Dancers from the Bhutanese Association of California will perform during the inaugural West Coast Gross National Happiness (GNH) Conference in SLO on Saturday, May 25. The event celebrates the Bhutanese concept of GNH, which was coined in 1972 to rival terms used to measure a country's economy, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP). Instead of using monetary statistics to define a country's success, GNH findings are based on surveys implemented to measure the happiness and well-being of a country's citizens.

The event includes guest speakers, including keynote Kinga Tshering, founder of the Institute of Happiness in Bhutan. Paintings from Bhutanese artists will also be on display and available for purchase during the conference. Tickets to the event are $30 and include lunch. The conference takes place at the Copeland Pavilion at French Hospital Medical Center, located at 1911 Johnson Ave., SLO. Visit ecologistics.org for more information. Δ