Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
odd: label: Introduction
content: The 2006 Festival, celebrating its 40th year on the National Mall of the United States, again presented a compelling, research-based sampling of the diverse traditions of America and the world to large public audiences in an educational, respectful, and profoundly democratic way. Employing a format it had both pioneered and mastered, the Festival illustrated the vital, living aspect of cultural heritage and provided a forum for discussion of issues of contemporary concern.

For the first time, the Festival featured a Canadian province - Alberta, which had just completed its own celebration of its centennial. Albertans have created a dynamic home for diverse peoples - aboriginal inhabitants, settlers, and later immigrants - in a varied and dramatic landscape. They've built large world-class industries - oil and gas, ranching, farming, forestry - as well as two large, modern metropolises, Calgary and Edmonton, all the while being creative in the arts and sciences. Festival visitors could see how Alberta's oil sands are mined and processed, witness ranching skills, appreciate fine Native craftsmanship, hear ballads from talented singer-songwriters, and experience their contemporary "Theatresports." The Festival program resulted from close collaboration between the Smithsonian and its Albertan partners, and was a testament to how good will and common purpose can effectively cross borders and serve the educational and cultural interests of Canadians, Americans, and a broader visiting public.

The same kind of engaged collaborative partnership was illustrated through the Carriers of Culture program that brought together the Festival, the National Museum of the American Indian, Michigan State University Museum, and a network of Native basket makers' organizations around the United States. The collaboration was built upon the needs of basket makers themselves, in the face of various challenges to their living heritage. Basket makers need access to trees, bushes, and plants untainted by pollutants; they need recognition, appreciation, and access to markets as well as opportunities to train the next generation. Festival visitors could meet scores of basket makers from dozens of Native communities from every part of the United States. They demonstrated their masterful techniques, making baskets of meaning and delight in every imaginable shape and texture. Their participation in the Festival, including sales at the marketplace and related public programs and consultations at the National Museum of the American Indian, was part of a cultural self-help strategy, shaped by participatory research, and aiming to assure the vitality of long-lived traditions.

Nuestra Música: Latino Chicago reflected another substantive partnership. The Festival joined the Smithsonian Latino Center and Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music to present a small sampler of Chicago's Latino cultural heritage. More than a million Latinos - largely from Mexico, but also from Puerto Rico and just about every nation in Latin America - have made the Chicago area their home. Cultural institutions, dozens of community-based dance groups, and myriad shops, clubs, and restaurants indicate the growth and vitality of the community. Music is both a measure and symbol of that vitality. On the Mall, visitors joined in Mexican folk and contemporary dances, heard the beat of Puerto Rican bomba and plena, and enjoyed Andean music and song. Through the Festival's live performances, as well as through the related Grammy-nominated Smithsonian Folkways series of Latino recordings, the Smithsonian sought to provide a means for Americans to understand each other, to speak, listen, and be heard.

Finally, the Been in the Storm So Long concert series at the Festival represented an important collaboration between the Festival and the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Festival itself grew in part from events on the Mall during the Civil Rights Movement, and thousands of leading figures of African American culture have graced its stages and illustrated their traditions through its programs over the preceding four decades. To initiate the partnership, the Museum and the Festival featured musicians from New Orleans: folks who were hit with the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but nonetheless strove, with determination and grace, to continue the cultural traditions that give their communities their unique character and uplifting spirit so admired and appreciated around the world. Concerts featured New Orleans jazz, rhythm & blues, and sacred music.

The 2006 Festival took place for two five-day weeks (June 30-July 4 and July 7-11) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 7th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan). It featured three programs and Special Events that included the Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert and Been in the Storm So Long. 

The 2006 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; keynote essays provided background on the Festival and on each of the programs (with a Spanish version of the Latino music essay).

The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Richard Kurin, Director; Richard Kennedy, Deputy Director; Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Diana Parker, Festival Director; Stephen Kidd, Production Manager; Charlie Weber, Media Specialist; Smithsonian Folkways Recordings/Smithsonian Global Sound: Daniel Sheehy, Curator and Director; Anthony Seeger, Curator and Director, Emeritus; D.A. Sonneborn, Assistant Director; Ralph Rinzler Archives: Jeffrey Place, Archivist; Stephanie Smith, Assistant Archivist; Cultural Heritage Policy: James Counts Early, Director; Cultural Research and Education: Olivia Cadaval, Chair; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist Emeritus; Betty J. Belanus, Olivia Cadaval, Nancy Groce, Marjorie Hunt, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Frank Proschan, Peter Seitel (Emeritus), Cynthia Vidaurri, Curators, Folklorists, Education and Cultural Specialists; John W. Franklin, Program Manager; Research Associates: Robert Albro, Geri Benoit, Carla Borden, Patrick Delatour, Roland Freeman, Kip Lornell, Mara Mayor, Joan Nathan, Sita Reddy, Sam-Ang Sam, Preston Scott, Cynthia Vidaurri, Patrick Vilaire, Nilda Villalta; Fellows: Bernard L. Bakaye, Gary Burns, Julie Chenot, Chiara Bortolotto, Sharon C. Clarke, Trinidad Gonzales, Navina Jafa, Susan Keitumetse, Mary Kenny, Reina Prado, Laurajane Smith, Will Walker, Amy Winston

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Advisory Council

Kurt Dewhurst (chair), Judy Mitoma (vice-chair), Michael Asch (ex officio), Michael Doucet, Anthony Gittens, John Herzog (ex officio), Debora Kodish, Enrique Lamadrid, Worth Long, Libby O'Connell, J. Scott Raecker, Robert Santelli

Smithsonian Folkways Advisory Board

Michael Asch (chair), Phyllis Barney, Hal Cannon, Don De Vito, Ella Jenkins, Anthony Seeger (ex officio), Fred Silber

National Park Service

Fran P. Mainella, Director; Donald W. Murphy, Deputy Director; Joseph M. Lawler, Regional Director; Vikki Keys, Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks

The Festival was supported by federally appropriated funds; Smithsonian trust funds; contributions from governments, businesses, foundations, and individuals; in-kind assistance; and food, recording, and craft sales. General support for this year's programs included the Music Performance Fund, with in-kind support for the Festival provided through Motorola, Nextel, WAMU 88.5-FM, WashingtonPost.com, Whole Foods Market, Pegasus Radio Corp., and Icom America. The Folklore Society of Greater Washington generously provided hospitality for participants, as it had for many years. The Festival was co-sponsored by the National Park Service.
label: Shared Stewardship of Collections
content: The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
name: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
label: Names
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival
place: label: Place
content: Caribbean Area
label: Place
content: Latin America
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content: Mexico
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content: Colombia
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content: Guatemala
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content: Peru
label: Place
content: El Salvador
label: Place
content: Chile
label: Place
content: Belize
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content: Brazil
label: Place
content: Cuba
label: Place
content: Puerto Rico
topic: label: Topic
content: Folk music
label: Topic
content: Folk festivals
label: Topic
content: arts and crafts
label: Topic
content: Folklore
label: Topic
content: Food habits
label: Topic
content: Folk art
label: Topic
content: World music
label: Topic
content: Música hispanoamericana
label: Topic
content: Hispanic Americans -- Music
label: Topic
content: Latin Americans -- United States
creator: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
bioghist: label: Historical note
content: The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. 

The 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and cosponsored by the National Park Service.

For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (approximate)
phystech: label: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
content: The Rinzler Archives is continually engaged in digitization of archival materials to facilitate preservation and ready access by users. However, given the diversity of legacy formats of the originals, some older materials may not be available. Notably, certain older audio recordings cannot be played because of deterioration of the tape stock, and the Archives has no playback equipment for EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) or multi-track audio recordings. Where listening or viewing copies are available, this is generally indicated for each item. Users are encouraged to contact Archives staff to verify that the materials of interest to them are already accessible, or to determine if they can be digitized as needed.
unitdate: label: Date
content: June 30-July 11, 2006
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.2006
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Type
content: Digital images
label: Type
content: Negatives
label: Type
content: Photographic prints
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Memorandums
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Notes
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: Arranged in 5 series.

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: Alberta at the Smithsonian

Series 3: Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions

Series 4: Nuestra Música: Latino Chicago

Series 5: Special Events
processinfo: label: Nota del archivista
content: La descripción en español (Series 4: Nuestra Música: Latino Chicago) fue añadida por Armando Suárez en 2024.
label: Processing Information
content: The description in Spanish (Series 4: Nuestra Música: Latino Chicago) was added by Armando Suárez in 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Genre/Form
content: Digital images
label: Genre/Form
content: Negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographic prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Memorandums
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
relatedmaterial: label: Forms Part Of
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers

1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
label: Related Archival Materials note
content: Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.