Every year, the summer festival focuses on a new theme, aligning with the development of the UP Community.

Each year, a totem animal serves as a guide and underlying current for the festival days.

Growth doesn't begin above our heads, but beneath our feet. Before we reach for the light, we must first land.

This year, RiseUP invites you to return to the basics. To the roots. To the earth. Root to Rise UP isn't a call to go higher, faster, or further—but to stand firmer. Because only what is well-grounded can truly rise.

We live in the year of the Horse. A powerful symbol of movement, zest for life, and freedom. The horse wants to run, to feel the wind brushing against its body, to reach the horizon. But a horse without strong hooves, without contact with the earth, becomes hunted. Its power lies not only in movement, but in its connection with the ground it stands on.

That applies to us too.

In a conscious community, vagueness sometimes lurks. Big words, lofty ideals, quick spiritual leaps. And yes—they have their place. But without earth, they become empty. Without grounding, we lose each other. Without honesty, we lose ourselves.

Grounding requires us to slow down. To feel what is truly there. Not what sounds better, not what we would like to be, but what is presenting itself now. Our joy and our resistance. Our strength and our vulnerability. Our love and our limits.

Because only when we are honest about what is alive can we truly meet each other.

Meeting requires presence. And presence requires a strong body, an open heart, and feet that know the earth. You can only see the other when you dare to feel yourself. When you don't drift away from discomfort, but stay. Breathe. Listen. Acknowledge.

This is what is.

From that acknowledgment arises a connection that is not fragile, but nourishing. Not a connection based on a spiritual idea, but on a shared humanity. From parent to child. From heart to heart. From root to crown.

A solid foundation is not a limitation—it is freedom. Just like a tree that roots deeply to grow tall, or a horse that can move powerfully because it trusts the ground. The deeper we sink, the more spacious we become. The firmer we stand, the further we can reach.

RiseUP is a place where we practice that balance together. Where earth and heaven meet. Where we celebrate, play, dance, and dream—but also sink, feel, and be present. With our children, our families, our community. Not perfect, but real.

This year, we invite you to put down roots.

To feel your feet.

To be honest about what is.

And from there—together—to rise.

Root to Rise UP!