...This chapter examines and explores an event called the Festival of Nations, which showcases a myriad of folk demonstrations that range from African American doll making to Iranian rug weaving. The festival is a rich pool of ideas and insights into issues of immigration and ethnicity, and provides...

...The volume editors frame and contextualize Smithsonian Folklife Festival history with attention to the role of curatorial practice in mediating and negotiating the concerns and interests of the event’s varied publics and stakeholders. The editors address how the articles create a step towards...

...This chapter describes the visionary role of Ralph Rinzler, who is considered the primary impresario of the Festival of American Folklife and the individual who orchestrated its establishment as a presence on the National Mall. Although Rinzler never curated a program himself, he modelled...

... of collaborative research and curation of ten international programs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival—chiefly involving Asian countries, including the Silk Road Festival and the Mekong River Festival Program, over a twenty year period (1988 – 2008)—the chapter chronicles the changing attitudes of both...

... inclusive constitution. As a result of the state of organizing capacity in the colony's political and cultural realms, things moved quickly on all fronts. Music was associated with all of them, most evidently when the first national festival of music was held in July 1952—the British Guiana Festival...

..., comedy shows, and festivals; the most prominent and longest-lasting festival is Gaijatra (the Cow Festival), which has lent itself well to cartooning. Indeed, it is remarkable that cartooning has endured, and even made advancements, given the topsy-turvy world of Nepalese government and politics. However...

... involvement in the contemporary Chinese music scene is reflected in his participation in China's first guitar festival, held in August 2005 on what is described as “scenic Hainan Island” located in the South China Sea. Fan Shengqi Hurst Mary Ann Peace Hotel Jazz Bar Adam Huang Yong improvisation Kong...

... to swing a performance of the musical at the first international jazz festival in Washington, D.C., being sponsored by the State Department. Armstrong was not available for the opportunity. However, copies of some of the songs from the sessions were circulating among jazz festival promoters and in spring...

...The chickee, the traditional Seminole Indian building, is a classic example of a traditional Florida building type. A part of Seminole life for a long time, it provides an environment for the Seminole Folklife Area at the Florida Folk Festival. To showcase several Seminole traditions, the Seminole...

...Chapter Four consists of an in-depth analysis of jazz in US-Cuban musical exchange along with an ethnographic description of Havana’s International Jazz Plaza Festival. Cuba’s relationship to jazz became complicated after the revolution. Performers on the island had to carefully negotiate...

...Since its origins in 1967, The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has gained national and international recognition as a model for the research and public presentation of living cultural heritage and the advocacy of cultural democracy. Festival curators play a major role in interpreting Festival...

...Longtime Brubeck champion Jimmy Lyons, who had first brought Brubeck’s music to the public in 1949, saw the opportunity to premiere The Real Ambassadors at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival and set about booking all the artists featured on the soundtrack to perform their regular sets...

...Claude Kennedy (4/30/1908–12/18/1980) of Mendenhall in Simpson County, Mississippi, was not a widely known musician outside of his community. However, his band, the Six Towns Band, traveled to Washington in July of 1974 to perform at the Smithsonian Folklife festival as representatives of the state...

... Roscoe Ode to Billy Joe Soundtrack Smith Howard Smithsonian Folklife Festival Gilmer William Jasper “Dub ” Snowden Georgia Gilmer Russell Grady Russell Grover Speir H C Ware Thurman Mississippi Jook Band Vaughn Cooney Ellis Barney Curtis Curly Q Gilmer Virginia Chamblee Sadie Freeny...

... of a fifteen-foot Superman statue. The opening ceremony dramatizes the relationship between the fans who travel to the small town from all over the world and the residents and local businesses and government. Looking at the drama as a ritual that transforms the city streets into an arena for festivity...

...This chapter uses the 2008 Bhutan program to examine visitor experience and the role of curators in crafting these experiences. Using the suggestive possibilities of a portable Buddhist shrine featured in the program and basing the analysis on 20 years of experience working with the Festival...

...This epilogue presents the author's account of attending the eighteenth annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival in Los Angeles in the summer of 2013. The Gerald Wilson Orchestra was the main feature and closing act of the day, and the author says that describing the music, the people, the dancing...

...; the fishery’s and island’s material culture; a history of Lambertville and its relationship to neighboring New Hope; a description of the annual Shad Festival and its relationship with the Lewis Fishery; and an overview of the groups of people that visit the fishery (family members, crew, customers, and other...

...This chapter explores 1950s discussions of realism in India as catalyzed by what filmmakers and audiences described as the eye-opening experience of watching the three Italian neorealist films that were screened at the first International Film Festival in India, held from January 24—February 1...

...This chapter first describes the changes the Gilroy Garlic Festival has undergone over the years. It then discusses why food festivals are so popular among community leaders seeking to distinguish their towns; how the festival creates and sustains a sense of community; and how the Gilroy Garlic...