Smithsonian Folklife Festival July 7, 2012

At the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, you will find many exemplary practitioners of diverse, authentic, living traditions - both old and new. The goal of the Festival is to strengthen and preserve these traditions by presenting them on the National Mall. Tradition-bearers and the public can connect with and learn from one another and, in a respectful way, begin to understand cultural differences and similarities.