About the Festival
At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, experience living traditions from around the world. Our goal is to work with communities to strengthen and preserve their cultures and share them with you on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The next event is
June 29 and 30, 2019
June 29 and 30, 2019
See the press release about the changes this year.
Upcoming Events
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April 20, 2019, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.Make Me Wanna Holler!
Exploring DC’s Music LegacyCharles Sumner School and National Postal Museum
Washington, D.C.This free event, presented at two historic D.C. buildings, features the social power of local music and poetry. In April 2019, the U.S. Postal Service releases its new stamp honoring Marvin Gaye, D.C. native son and international music legend. In celebration, join us for a day of activities, discussion, and performances that explore DCʼs rich music history—its legacies and contemporary resonances.
Co-presented by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and DC: The Social Power of Music
Looking Ahead
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2019A weekend of performances on the National Mall will illuminate the social power of music. On the evening of Saturday, June 29, we will launch with a concert featuring artists from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings roster and beyond. On the morning of Sunday, June 30, we will present a family concert celebrating the life and legacy of Pete Seeger, who would have been 100 years old in 2019.
2020We’ll be back in full form next year with the musical cultures of Benin, Brazil, D.C., and the Southern United States. We will also explore the many ways that people use cultural knowledge to address environmental change, along with our partners at the Smithsonian Conservation Commons, Solar Decathlon, and others.
Festival Blog
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December 19, 2018Armenian Recipe: Shrimp with Vodka Sauce and Arishta
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November 30, 2018Catalonia: A Welcoming Plaza, a Cohesive Society
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November 9, 2018How to Become Catalan
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November 2, 2018Armenian Recipe: Khashlama (Meat Stew)
Past Programs
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2011 FestivalRhythm and Blues: Tell It Like It IsDrawing from the deep tributaries of African American expressive culture, rhythm and blues is an amalgam of jump blues, big band swing, gospel, boogie, and blues that developed during racial segregation, three wars, and the struggle for civil rights.
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2009 FestivalLas Américas: Music in Latino CultureThe final installment of the Festival’s Nuestra Música series featured Puerto Rican bomba, Mexican son, Colombian joropo, Dominican merengue típico, Venezuelan música llanera, Paraguayan polca, Salvadoran chanchona, and much more.
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2002 FestivalThe Silk RoadThe Silk Road was a vast network of trade routes whose flow of ideas, culture, music, and art spread from East Asia to the Mediterranean. This landmark Festival brought together diverse artists from across the Eurasian continent.
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