The Festival of American Folklife: Building on Tradition Richard Kurin
The Festival of American Folklife: Building on Tradition Richard Kurin This summer marks the 25th annual Festival of Mary McGrory, then a reporter for The Evening American Folklife. Over the years more than Star, wrote, 16,000 musicians, dancers, craftspeople, storytell Thanks to S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the ers, cooks, workers, and other bearers of tradi Smithsonian Institution, thousands of tional culture from every region of the United people have been having a ball on the States and every part of the globe have come to Mall, watching dulcimer-makers, quilters, the National Mall in Washington to illustrate the potters and woodcarvers and listing to art, knowledge, skill and wisdom developed music. "My thought," said Ripley, "is that within their local communities. They have sung we have dulcimers in cases in the mu and woven, cooked and danced, spun and seum, but how many people have actually stitched a tapestry of human cultural diversity; heard one or seen one being made?" they have aptly demonstrated its priceless value. Their presence has changed the National Mall During the mid-1960s the Smithsonian Institu and the Smithsonian Institution. Their perform tion re-evaluated its approach to understanding ances and demonstrations have shown millions and interpreting American culture and its atten of people a larger world. And their success has dant institutional responsibilities. Secretary Ripley encouraged actions, policies and laws that pro reported his initiative to mount the first Festival mote human cultural rights. The Festival has been to the Board of Regents, the Smithsonian's gov a vehicle for this. And while it has changed in erning body, in February, 1967: various ways over the years, sometimes only to A program sponsored by the Smithsonian change back once again, the Festival's basic pur should reflect the Institution's founding pose has remained the same.
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