SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: The OM Festival

Looking for something to do this July? We are thrilled yoga festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Samantha Grout, Founder of the OM festival in Arlington, VT who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to pick up complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival! We asked them to share some thoughts on JOY, which is also the theme of our new issue and this is what they shared: 

“Joy, on the scale of consciousness, rings in at a whopping 540. This is above love and just short of enlightenment. Joy is an inner feeling of excitement, happiness, hope, appreciation, love, enjoyment and so much more. Often joy is brought about through “lightening up” aka humor. Laughter is a literal physical expression of joy. The body shakes and increases its own vibratory level. When you laugh, your face smiles, your eyes light up, and sometimes water. We believe the world needs more love, light, and laughter.

One of Om’s main goals is to allow each attendee, each performer, each vendor, and each teacher to join together in a group mastermind, anchoring our festival within the ethereal hills of Vermont – raising the collective and spreading joy not just to those who join with us, but to start a ripple that can spill out into the world.”

What to expect at The OM Festival:
Southern Vermont is no stranger to yoga festivals and fun immersive events as there was previously a major yoga festival that ran for nearly a decade at the Stratton Mountain Resort. It drew thousands of yoga enthusiasts yearly to Manchester and the surrounding mountain areas seeking to get their downward-facing dog on and enjoy the resplendent views and crisp clean fresh air.  The problem was that when the pandemic hit – all of this came to a grinding halt. This left a massive void.

Sam Grout, a sixth-generation Vermonter, yogi, entrepreneur, and techie had a vision to fill that void and start a new chapter in Vermont to continue this tradition of yoga, good food, and building community.  Sam is the Co-Founder of The OM Festival – a transformative retreat experience for your sacred soul.  She and the rest of the Omies are here to invite you to visit Vermont and experience that same beautiful Wanderlust spirit living in the rolling hills of West Arlington. This is where the new chapter began with the first annual OM Festival hosted at the West Mountain Inn in 2023.  It is again that time of year! The mountains are calling, and it is “Time to Go OM.”

This epic, multi-day, family-friendly yoga, music, and wellness festival brings an amazing combination of yoga, music, workshops, and outdoor adventure to yoga lovers, families, foodies, and outdoor adventure seekers. This is the ultimate opportunity to experience an outdoor yoga and wellness festival in the breathtakingly beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont.

The 2024 festival lineup will feature more than 60+ classes and workshops, numerous guided hikes and nature walks such as mushroom identification, farm-to-table dinners, wine tastings, wood-fired pizza nights and more. 

This festival boasts an unparalleled lineup of local and international yoga teachers, kirtan artists, and bhakti musicians from around the world. There will also be flow artists, meditation instructors and talented performing artists such as fire dancers. Attendees can practice and learn various styles of yoga (at all levels), outdoor activities such as SUP yoga, hula hooping, slack-lining, and more, or indulge in local farm fresh food from Jamaican Jewelz, cold-pressed organic Kombucha from Baby Kombucha or relax in the Enchanted Forest Spa with spa treatments from The Alchemist Laboratory, Well Balanced Massage and Maggie’s Healing Path where our attendees can enjoy a  facial, massage, healing treatment and/or reiki session. Be sure to check out OM Botanicals amazing all-natural products in our Vendor Village as well as check out Boston Vibrations huge selection of singing bowls to the cool clothing from Kava Threads and Kukui Maca an all-inclusive bohemian boutique. 

Kids under 12 will be admitted FREE. A five-day all-access pass starts at $499, 3-day passes are $399 and there are day passes as well as music passes that will give you entrance to all classes, workshops, vendor village, spa tent, and nightly entertainment.