Smithsonian Folklife Festival
This summer politics will take a holiday in Washington, DC, as the National Mall plays host to hundreds of exhibits and thousands of visitors to the 40th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, held outdoors between Seventh and Fourteenth Streets, next to the Smithsonian museums. The festival begins June 30 and lasts until July 11, with a three-day break for Independence Day celebrations from July 4 to July 7.
The Folklife Festival is a celebration of the world’s cultural diversity. Its exhibits showcase many aspects of the world’s indigenous cultures, including crafts, produce, cuisine, dance, art, and, of course, music. Admission to the festival is free. Exhibits open at 11 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m., which is when the evening concerts, dance parties, and other special events begin.
Since 1967, the festival has brought more than 16,000 musicians, artists, crafts people, and others to the National Mall to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and aesthetics that embody the creative vitality of community-based traditions. To date the festival has featured tradition bearers from 54 nations, every region of the US, scores of ethnic communities, and more than 100 American Indian groups.
There are plenty of special events for music lovers at this year’s festival. “Nuestra Música 2006: Latino Chicago” is the third program in the festival’s four-year Latino Music Project. The program highlights the music and cultural expressions of Chicago’s Latino communities, exploring the roles they play in shaping contemporary society, creating community, and confirming cultural identity.
"Alberta at the Smithsonian" will bring together more than 120 musicians, storytellers, cooks, crafts people, occupational specialists, and cultural experts from Alberta, Canada, to celebrate the living traditions that make and sustain the province’s unique culture. The event will showcase Alberta’s indigenous traditions, its pioneer and immigrant heritage, and its thriving contemporary culture.
This year, the festival also presents a series of evening concerts June 30, July 7, and July 8 cosponsored by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. These concerts will pay tribute to the vibrant African American musical traditions of the US Gulf Coast region affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
For more information about the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, visit www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2006/index.html
