Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

French American Music and Dance, 1983

After 50 Years of Song, Dance, Food, Even Hog Calling, at the Folklife Festival, Is It Still Worthwhile?

Recognizing traditional culture in the information age is ever more important argues the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

“The Southern BBQ Trail” episode.

Come for the Bug Eating and Get a Lesson in Humanity from Andrew Zimmern

A Q&A with the Travel Channel’s 'Bizarre Foods' Chef

The View From the Big Top

Aerialist and this year's Folklife Festival performer Dolly Jacobs didn't have to run away to join the circus; she lived it

Five celebrated clowns from Sands, Nathans Co's Circus

Reports on the Death of the Circus Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Celebrating the arts, business, history and culture of the circus, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival brings 400 performers to the National Mall this summer

The moral lessons of the story of “Beauty and the Beast” are the same as those found in many other folktales: virtue and hard work are rewarded; prodigal pride is punished; and marriage lasts happily ever after.

The Storied, International Folk History of Beauty and The Beast

Tales about a bride and her animal groom have circulated orally for centuries in Africa, Europe, India and Central Asia

“Music is a way of looking at someone in a different way,” says ethnomusicologist Ben Harbert. “You see them as a singer, not a prisoner.”

Finding Music Behind Prison Bars

At the Louisiana State Penitentiary and at a maximum-security prison in Malawi, the benefits of music are far-reaching

A still from El Primo Amanecer, a short film narrated in Huichol, an indigenous language of Mexico that UNESCO classifies as "vulnerable." The film will be shown as part of a Smithsonian festival about endangered languages this week.

Four Things That Happen When a Language Dies

This World Mother Language Day, read about why many say we should be fighting to preserve linguistic diversity

The Muslim equivalent of the "apple a day" proverb is “seven dates a day keeps the doctor away.”

Why the Scrumptious Date Is So Important to the Muslim World

The Prophet Muhammed said that Ajwah dates—grown in the Madinah region of Saudi Arabia—are from paradise

The lunch counter interactive at the National Museum of African American History and Culture explores key moments in the struggle for Civil Rights.

What Death Threats Against My Parents Taught Me About Taking a Stand

Family stories are an ideal way to explore themes like “where have I come from?” and “where am I going?”

Transcaucasian Trail

A Taste of the Wild Side: Finding Local Flavor in Armenia’s Edible Highlands

A wave splashes over the Malecón in Havana.

Homage to Havana

A Smithsonian director ponders the allure of Cuba's capital city

The Voice of Tomorrow Choir on the front porch of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture

What You Need to Know About the September 24 NMAAHC Grand Opening

Entry Passes are all gone for today, but there is plenty to see and do on the National Mall

9th Wonder is a GRAMMY Award-winning producer, DJ, college lecturer, and social activist.

The Music Is Turned Up High at the Freedom Festival (PHOTOS)

Where to go and who to hear as the celebrations begin at the concert on the National Mall "Freedom Sounds"

Today’s chefs are incorporating new ideas to prepare the creamy yellow-white sauce of the bakailaoa pil-pilean that is the hallmark of the Basque dish.

Here’s an Ingeniously Simple Method for Making Bakailaoa Pil-pilean, the Traditional Basque Meal

Digesting the lessons that the Basque chefs taught at this summer’s Folklife Festival

Basque craftsmen showed up with a 26 foot-long skeleton, oak timber and other traditional materials and set up shop on the National Mall to build a ship at the Smithsonian’s 2016 Folklife Festival.

There’s a Lot More to This Basque Boat Than Meets the Eye

The lost story of the Basque heritage is just waiting to be discovered and could be revealed just by watching craftsmen rebuild an ancient whaler

Ryan Demirjian, Saro Koujakian, and Mher Ajamian of Armenian Public Radio in Los Angeles.

"Armenian Public Radio" Brings Nirvana Attitude to the Folklife Festival

An Armenian-American trio performs traditional folk songs with a modern American sensibility

Maialen Lujanbio wears the large trophy txapela, or beret, after becoming the first female to win the National Championship in 2009.

What Is Bertsolaritza and Who Are the Basque Poets Who Know It?

At the Folklife Festival, be sure to catch the singing, improvisational poetry slam that’s keeping a language alive

The new Broadway hit revival of Fiddler on the Roof deliberately breaks with tradition in its opening and closing scenes.

The Broadway Revival of "Fiddler" Offers a Profound Reaction to Today's Refugee Crisis

Popular musicals on Broadway are regarded as escapist, but the worldwide issue of migration and displacement is inescapable

On December 17, pilgrims flood the streets of the Cuban town of Rincón, home to a leprosarium and a church dedicated to St. Lazarus.

Cuba’s Fascinating Babalú-Ayé Procession Honors African and Catholic Traditions

On December 17, Cubans perform a ritual pilgrimage for a powerful deity that can bring good health or can take it away

Will Catalan Elections Allow an Old Nation to Become a New State In Europe?

Catalonians have long asserted they are not part of Spain, now the historical question of independence is on the ballot

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