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Any opinions on Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington, DC? |
Travel Info is it an International cultural festival for all countries including some Asia countries?(Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam...) Travel Tips It's great!! I love going every year - I visit from out of town every year. They feature different regions of the world (countries, cities, etc...) They showcase 3 or 4 different ones a year. You can get more info on the Smithsonian website (www.si.edu) and go to the Folklife Festival part of the website. I know one of the themes this year is Jamestown, Virginia this year since it's the 400th anniversary. Others The 2007 folk life festival highlights three cultures: Mekong River, Northern Ireland and Virginia. Mekong River:Through craft demonstrations, dance and musical performances, and hands-on activities, Mekong River: Connecting Cultures will introduce visitors to the diverse cultures of the Mekong River. The Mekong region has been a cradle and crossroads of cultures for many centuries and more recently has become closely connected to the United States through the more than two million Americans who trace their ancestry to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and the Chinese province of Yunnan. Visitors will experience the region's diversity firsthand through the presentations of artists, performers, craftspeople, cooks, ritual specialists, and presenters. Five stages, including a family learning center, will feature traditions as diverse as Vietnamese opera, Thai shadow puppetry, Cambodian classical dance, and Chinese gourd flute music. Exquisite Lao textiles, Naxi calligraphy, and mural painting will be only a few of the Mekong craft traditions presented. The Mekong has many different meanings to the peoples of the region as well as to Americans who may know little of its complexity. Mekong River: Connecting Cultures will help broaden everyone's view. Few regions of the world have contributed more to the formation of the United States than Northern Ireland. Since the seventeenth century, a succession of immigrants has had a profound impact on the development of American culture, politics, education, science, religion, agriculture, and industry. Proud of its past and increasingly confident of its future, Northern Ireland has only recently begun to attract the international attention it deserves. Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland program will bring to Washington the region's finest performers, artists, storytellers, craftspeople, cooks, and workers to help explain, demonstrate, and celebrate their culture. Through dynamic Festival performances, demonstrations, and educational activities, the program will highlight the rich history, living traditions, and distinctive customs of this beautiful region. Reflecting the complexity and creativity of Northern Ireland, the site will feature traditional industries, such as Belleek pottery and Bushmills Irish Whiskey, home-based crafts, such as lace- and bagpipe-making, and modern community expressions, such as mural painting. Virginia: By exploring the roots of Virginia's contemporary cultural traditions, Roots of Virginia Culture will mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States. The program will bring to Washington performers, artists, musicians, dancers, storytellers, cooks, farmers, and craftspeople to help explain, demonstrate, and celebrate cultural traditions. Delegations from Virginia's eight Native American tribes, West Africa, and Kent County, England, will represent the Native, African American, and English roots of the state. Fruit growers and wooden boat builders from Virginia and Kent; peanut farmers and pottery makers from West Africa and Virginia; and African, Native, and Virginian blacksmiths will work side-by-side. Other participants will sing gospel songs, ballads, blues, and bluegrass; demonstrate horse skills and crafts; discuss historic restoration; and cook with Virginia's products. For the first time, an English county will participate in the Folklife Festival. I try and make the festival each year. Definitely worth checking out. http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2007... The Folklife Festival highlights something different every year . The first person to answer has a good summary of the theme this year. One year the theme was New York City, one year it was the "Silk Road" and all the countries along it, one year it was Scotland, Mali and Bluegrass etc. So it depends, some years they feauture Asian countries, some years not. This year they will have the Mekong River as one theme, so you'll have the countries along the Mekong represented, like Vietnam. There are always crafts, food and music from all the regions/countries highlighted. Crafts are sold and demonstrated. For example, during the Scotland year, there was a mini golf-course and a whisky distillery. During the Silk Road year, there was a man making Tuvan instruments and people weaving silk. What's really amazing that it is all free. Well, the performaces are, at least, and that is the best part of the festival. The festival is wonderful They set up right on the mall, and include a variety of cultures every year. Yes, that includes non-western, and non-US cultures! It is very crowded, and usually hot and humid, but is a rich outdoor exhibit, with concerts, and people who bring the cuture from where they live This year the focus is on Virginia, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first English speaking settlement in North America, Northern Ireland, and the cultures on the Mekong River. So the latter would be your Asian connection. http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2007... http://www.washingtontravelcast.com... This is a summer must-do in DC. Always a fun time for the entire family. |
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