The Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrates the world’s living cultural heritage. It is organized by the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The Festival has been held every year since 1967, and takes place outdoors on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on the two weeks around the fourth of July. It typically attracts more than one million visitors and is free to the public.

The Festival usually is divided into programs that feature a theme, nation, region or state. The 2009 Folklife Festival (June 24 – June 28 and July 1 – July 5) programs are on African American oral tradition, Latino music, and the country of Wales. Smithsonian Folkways, the non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, releases recordings of the festival’s performers in conjunction with the event.

Web Sites

• Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
• Smithsonian Folklife Festival
• Smithsonian Folkways

Databases

Enter the phrase Smithsonian Folklife Festival in these databases:

• eLibrary
• Gale Virtual Reference
• Proquest