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The Festival of Life

Ann Arbor's fourth outdoor Festival of Life will take place on the main meadow of Nichol's psychedelic arboretum this Sunday, September 29.

According to organizers, this annual fall and spring occurrence is a "non-exclusive gathering of people and groups interested in the expansion of human consciousness on all levels. The theme of this Festival is Unity In Diversity, working with the concept that all paths lead to the same mountaintop, while recognizing that each person is individually unique and IS their own path."

The Festival begins in the wee hours with a sunrise meditation and chanting session, then on to sufi dancing and a cosmic ceremony. A pot-luck lunch will mark mid-day, then workshops and "share-ins" to be conducted by a variety of "disciplines and masters," many from Asia. After the 5 p.m. cornmunal cleanup of the meadow, Swami Muktananda will lead the closing Darsham, and the event will close with a sunset meditation at 7:19 p.m.

Besides a host of Asian spiritualists, local participants will include Dick Ahern, a City of the Future planner; Mark Singh, a Kundalini yogi; Miki Malamud demonstrating Tai Chi; the Ahtereus Society "who have contact with extra-terrestial beings," and the Arica lnstitute. For the first time several local social and political groups will also participate.