Smithsonian Institution Folklife Festival – The Center for Folklife Studies and Cultural Heritage hosts the Smithsonian Folklife Festival every year. It honors the United States’ existing cultural traditions as well as those of other traditional civilizations across the world.
The festival revolves around the knowledge, ability, and experience of traditional performers, artisans, and vocation experts. Tradition carriers demonstrate and perform in an educational atmosphere that has been dubbed a “museum display without walls.”
Artists and community researchers carried out research for the Festival. The Festival’s participants are community-based tradition keepers, many of whom learned their abilities from family or group “masters” over many years, if not decades.
Let’s know about it in detail.
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What is a folklife festival?
The annual two-week (10-day) celebration takes place on the National Mall in Washington, DC, from late June through the Fourth of July weekend. The National Mall is located at the heart of the Smithsonian Museum complex, stretching between the US Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. Over a million individuals from all walks of life, ethnic groups, and areas of the world attend the event.
“Celebrating New Hampshire Traditions” was New Hampshire’s contribution to the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
In the summer of 1999, New Hampshire was one of three highlighted events of the yearly Smithsonian Folklife Conference. In New Hampshire, two foreign groups, one representing Romania and the other advocating South Africa, were present. Dancers, musicians, artists, and vocational specialists are among them.
The New Hampshire presentation was hailed as the Festival’s largest state program in its 34-year existence. The event normally has a maximum of 80-100 people for each program. During the two-week festival, however, over 140 entertainers, traditional craftspeople, and vocational experts officially represented New Hampshire. Another 60-70 people, including band members, firefighters, and others, traveled to Washington, DC to assist celebrate two days of special events: Old Home Day and a day to honor Franco-American heritage in New Hampshire.
“Celebrating New Hampshire Stories” was the title of the event, which consisted of five topic areas that represented essential viewpoints on New Hampshire’s living legacy.
The festival was brought back to New Hampshire and reenacted at the state showground in Hopkinton after the New Hampshire program at the 1999 Folklife Festival was such a success. The festival themes were expanded upon by non-profit groups and state authorities. The outcome was the state’s greatest cultural event ever.
The five-day festival drew a total of 35,000 attendees. Over 10,000 children in grades K-12 came to witness and participate in performances and displays of the state’s live cultural legacy over the first three days set aside for school visits.
It took nearly two years to prepare New Hampshire’s program for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1999. Over two dozen folklorists and community researchers toured the state for ten months, interviewing tradition holders, taking notes, and taking pictures as part of the study phase. The materials created as a result of the show’s study have been added to a working collection at the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. These papers will eventually be kept at the University of New Hampshire’s Milne Special Collections & Archives.
To reach a wider audience, the Smithsonian publishes an educational program book each year. Several excellent pieces produced by New Hampshire authors examine various facets of New Hampshire tradition.
Where is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival held?
The next Smithsonian Folklife Festival will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., from June 22 to 26, 2022, then again from June 30 to July 4, 2022.
The Smithsonian Institution Folklife Festival has been welcoming performers and tourists from all over the globe to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. since 1967. The yearly event is being held in the two weeks leading up to the July 4th holiday. All of the programs are always free.
By late spring, a daily schedule of activities will be available on this page. Many of the activities repeat themselves across the two weeks of the Festival, except for the nighttime performances.
The summers in Washington, D.C. are warm and muggy. Lightweight clothes, a hat, sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle are all recommended.
Due to the scarcity of parking near the National Mall, we recommend that guests take the subway or other forms of mobility. The closest Metro stop to the Festival venue is Smithsonian. Within a half-mile, you’ll find L’Enfant Plaza, the National Archives, and Federal Triangle stations.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is undoubtedly a great festival that you can attend if you love the quality artwork and great visual experiences. It will help you to understand the New Hampshire tradition. The students can also learn a lot by attending such memorable events. Everyone should visit it once in a lifetime for the great traditional performances.