![Smithsonian Folklife Festival — June 29 & 30](/web/20190626134221im_/https://festival.si.edu/themes/festival/assets/images/logo/festival_logoAndDate_2019.png)
This year we celebrate the power of music to entertain, educate, inspire, preserve history, strengthen identity, and build community.
Saturday, June 29, 12–10 p.m.
Join us on the National Mall for a local record label market, zine-making activities, and archiving demonstrations at the D.C. Music Preservation Pop-Up. Grab some drinks and food truck delicacies and stay for the evening concert featuring Ruby Ibarra, Quetzal featuring Alice Bag and La Marisoul, and Kokayi.
Sunday, June 30, 10:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Sing along at the Smithsonian Folkways tribute to Pete Seeger with The Bright Siders, Sonia De Los Santos, Dan & Claudia Zanes, and Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower, plus instrument workshops and more. Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash closes out the weekend.
In addition to the preservation pop-up on June 29, D.C.: The Social Power of Music is presenting arts workshops, performances, and more leading up to a full program in 2020.
We are co-presenting five additional free concerts on the Millennium Stage June 29 through July 3. All concerts will stream live from the Kennedy Center’s website.
The Festival is just two of 365 days of music at the Smithsonian in 2019 as the institution is presenting concerts, workshops, films, exhibitions, and lectures every day of the year.
Franklin Park
Get out under the midday sun and enjoy the dreamy slo-core strains of D.C.-based quartet Cigarette.
National Museum of American History
This documentary offers a vibrant look at the life of Chicano musician and activist Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, established in 1967, honors contemporary living cultural traditions and celebrates those who practice and sustain them. Produced annually by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage on the National Mall, the Festival has featured participants from all fifty states and more than one hundred countries.
The 2019 Festival will look a little different, with two days of concerts instead of our usual two weeks of craft demonstrations, narrative sessions, cooking demonstrations, and more. Visitors will still be able to enjoy live music, a variety of food and drink options from local food trucks, instrument workshops for all ages, and presentations about the D.C. music scene.
In 2020, we will be back in full form as the Folklife Festival explores how diverse domains of cultural knowledge—from religion to design to science—shape the ways we understand, experience, and respond to ever-changing natural, social, and built environments.
Programs will include the Baltic countries, Benin, Brazil, Cuba, D.C., Louisiana, and the United Arab Emirates. Alongside regional representations are the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon and Smithsonian Conservation Commons. A look at the rich history of American ginseng rounds out next year’s programming.