LOHAS has opened its doors for registration, speaker submissions, scholarship applicants, exhibitor reservations and sponsorship for 2012. This LOHAS Forum will be quite different from other LOHAS events of the past.

Early Bird 2 for 1 Special Rate
Registration is now open and we are offering a kick-ass special for the first 25 who register. The first 25 registrants receive a 2 for 1 price on the full priced attendee or nonprofit choices. This does not apply to single day registration. This is going to be a very different LOHAS Forum from years past you won’t want to miss! Read on for details on some of the changes. Register here.

New Location(s)
We have consistently observed that over half of the business attendees who participate in the LOHAS event are from out of town and many are Boulder newbies. Being what Boulder is it has an international LOHAS appeal as being the cradle of where LOHAS was originated. The progressive city has been recognized for many features including its healthy lifestyle, as being a natural and organic food hub, home of Colorado University and as an entrepreneurial mecca. In the past attendees have had to make an effort to go out and experience Boulder in between conference events. Not this year! We have decided to bring Boulder into the LOHAS experience by holding our events at various historic locations that are all in the down town area and within easy walking distance from each other.

Our morning keynote sessions will be held at the Boulder Theater. Opened in 1906 it is classic in design, with prime sound and an impressive tradition of the best in entertainment. Lunches will be served at nearby, locally owned restaurants along Pearl Street mall that serve organic meals and/or are sustainably focused. 

Our exhibit hall and infamous gift room area will be located at the Rembrant Yard which is the original location of the New Hope Media offices. New Hope runs the massive Natural Food and Products Expos. They have since moved to another location nearby and the Rembrant is now a beautiful art gallery used for wedding receptions and meetings.

Two doors down from the Rembrant Yard is the Shambala Center that is a part of an international community of urban meditation and rural retreat centers founded by the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The temple on the top floor is amazing. We will hold morning meditations here for those interested in starting off their LOHAS Forum days in a calm collected way.  We will also hold afternoon breakout sessions here that focus on personal development and spirituality as they relate to business.

The Boulderado Hotel is our hotel that we will direct people to reserve rooms and will be where the opening reception is held. The hotel has become a National Register Landmark and is a member of the National Trust's Historic Hotels of America.  It has a Victorian elegance that will embrace you from the moment you step foot into the lobby. Check out the stained glass ceiling and cantilevered cherry wood staircase. We will also have our speaker/sponsor lunch here at Q’s and afternoon breakout sessions. For St. Julien diehards we also have a room block reserved for you but it will be off the beaten path a bit. Room reservation details for these hotels and others nearby can be found on our travel/hotel page.

All of these locations are within a block of each other and gives attendees a chance to see some different aspects of Boulder than we have provided in the past. Plus you get some Colorado fresh air intake between sessions!

Taking Home Some Meat (Vegans Too)
Not only will LOHAS have a change in location but our program will have some exciting new aspects. We will have several 2 hour workshops that allow participants to dive deep into subject matter. These workshops are very hands on and will provide tangible take away with regards to LOHAS. Check our program page for regular updates.

We are also excited to have some great keynote speakers lined up for the LOHAS Forum. These include Founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and book author Chip Conley. Chip has written a new book on Emotional Equations and has applied mathematical relations to emotions (ex. Joy = Love – Fear). Chip spoke at LOHAS 3 years ago on his book Peak; How to get your Mojo From Maslow and was voted by attendees as the most favorite speaker. We also have Barbra Marx Hubbard who has been a pioneer in conscious evolution. Buckminster Fuller has called Barbara Marx Hubbard “the best informed human now alive regarding futurism and the foresights it has produced.” She will be talking about the post 2012 society.  John Francis, otherwise known as the planet walker, will share his story on how he walked across the U.S and South America during a 17 year vow of silence. I have no idea how he could do this as my wife says I can’t seem to shut up for 5 minutes.

For corporate attendees who are reading this – don’t worry. LOHAS is not all touchy-feely (although you may get asked for a hug from someone). We also will focus on how to engage stronger corporate responsibility and communications with the LOHAS market. Toyota, one of our sponsors, will be discussing the latest technologies in the auto industry. Several strategic green marketing agencies will be presenting their latest data on consumer studies.  Google’s Gopi Kallalyi will be speaking on improving performances of teams to maximize revenues. I was introduced to him through the Jolly Good Fellow of Google who I met earlier this year.  Jane Iredale, founder of Iredale Cosmetics will share what it is like to be a woman CEO and how she deals with tough business decisions. Presidio Graduate School will be discussing the future of our upper education’s relevancy.

Call for Presenters
Our program will be developing and evolving over the next few months. For those interested in submitting a speaker for a breakout session or workshop you may do so on our website.

Sponsorship Opportunities
We have a variety of sponsor options including gift room placement, exhibiting and larger sponsor presence. For details download our sponsor materials or contact ted.ning@lohas.com.

Student Scholarships
This special program is for students who are studying classes with emphasis on LOHAS and who have plans to enter a LOHAS industry. If accepted the total registration fee will covered. Apply here. We will select winners in early May.

As you can see we have a lot going on and a lot to be excited about. To keep up on LOHAS Forum 2012 progress sign up for our weekly newsletter or come back to our blog to check things out. We are very excited about this year and hope to see you there!