After organizers pulled out of a plan to host the event southwest of Mancos on Road G, the Rhythm and Soul Festival will take place in Cottonwood Park from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, organizer Karen Lovelien said Monday.
Organizers previously had applied for a special permit from Montezuma County to host the festival southwest of town, but they withdrew their permit application after several neighbors of the proposed site protested. Instead, they obtained a permit from the town of Mancos to use Cottonwood Park.
Lovelien said the three-day festival is family-friendly and focused on spirituality.
“What we’re trying to do is honor all,” Lovelien said. “This is all about helping people move forward in their lives.”
The festival will feature live music and other performances, as well as yoga and spiritual workshops, according to the festival website.. No drugs or alcohol will be allowed at the event, Lovelien said.
Lovelien said she expects more than 1,000 spectators, and organizers are planning for 2,000 or more, she said. The festival starts at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, and continues through 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, according to the website.
Festival mornings will start at 7 a.m. with yoga and workshops, followed by live music in the afternoons, Lovelien said. She expects music to last until 10 or 11 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday night of the event.
Since some Mancos households border Cottonwood Park, Lovelien said organizers plan to meet with the neighbors and work with them. She said festival personnel will do their best to minimize the festival’s impact.
Spectator traffic will be diverted south through town along Main Street, and then west along Road J, Lovelien said. Cars will pass through the traffic light at U.S. Highway 160 and Main Street, which is the route that the Colorado Department of Transportation recommended, Lovelien said.
Organizers are still finalizing parking arrangements for the event, but they will make sure spectators don’t park on the town streets or block driveways, Lovelien said.
Lovelien said people may contact her at 970-759-4637 with comments or questions about the festival. More information is available on the festival website at agapedurango.org.
The Rhythm and Soul Festival is organized by Agape Durango, a nonprofit spiritual group. Teacher and author Michael Bernard Beckwith founded the group in 1996, according to the site. The group puts on workshops, concerts, sacred services and other events, the site states.
Beckwith will headline Friday night at the festival with a musical performance, followed by a spiritual workshop on Saturday morning, Lovelien said. The headliner for Saturday night will be world fusion musician Nahko Bear, she said.
The schedule also includes Mancos band The Afrobeatniks, Telluride band Niceness, Native American poet Lyla June Johnson and other performers, according to the festival website.
Lovelien said she hopes the festival will be a positive experience and will give a boost to the economy of the town.
“Whether it’s music, art, writing — whatever the gift is that any individual has, it’s supporting them and being aligned with it and being able to share it,” she said.
