unique and fun experience and be heavily flavored by its location and presenters. Once you have found the festival with the right mix of teachers, music, and amenities think about what to pack and what to expect.
Summer Yoga Festivals for 2017:
Dates | Festival Name | Location |
April 28-30 | Dubuque Yoga Festival | Dubuque, IA |
May 12-14 | Shakti Fest | Joshua Tree, CA |
May 20-21 | Downtown Yoga Festival | Salt Lake City, UT |
June 9-11 | Wanderlust | Snowshoe, WV |
June 10-11 | Ozark Mountain Yoga Festival | Low Gap, AR |
June 15-18 | Hanuman Festival | Boulder, CO |
June 16-18 | The Groove Yoga Festival | Sydenham, ON CA |
June 18-23 | Esalen Yoga Festival | Big Sur, CA |
June 22-25 | Wanderlust | Bondville, VT |
June 23-25 | Breathe Yoga Festival | Fort Collins, CO |
July 7-9 | Maine Yoga Fest | Portland, ME |
July 7-9 | Nantucket Yoga Festival | Nantucket, MA |
July 20-23 | Telluride Yoga Festival | Telluride, CO |
July 20-23 | Wanderlust | Lake Tahoe, CA |
July 27-30 | Asheville Yoga Festival | Asheville, NC |
July 27-30 | YogaFest | Vanderbilt, MI |
Aug 3-6 | Wanderlust | Whistler, BC CA |
August 9-13 | Sat Nam Fest | Lenox, MA |
August 10-13 | Denver Yoga Festival | Denver, CO |
August 24-27 | Wanderlust | Mount Tremblant, QC CA |
August 26-28 | Santa Fe Yoga Festival | Santa Fe, NM |
Aug 31 -Sept 3 | Floyd Yoga Jam | Floyd, VA |
September 6-11 | Bhakti Fest | Joshua Tree, CA |
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