Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
odd: label: Introduction
content: The 2008 Festival, as in previous years, brought together exemplary practitioners of diverse traditions from communities across the United States and around the world. The ongoing goal of the Festival is to encourage the vitality of these traditions by presenting them on the National Mall so that tradition-bearers and the public can learn from one another and understand cultural differences in a respectful way.

The 2008 Festival celebrated Bhutan's approach to life in the twenty-first century, which it calls the pursuit of "Gross National Happiness." The Bhutanese have chosen a unique path to development, rooted in deep respect for and protection of the kingdom's cultural and natural resources. The 2008 Festival program coincided with Bhutan's centennial celebration of the monarchy and implementation of the country's new democratic constitution. It emphasized the kingdom's protection of culture, community, and environment and was the largest and most comprehensive living exhibition of Bhutanese culture and traditions ever presented outside of the kingdom. Through craft and cooking demonstrations, dance and musical performances, and interactive discussions, the 2008 Festival explored the linkages between Bhutan's natural and cultural resources.

On the occasion of NASA's fiftieth anniversary, the 2008 Festival explored the spirit of innovation, discovery, and service embodied by the agency and its personnel. The program encouraged visitors to participate actively - to ask questions of the roughly one hundred participants who came to Washington from across the United States to represent a cross section of NASA's 18,000 employees and 40,000 contractors and grantees. NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond showcased the role that the men and women of NASA have played in broadening the horizons of American science and culture, as well as the role that they will continue to play in helping to shape the future by stirring the public imagination.

Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine focused on the rich heritage of these cultural traditions from every region of the Lone Star State. The sounds of Texas blues, swing, conjunto, country and western, gospel, and Tejano music were a sonic reminder of the state's breathtaking diversity. Texas's culinary traditions - from barbeque to kolache (pastry) making, from chicken-fried steak to Vietnamese specialties - made for an eye-opening and mouth-watering demonstration of the state's regional vastness and cultural range. An exhibit on Texas wine making explored the craft, skills, and terroir of the state's industry.

The 2008 Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert honored one of Ralph's long-term collaborators, René López, a music aficionado and cultural activist from New York's Puerto Rican community.

The 2008 Festival took place for two five-day weeks (June 25-29 and July 2-6) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 9th 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 the Rinzler Concert. 

The 2008 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; keynote essays and short features provided background on each of the programs.

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 Kennedy, Acting Director; Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Diana Parker, Festival Director; Stephen Kidd, Production Manager; Charlie Weber, Media Specialist; Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: Daniel Sheehy, Curator and Director; Anthony Seeger, Curator and Director, Emeritus; D.A. Sonneborn, Assistant Director; Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections: 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, James Deutsch, Marjorie Hunt, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Peter Seitel (Emeritus), Curators, Folklorists, Education and Cultural Specialists; Christina Díaz-Carrera, Program Specialist; Robert Albro, Geri Benoit, Carla Borden, Irene Chagall, Andrew Cruz, Patrick Delatour, Roland Freeman, Nancy Groce, Frank Proschan, Sita Reddy, Sam-Ang Sam, Jesús "Chucho" Valdés, Patrick Vilaire, Research Associates; Omotayo Jolaosho, Fellow

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Advisory Council

Kurt Dewhurst (chair), J. Scott Raecker (vice chair), Michael Asch (ex officio), Mounir Bouchenaki, Anthony Gittens, Mickey Hart, John Herzog (ex officio), Debora Kodish, Richard Kurin (ex officio), Enrique Lamadrid, Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Libby O'Connell, Cristian Samper (ex officio), Robert Santelli, Cathy Sulzberger

Smithsonian Folkways Advisory Board

Michael Asch (chair), Patricia Shehan-Campbell, Hal Cannon, Don De Vito, Ella Jenkins, Anthony Seeger, Fred Silber

National Park Service

Mary Bomar, Director; Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director; Joseph M. Lawler, Regional Director; Margaret O'Dell, 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 Festival came from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Music Performance Fund, with in-kind support provided through Motorola, Sprint, WAMU-88.5 FM, Whole Foods Market, and WashingtonPost.com.
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
topic: label: Topic
content: Folk music
label: Topic
content: Folk art
label: Topic
content: World music
label: Topic
content: Folklore
label: Topic
content: Folk festivals
label: Topic
content: arts and crafts
label: Topic
content: Food habits
label: Topic
content: Música folk
label: Topic
content: Música tradicional -- Caribe (Región)
creator: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2008 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 2008 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 25-July 6, 2008
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.2008
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Type
content: Digital images
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Negatives
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Photographic prints
label: Type
content: Memorandums
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: Arranged in 5 series.

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon

Series 3: NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond

Series 4: Special Events

Series 5: Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Genre/Form
content: Digital images
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographic prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Memorandums
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 2008 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: 2008 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.