Deer Park Monastery, founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, announces its upcoming mindful music festival called "Rhythm of the Earth," a musical celebration of the power of community. The event will be held on April 15 from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. PDT at Deer Park Monastery, located at 2499 Melru Lane, Escondido, California, and is designed to raise funds for the construction of a new monks’ residence. The festival will feature live music performed at stunning natural locations throughout the 400-acre monastery by a diverse group of talented artists, including Joe Reilly and the Community Gardeners; Free Cloud Collective, an all-star ensemble featuring Alex Cline; beat boxer Jerry Liang; Makeda and the World Beat Cultural Center Drum and Dance; Santa Cruz Symphony concertmaster Nigel Armstrong; Tim Redbird and the Red Warriors; The Triple Jam Band featuring Brother Peace; A Trio of Strings; and the Deer Park Monastic Choir. Attendees will also participate in various mindful activities throughout the day, such as walking meditation through the valley from one performance to the next, mindful eating with Vietnamese vegan banh mi sandwich, land blessing and consecrating the construction site ceremonies, a presentation about the monastery, and sitting meditation to close the evening in silence. "We're thrilled to host so many talented musicians from our community and welcome the public to the natural refuge of Deer Park," said Brother Phap Luu, a senior Dharma teacher and monk. “This will be a legendary moment.” All proceeds from the festival will benefit construction of the new monks’ residence, which will provide much-needed living space for the burgeoning community of monastics. For those unable to attend in person, a section of the festival will also be live-streamed from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Deer Park Monastery is a mindfulness practice center and monastery founded by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh. The monastery offers mindfulness retreats, long-term resident training in meditation, and public Days of Mindfulness on Sundays for people of all backgrounds. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation, please visit the Deer Park Monastery website at www.deerparkmonastery.org or email press@deerparkmonastery.org or call 760-291-1003. Join us for a day of mindful music and community as we come together to support this important cause. Deer Park Monastery on Facebook / Instagram
