AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Today’s Events at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Wednesday, June 25

Senior Editor

June 25, 2008

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival gets underway today on the National Mall with music, song, dance, crafts and story telling. Featured programs are: "Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon;" "NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond;" and "Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine." The opening ceremony is at 11a.m. in the Dancehall.

Bhutan

Bhutan Kitchen: Noon Cattle God's Gifts: Butter and Cheese; Taste of Bhutan 1 p.m.; Buckwheat Noodles 3 p.m.; Festive Foods 4 p.m.

Four Friends Narrative Stage: Four Friends Story 12:30 p.m.; Life of Monks and Nuns 1:30 p.m.; Understanding Art in Bhutan 2:00 p.m.; Gross National Happiness 2:45 p.m.; Images of Bhutan 3:30 p.m.; Passing on Traditional Arts 4:15 p.m.; Storytelling 5:00 p.m.

Tsechu Stage: Noon Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; Ritual Monastic Dance 1:00 p.m.; Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance 2 p.m.; Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance 3 p.m.; Ritual Monastic Dance 4 p.m.; Closing Ritual 5 p.m.

NASA

Exploration Stage: Noon Space Shuttle; Why We Explore 12:30 p.m.; NASA and Nation 1:30 p.m. ; Astronaut Adventures 2:15 p.m.; Moonbound 3:15 p.m.; Astronaut Adventures 4:00 p.m.; What on Earth? 4:45 p.m.

Food Lab: Noon Packaging Food for Space; Planning for the Moon and Mars 1 p.m.; Creating Menus for Space 2 p.m.; Packaging Food for Space 3 p.m.; Planning for the Moon and Mars 4 p.m.

Galaxy Stage: Noon High Flight; NASA and Nation 12:30 p.m.; Sun-Earth Connections 1:30 p.m.; Rocket Scientists 2:15 p.m.; Mysterious Universe 3:15 p.m.; Leading the Greening 4:00 p.m.; International Space Station 4:45 p.m.

Texas

Dance Hall: Opening Ceremony 11 a.m.; Texas Johnny Brown 12:30 p.m.; Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines 1:30 p.m.; Little Joe y la Familia 2:30 p.m.; Les Amis Creole 3:30 p.m.; Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys 4:30 p.m.

Lone Star Kitchen: San Antonio Tex-Mex Kitchen 12:15 p.m.; Polish Texan Cooking 1:30 p.m.; Cowboy Cooking 2:15 p.m.; Vietnamese Cooking 3:15 p.m.; Southern African American Cooking 4:30 p.m.

Opry House: Noon The Jones Family Singers; Los Texmaniacs with Fiddlin' Frenchie Burke 1 p.m.; Texas Johnny Brown 2 p.m.; Los Texmaniacs with Mingo Saldivar 3 p.m.; Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines 4 p.m.

Texas Talk: Talking Terroir 12:15 p.m.; Making Wine for Texas Tastes 1:15 p.m.; Fiddles, Fiddles, Fiddles 2:15 p.m.; Eating in San Antonio 3:15 p.m.; Tejano Music 4:15 p.m.

(Photograph of Bhutanese builders working on the construction of the traditional Bhutanese Buddhist temple on the National Mall, courtesy of Jennifer Endick, Smithsonian Institution)