The Folklife Festival is Back on the Mall!

Welcome back the ten-day celebration that has been happening on the National Mall since 1968

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is back—that ten-day celebration that has been happening on the National Mall since 1968. Every summer the Smithsonian Folklife Center promotes cultural education by highlighting the conventions and customs of social groups from the world over. This year, come on out to the National Mall and explore these three pavilion areas: Giving Voice, which focuses on African American oral traditions from storytelling to song to radio; Wales, which celebrates the language, literature and spoken word of one of Europe's oldest cultures; Las Américanos, which features the musical heritage of Latin America from mariachi to vallenato.

There are tons of activities for visitors of all ages (and plenty of food), so be sure to look at this complete listing of events and the festival map so you can plan your visit. Oh, and I'd be bad if I didn't mention that you should dress for hot, humid weather and to carry an umbrella in the event of rainstorms. (In the event of inclement weather, duck inside the nearest museum until the rain passes. The festival typically resumes as soon as possible.) You can also get a daily lineup of Folklife Festival programs right here on the Around the Mall blog.

Not able to make it out to the National Mall? Well, the next best thing is the Folklife Center's webcasts of festival events. And don't forget that the Folklife Center works year-round to document our rich global heritage, so be sure to check out the Folkways record label and the recently-launched Folkways magazine to keep yourself in the know.

After the jump is a complete listing of the opening day events. Don't forget to check out a festival map when planning your day's events at the festival. Check back in to Around the Mall for daily events listings!

GIVING VOICE

24-Jun-09

Barbershop/Beauty Parlor

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Hair Stories with Victoria Burnett

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Hair Stories with Phyllis Stickney

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Wit amd Wisdom of the Barbershop with Baba

3:00 PM 4:00 PM Hair Stories with Charlotte Blake- Alston

4:00 PM 5:30 PM Beauty Tales with Diane Ferlatte

Radio Station

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM WPFW-FM Live Broadcast: Don't Forget the Blues

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Giving Voice: The Persona of the Black Deejay

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Vintage Black Radio Broadcast: M.L. King on the James Early Power of Peaceful Persuasion with Lorne Cress Love

3:00 PM 4:00 PM A Voice for Our People: The Power of Black Radio

4:00 PM 5:00 PM Vintage Black Radio Broadcast with Paul Robeson

5:00 PM 5:30 PM

The Oratorium

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Storytelling with Mitch Capel and Charlotte Blake

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Poetry with Holly Bass

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Ella Jenkins

3:00 PM 4:00 PM Storytelling with Tejumola Ologboni

4:00 PM 5:00 PM Humor with James Hannah and Phyllis Stickney

5:00 PM 5:30 PM Storytelling with Dylan Pritchett

The Stoop

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM NMAAHC Giving Voice

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Poetry with Toni Blackman

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Christylez

3:00 PM 4:00 PM with Toni Blackman and Kenny Carroll

4:00 PM 5:00 PM Storytelling with Nothando Zulu and Brother Blue

5:00 PM 5:30 PM Storytelling with Sankofa

Young Wordsmiths

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Sing-Along with Ella Jenkins

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Storytelling with Diane Ferlatte Diane Ferlatte James Alexander Robinson

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Poetry Workshop with Kenny Carroll

3:00 PM 4:00 PM Storytelling with Victoria Burnett and Baba Jamal

4:00 PM 5:00 PM Theater Workshop with Tony Small

5:00 PM 5:30 PM Kenny Carroll Presents Young Wordsmiths

LAS AMERICAS

Caseta de Leandro-accordion

11:00 AM 11:45 AM

12:00 PM 12:35 PM Texmaniacs

12:35 PM 1:25 PM Los Maestros del Joropo Oriental

1:25 PM 2:15 PM Merengue

2:15 PM 3:05 PM Texmaniacs

3:05 PM 3:55 PM Los Maestros del Joropo Oriental

3:55 PM 4:45 PM Las Estrellas del Vallenato

4:45 PM 5:30 PM Las Estrellas del Vallenato

Folkways Salón

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony: Joropo Oriental

12:00 PM 12:35 PM Joropo Llanero: Grupo Cimarrón

12:35 PM 1:25 PM Bomba y Plena: Viento de Agua

1:25 PM 2:15 PM Conjunto Tejano: Los Texmaniacs

2:15 PM 3:05 PM Paraguayan Harp: Marcelo Rojas & Álvaro Marazzi

3:05 PM 3:55 PM Son Jarocho: Son de Madera

3:55 PM 4:45 PM Los Maestros del Joropo Oriental

4:45 PM 5:30 PM Merengue Tipico: La India Canela

La Peña

12:00 AM 12:35 PM Paraguayan Hatp Marcelo Rojas & Alvaro Marazzi

12:35 PM 1:25 PM Mexican Son Traditions

1:25 PM 2:15 PM Rhythm Guitar Workshop

2:15 PM 3:05 PM Percussion Workshop

3:05 PM 3:55 PM Accordion workshop

3:55 PM 4:45 PM Harp Across Traditions

4:45 PM 5:30 PM Music Movements: Regional and Global

Patio de Patricia

11:00 AM 11:45 AM

12:00 PM 12:35 PM Grupo Cuero Madera y Costa CUMACO

12:35 PM 1:25 PM Grupo Cuero Madera y Costa CUMACO

1:25 PM 2:15 PM Arpex

2:15 PM 3:05 PM Las Cantadoras del Pacífico

3:05 PM 3:55 PM Viento de Agua

3:55 PM 4:45 PM Viento de Agua

4:45 PM 5:30 PM Son de Madera

Puesto de Arcadio-harp

11:00 AM 11:45 AM

12:00 PM 12:35 PM Arpex

12:35 PM 1:25 PM Son de Madera

1:25 PM 2:15 PM Paraguay

2:15 PM 3:05 PM Grupo Cimarrón

3:05 PM 3:55 PM Paraguay

3:55 PM 4:45 PM Merengue

4:45 PM 5:30 PM Grupo Cimarrón

Salón de Baile

11:00 AM 11:45 AM

12:00 PM 12:35 PM Merengue Tipico, La India Canela

12:35 PM 1:25 PM Currulao Las Cantadoras del Pacífico

1:25 PM 2:15 PM Las Estrellas del Vallenato

2:15 PM 3:05 PM Conjunto de Arpa Grande: Arpex

3:05 PM 3:55 PM Joropo Llanero Grupo Cimarrón

3:55 PM 4:45 PM Grupo Cuero Madera y Costa CUMACO

4:45 PM 5:30 PM Conjunto Tejano: Los Texmaniacs

WALES

Rugby Club

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Singer-Songwriters

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Female Harmony Singing

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Ceri Rhys Matthews and Christine Cooper

3:00 PM 4:00 PM Harp and Voice

4:00 PM 5:30 PM Sian James, Wyn Pearson, and Guests

5:30 PM 7:00 PM Poetry and Pints

Story Circle

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Stories of Wales

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Poetry in Welsh and English

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Welsh Lesson: Greetings

3:00 PM 4:00 PM Stories from the Mabinogion

4:00 PM 5:00 PM Poetry about Welsh Identity

5:00 PM 5:30 PM Welsh Lesson: ABCs

Taste of Wales

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Bakestone and Cauldron Cooking

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Game and Wild Foods

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Preserving Food in Wales

3:00 PM 4:00 PM Soups with Spice

4:00 PM 5:00 PM A Twist on Welsh Tradition

5:00 PM 5:30 PM Teatime in Welsh Patagonia

The Square Mile

11:00 AM 11:45 AM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 12:30 PM My Square Mile: Around Wales

12:30 PM 1:15 PM Adapt, Reuse, Recycle

1:15 PM 2:00 PM Think Globally, Act Locally: Food and Plants

2:00 PM 2:45 PM Heritage Meets Innovation: Willow

2:45 PM 3:30 PM Wales and the World: Bringing Wales to WDC

3:30 PM 4:15 PM Working and Playing Outdoors: Sports

4:15 PM 5:00 PM The Arts in Action: Literature to the People

5:00 PM 5:30 PM Planning for the Future: Zero Carbon Wales

Welsh Dragon

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

12:00 PM 1:00 PM Crasdant

1:00 PM 2:00 PM Fiddle, Pipes, and Guitar

2:00 PM 3:00 PM Parti Cut Lloi

3:00 PM 4:00 PM The Hennessys

4:00 PM 5:30 PM Welsh Dance Music

6:00 PM 8:00 PM Harps, Fiddles, and Flutes

Welsh Media

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Opening Ceremony

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