Smithsonian Folklife Festival
smithsonian folklife festival launched international exhibition living cultural heritage presented annually summer washington dc united state held national mall two week around fourth july u independence day holiday smithsonian center folklife cultural heritage produce festival festival free public encouraging cultural exchange attracting one million visitor yearly twoweeklong celebration largest annual cultural event united state capital usually divided program featuring nation region state theme festival featured tradition bearer nation every region united state score ethnic community american indian group different occupation festival generally includes daily evening program music song dance celebratory performance craft cooking demonstration storytelling illustration worker culture narrative session discussing cultural issue cultural practitioner speak public visitor participate learning singing dancing eating traditional food conversing people festival program present region topic featured smithsonian folklife festival since inception part nationwide bicentennial celebration american folklife festival extended week event held june september year preparation collaboration thousand scholar performer preservationist produced program activity outdoor exhibition running five day week wednesday sunday festival took place western part national mall south reflection pool smithsonian folklife festival smithsonian online virtual archive indiana university folklore institute file smithsonian festival american folklife bulk