The New Story Festival has been named the signature festival of Compassionate Austin, a member of the Compassionate Communities campaign of the global Charter for Compassion movement! Begun by Karen Armstrong in 2008, Charter for Compassion exists to activate people across the globe to restore compassion to the center of religion, morality, and politics through collaborative partnerships and concrete, practical action.

Here is what they say about the New Story Festival:

The New Story Festival is the Signature Festival of Compassionate Austin! We invite everyone to come together for community, creativity, and the common good. Believing that “the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better,” the New Story Festival seeks to lead us into a better story – one that encourages growth and liberation, healing and harmony; a story where the downtrodden are uplifted and everyone is included. Artists, activists, teachers, practitioners for spiritual/emotional health & wholeness, along with numerous other social innovators gather to share their creativity, practices, and stories. The New Story Festival is a bold experiment for a better world, embodying imagination, spirituality, social action, and playful connection – defined, above all, by the practice of love. The festival is a community-wide celebration, inspiration, and activation of “3D” compassion: caring for others, self, and the Earth!

Members of Compassionate Communities from across the state of Texas and representatives from the global Charter for Compassion will be gathering together at the New Story this March to connect and coordinate with one another as they enjoy the broader festival as well. We hope you'll join them there! Get your Early Bird Tickets for only $179 (now thru Dec. 31st!).