AcroInsiders: Start the Year Off the Acro Mat — Jan Related Fest Edition 🎪

Hello, Bases & Flyers!

Quick housekeeping note before we dive in: the Acro Insiders calendar has been cleaned up and fully updated, so if you haven’t checked it in a bit, now’s a good time to take another look. Everything should be current and de-duplicated.

As we roll into the new year, I just want to wish everyone a happy New Year, wherever and however you’re celebrating. Here’s to starting the year moving, traveling, and flying together!

This week’s edition is our Related Festivals roundup: circus, pole, handstands, flow arts, music-forward movement gatherings, and the spaces our acro community tends to orbit when we’re not on an acro floor.

So expect in today’s issue:

• 🗓️ All Events Coming Up Soon (Dec 30 – Jan 13)

• ✈️ Plan Ahead: Related Movement Festivals through February

• 🌍 Beyond Acro: Cultural Festivals to Catch in February

• 🧳 My Favorite Travel Tools

— Cat Xu @acroinsiders

🕒 COMING UP SOON: December 30 - January 13

(For the spontaneous among us — these all start in the next two weeks.)

• Dec 30–Jan 4 — Acroschweinchen Festival Weekend 2 | Werbellin, Germany 🎪

• Jan 2–4 — Fauna Festival | Canelones, Uruguay 🎪

• Jan 2–7 — APAC Pre-Con (Australian Partner Acrobatics) | Victoria, Australia 🏋️

• Jan 4–9 — Acro & Movement Retreat in Chiang Mai | Chiang Mai, Thailand 🧘

• Jan 7–15 — Acro Revolución Solar Argentina | Mercedes, Argentina 🏋️

• Jan 8–12 — Acro Expansion VIII – Intermediate AcroYoga Retreat | Bali, Indonesia 🧘

• Jan 10–13 — Bangkok Acro Convention | Bangkok, Thailand 🎪

• Jan 10–11 — Micro Convention | Villeurbanne, France 🎪🏋️

• Jan 13–18 — APAC (Australian Partner Acrobatics Convention) | Victoria, Australia 🎪

Symbol Guide

🧘 = Retreat | 🎪 = Festival | 🏋️ = Intensive | 💫 = Event
🎓 = Teacher Training | ⭐ = Popular | 😿 = Sold Out

✈️ PLAN AHEAD: Related Movement Fests/Events Through February

Aerial, Circus & Flow Arts

📍 Aerial Summer Camp | Camp Cooriemungle, VIC, Australia | Jan 2–7
Aerial-focused camp with multiple apparatus classes, including lyra, tissu, rope, straps, with access to professional rigging and experienced instructors.

📍 Spin Circus Festival | Camp Cooriemungle, VIC, Australia | Jan 8–12
A long-running circus & flow arts festival with full days of workshops (acrobatic, aerial, juggling, fire, movement skills), nightly performances, community shows, and inclusive training for all levels.

📍 Flow Fest Fort Lauderdale | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA | Jan 18
A one-day public flow arts festival with performances, open jams, and opportunities to connect with the broader flow community.

📍 Cheeselandia Hoop Affair | Madison, USA | Feb 20–21
A hoop-centric weekend with workshops and skill shares while meeting a concentrated pocket of hoopers and prop artists.

Handstands Training

📍 Handstand Revolution Winter Intensive | Brunnenhaus, Germany | Jan 8–11
A weekend immersion dedicated to handstands and mobility work in a nature-focused setting, with structured workshops and open practice.

📍 Winter Handstand Extravaganza Convention | Sicily, Italy | Jan 28–Feb 1
An international handstand convention with workshops, skills labs, and community sessions, bringing practitioners together to train and connect.

Flow, Music & Conscious Gatherings

📍 Interfusion Festival | Arlington, Virginia, USA | Jan 15–19
A large movement-and-music gathering that blends classes, live sets, DJ stages, and holistic workshops for multidisciplinary movers.

📍 Time Machine Festival | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Jan 24
A themed dance and music event with immersive production, costuming, and extended dance sets.

📍 Cantando la Vida – Singing Alive | Finca Amrta, Costa Rica | Jan 31–Feb 2
A three-day song village rooted in shared singing as ceremony. The gathering centers on creating a sacred container to practice peace, healing, and connection through a wide range of vocal traditions.

📍 Unity Space Festival | Lake Atitlán, Guatemala | Feb 10–15
A multi-day movement and music festival with workshops, conscious experiences, and community ritual around the lake.

📍 Thantawan Festival | Chiang Mai, Thailand | Feb 20–22
A creative cultural festival with live music, performance art, and community-oriented programming in northern Thailand.

📍 Envision Festival | Uvita, Costa Rica | Feb 23–Mar 2
An internationally known eco-festival merging music, yoga, arts, sustainability, and workshops on the Pacific coast.

📍 Tribal Gathering | Playa Chiquita, Costa Rica | Feb 27–Mar 16
A longer cultural gathering focused on indigenous arts, movement sessions, and cross-community experiences by the sea.

Want to submit an event for our next edition? Fill out this form.

🌍 BEYOND ACRO: Cultural Festivals to Catch in February

Tết (Vietnamese New Year) | Vietnam | Jan 29, 2026
Vietnam’s most important holiday marks the lunar new year with family gatherings, ancestor rituals, temple visits, flower markets, and days of celebration across the country. Many shops will be closed.

Carnival | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Feb 13–18, 2026
A week-long explosion of samba, street blocos, parades, and nonstop movement. From massive Sambadrome performances to neighborhood parties that spill into the streets, the city becomes one continuous dance floor.

Mardi Gras | New Orleans, USA | Feb 17, 2026
New Orleans’ Mardi Gras season builds for weeks before culminating in parades, brass bands, costuming, and all-day street celebrations with crazy outfits and beads everywhere.

🧳 TRAVEL ESSENTIALS — What I Actually Use

I get asked a lot what I pack, book, and use on the road. Here’s the shortlist all tested over years going around the globe.

• Booking.com – My default for hotels and guesthouses worldwide.

• Agoda – Especially good for Asia deals.

• Discovercars.com – Best rental car aggregator.

• Skyscanner – Still the fastest way I find cheap multi-leg flights.

• Travel Insurance via SafetyWing – Month-to-month coverage for when plans change last-minute.

Some links are affiliate — they help keep Acro Insiders running at no extra cost to you.

Thanks for reading! If this issue helped you plan your next acro adventure, forward it to your crew — the more of us on one list, the better it gets.

📬 Have an event, retreat, or training to promote?
→ Submit it here or reply to this email for sponsored placement.

🎟️ Not yet subscribed? Join Acro Insiders →

Next week: A fresh look at all the events coming up through the spring after the holiday pause.

Until then, warm up before you try the weird stuff!
— Cat Xu
Connect with me? @acroinsiders