The Lola Zen Project Festival is an interactive community event where people come together to learn, share stories, try new things, and meet people with similar interests.
Instead of simply visiting booths, we want people to participate.
Ask questions. Try an activity. Learn a skill. Share what you know. Meet someone new.
Built Around Curiosity
Curiosity gives people an easy way to connect.
Our festival brings together different interests and experiences — from STEM, gaming and pop culture to art, food, culture, practical skills and community stories.
You don't have to be an expert to participate.
If you know something interesting, have a skill to demonstrate, a cultural experience to share, or a topic that gets people asking questions, you can help create an experience.
Become a Storyteller
Our storytellers help lead the festival.
A storyteller might:
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Demonstrate a skill or hobby
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Share a cultural tradition
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Lead an interactive activity
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Talk about an interesting topic
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Teach something they've learned
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Create an experience that gets people talking
Storytelling can happen through conversation, demonstrations, games, activities, art, food, objects, or hands-on learning.
Become a Volunteer
Volunteers help us make these experiences possible.
Help with activities, welcome guests, assist storytellers, set up festival spaces, connect people with programs, or help us develop future events and meetups.
Some volunteers may eventually become storytellers or help lead their own community activities.
Help Us Build What's Next
The festival is also a place for us to find people who want to help build future Lola Zen Project programs.
Have a skill you could share?
A topic you want to explore?
A culture or story you want people to learn about?
An idea for a meetup?
We want to hear it.
Come curious. Get involved.
Volunteer • Become a Storyteller • Share an Idea
Lola Zen Project
Building community through curiosity, culture and shared experience.
The Lola Zen Project Festival
Founded by Liz, a death doula and storyteller, and Orlando, a corporate professional engineer and lifelong martial arts enthusiast, the Lola Zen Project began with a simple idea: everyone knows something worth sharing.
The Lola Zen Project Festival brings that idea to life as a learning carnival—a playful community pop-up where storytelling, culture, skills, creativity, movement, and lived experience become things we can teach one another.
Instead of simply walking past vendor booths, guests are invited to participate. Learn a martial arts movement. Hear a family or cultural story. Make something with your hands. Play a game. Explore a new idea. Sit down for an unexpected conversation. Teach someone something you know.
Liz brings a death-doula perspective rooted in the value of our stories, the wisdom we collect throughout a lifetime, and what we choose to pass forward. Orlando brings the discipline, curiosity, and lifelong learning found through martial arts and professional life.
Together, they created the festival as a place for those worlds—and many more—to meet.
Come curious. Learn something. Share something. Carry something forward.
