Not Your Grandma's Summer Festival!

I just watched an oldie-but-really goodie: An interview with Chip Conley on Jonathan Fields’ The Good Life Project. Fields sat down with the Joie de Vivre founder/author/lecturer to talk shop about finding joy in life, chasing dreams, and attending festivals around the world. Festivals? Chip Conley is in his 50s! I honestly never considered that that demographic might be the festival type. But as he spoke about burning out on his hospitality- empire career and looking for new meaning (which came to him in a serendipitous, haphazard way, during an audience Q & A after one of his lectures), I started to get it. 

Conley's stroke-of-genius idea? Become the world’s leading authority on something dear to his heart: Festivals. Yes, we’re talking Burning Man, but also the Kumbh Mela (a hindu spiritual festival) and EDM festivals (electronic music fests). I loved the way he drew connections between festivals and connecting with a greater good, connecting with people and different cultures, and how it can help shape a great life.

Have you ever been on a pilgrimage or attended a festival that lifted your spirit? I'd love to hear about it!

My last festival? The Rock en Seine musical festival just outside of Paris, France.

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Chip Conley went from hospitality industry leader to global festival guru!