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The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in 
The Festival is free to the public, encouraging cultural exchange. Attracting more than one million visitors yearly, the two-week-long celebration is the largest annual cultural event in the United States capital. Usually divided into programs featuring a nation, region, state or theme, the Festival has featured tradition bearers from more than 90 nations, every region of the United States, scores of ethnic communities, more than 100 American Indian groups, and some 70 different occupations.
The Festival generally includes daily and evening programs of music, song, dance, celebratory performance, crafts and cooking demonstrations, storytelling, illustrations of workers' culture, and narrative sessions for discussing cultural issues. Cultural practitioners speak for themselves, with each other, and to the public. Visitors participate, learning, singing, dancing, eating traditional foods, and conversing with people that the Festival program presents.
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - food tents.jpg, Food and drink tents at the Festival
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Texas tents.jpg, Texas section of the exhibit area
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Texas winemaking.jpg, Texas winemaking tent
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Bhutanese temple.jpg, Interior of a Bhutanese temple erected for the occasion on the National Mall
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Prayer flags.jpg, Prayer flags erected on the National Mall in front of the temple
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Bhutanese craft tent.jpg, Masks and other objects in the Bhutanese craft tent
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Bhutanese crafts.jpg, Religious objects in the craft tent
File:Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Bhutanese pigments.jpg, Pigment pots in the tent dedicated to Bhutanese traditional painting
Smithsonian Folklife FestivalSmithsonian Online Virtual ArchivesIndiana University Folklore Institute Files on the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife 1987, 1979-1995, bulk 1986-1987
{{Smithsonian Institution Recurring events established in 1967 Folklife Festival Festivals in Washington, D.C. Cultural festivals in the United States July events Multiculturalism in the United States 1967 establishments in Washington, D.C. Festivals of multiculturalism
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is held on the National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
for two weeks around the Fourth of July
Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
(the U.S. Independence Day) holiday. The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage produces the Festival.
The Festival is free to the public, encouraging cultural exchange. Attracting more than one million visitors yearly, the two-week-long celebration is the largest annual cultural event in the United States capital. Usually divided into programs featuring a nation, region, state or theme, the Festival has featured tradition bearers from more than 90 nations, every region of the United States, scores of ethnic communities, more than 100 American Indian groups, and some 70 different occupations.
The Festival generally includes daily and evening programs of music, song, dance, celebratory performance, crafts and cooking demonstrations, storytelling, illustrations of workers' culture, and narrative sessions for discussing cultural issues. Cultural practitioners speak for themselves, with each other, and to the public. Visitors participate, learning, singing, dancing, eating traditional foods, and conversing with people that the Festival program presents.
List of programs by year
The regions and topics featured at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival since its inception in 1967:
1976 Bicentennial festival
As part of the nationwide Bicentennial celebration, the 1976 American Folklife Festival was extended into a 12-week event held from June 16 to September 6. Years of preparation in collaboration with thousands of scholars, performers, and preservationists produced programs, activities, and outdoor exhibitions running five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday. The festival took place in the western part of the National Mall, south of the Reflection Pool.Scenes from the 2008 festival
References
External links
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
{{Smithsonian Institution Recurring events established in 1967 Folklife Festival Festivals in Washington, D.C. Cultural festivals in the United States July events Multiculturalism in the United States 1967 establishments in Washington, D.C. Festivals of multiculturalism