The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place on the National Mall between 12th and 14th streets from June 29 to July 4 and July 6 to July 9.
This year, the festival, which began in 1967, will feature two programs: “The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region” and “Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S.”
“This year marks a much-desired return to programs featuring cultural stories found throughout the U.S.,” said Sabrina Lynn Motley, festival director. “The opportunity to look within presented us with a timely challenge requiring our partners and staff to bring fresh eyes to the familiar, push beyond tired stereotypes and highlight diverse sources of creativity and community.”
Folklife Festival daytime events run from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and include cultural and educational programming from musicians, dancers, cooks, artisans, and storytellers. In the evening, there will be concerts.
The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region
This program examines both the physical region of the Ozarks, which stretches across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois, and its cultural practices and traditions.
“Many of our richest conversations come from the interplay between the physical environment and a community or individual’s sense of connection to that place,” said Cristina Díaz-Carrera, lead curator for the Ozarks program. “Yes, the Ozarks program is an ode to a particular and unique geographic area, but it reflects a larger American story — one that is complicated, compelling and constantly changing.”
Programs will include a “pickin’ parlor” to showcase the Ozarks’ bluegrass, gospel, and contemporary music and its storytelling, a teaching garden to display native plants and teach about herbal remedies and foraging, and seminars with chefs who are experts on foraged foods and farm-to-table cooking. Among them will be Bradley Dry, chef for the TV shows, Reservation Dogs and Yellowstone.
Concerts will feature Melissa Carper as one of four musicians playing at “An Evening with Ozarks Woman” at 6 p.m. on June 29. NextGen Ozarks Showcase plays on July 1 and Ozarks Opry with comedian Terry Wayne Sanders and headliners Big Smith on July 6.
Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S.
This program examines the range of diverse religions present in the United States, and the ways in which religion, faith, and ethics contribute to the country’s cultural landscape.
“With this program, the Smithsonian is setting an abundant welcome table for people to gather, listen and question with respect, and to learn from one another,” said Brad Braxton, president of Chicago Theological Seminary and senior advisor to the program. “My hope is that people leave the festival with a sense of joy, curiosity and the willingness to recognize everyday creative encounters in their own lives.”
Programming includes sessions related to several diverse faiths. “Makers of Faith” will showcase the making of quilts, Ukrainian Orthodox icons, Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas, and ofrenda community altars.
Other programs will explore themes of religious music and poetry, such as sacred steel gospel; dance, such as Japanese Buddhist Obon dance; and food, such as Indigenous foodways and seed saving.
At 6 p.m. on June 30, “Come Let Us Sing: Gospel Music Legacies” will feature the Legendary Ingramettes, the Kingdom Fellowship AME Church, and Fran “Lady Strings” Grace on the steel guitar.
July 4 Concerts
On July 4, there will be three concerts: “De Libertate: Sounds of Freedom and Hope from Ukraine” at 2:30 p.m., “Singing Through the Dark” at 5 p.m., and Southern rockers, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, at 6 p.m.
A full schedule of events is available online.
Concessions and Marketplace
Visitors can get food from Maryland-based Bark Barbecue Café, which sells food inspired by the Ozarks, and craft beer from Arkansas-based Ozark Beer Company.
There is an online marketplace, created in partnership with fair trade retailer NOVICA. Art and other goods from artisans around the world can be purchased.
June 29–July 4, July 6–9, The National Mall between 12th and 14th streets, festival.si.edu, Washington, DC, free
Feature image by Philip Lee, courtesy Smithsonian Institution
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