Go north
Wanderlust Festival
The Wanderlust Festival aims to help people find their “true north” through yoga, meditation, music, food and arts. The 2019 event will feature talent such as MC Yogi, world renowned yoga instructor and performing artist, as well as yoga instructor Seane Corn and many more. It’s happening July 18-21 at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows.
Friday night will feature music from Above and Beyond. On Saturday night it’s Thievery Corporation. Attendees can also participate in silent disco, meditation sessions, paddle boarding, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and a pool party, and eat locally sourced foods at farm-to-table dinners.
In celebration of Wanderlust’s 10th anniversary at Squaw Valley, the festival is adding on full-day immersions on Thursday and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes to the upcoming event. The immersion sessions allow attendees to spend the day in groups with instructors aimed at helping people with yoga, meditation, nutrition and personal development. There are three immersion choices. The first immersion—called Love is Rising, Everywhere—will be led by Kyle Cease, keynote speaker and New York Times best selling author. The second immersion—Entering the Heart: Training in freedom—will be led by Scott Schwenk, who has over 25 years leading meditation. The third option—Building the Warrior Heart—will be lead by Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco. Forrest is recognized around the world for her pioneering in yoga and Calarco for his experience in producing large-scale events.
“We really focused on putting together what we thought to be the greatest Wanderlust line-up of all time, both across the core of yoga and meditation and on the music side,” said Wanderlust CEO and co-founder Sean Hoess.
Wanderlust held their first festival at Squaw Valley in 2009. The idea for the festival started when three friends from college wanted to create something together. They all knew how to put on a good party, but wanted to infuse an event with meaning.
“It’s introspective and educational and, at the same time, celebratory and community focused,” Hoess said.
Wanderlust has seven festivals in other mountain communities across the United States and Canada. The company has yoga studios in Montreal, Lake Tahoe, Austin and Hollywood—as well as an offering for yoga classes led online. They have also created a line of merchandise available through the Wanderlust website that includes women and men’s apparel, yoga clothes, accessories and other products aimed at sustainability—like reusable water bottles, straws and travel utensil sets. The company also has a journal that contains updated stories featuring everything from festival tips, to profiles of yogis.
“What makes me the happiest is being able to create an experience that works, and the gratification of seeing a lot of happy faces,” Hoess said.
Tickets are available on the company’s website, wanderlust.com. General admission tickets for the full three day event are $401.08 per person. The $1.08 from every ticket sold is donated to charity—a nod to the significance of the number 108 in Hinduism, Buddhism and yogic tradition. Single day, music only and immersion tickets are also available.