Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1996 Festival of American Folklife
odd: label: Introduction
content: In 1996, questions of national unity and purpose remained as salient as they had been twenty years before, for the Bicentennial Festival - yet there was also much to celebrate, and good cause to do so. On the state level, the year marked the 150th anniversary of Iowa statehood; on the international level, it marked the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics; and for the nation and the world, the Smithsonian celebrated its 150th anniversary. Each of these anniversaries recalled what we value as Americans and helped set our course for the future.

The 1996 Festival joined with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to present a program on the culture of the American South, both on the National Mall and, before a world audience, back home in Atlanta during the Olympic Games. The Olympics symbolize people from the world over coming together in common athletic and artistic purposes. Just as a watershed is fed by the confluence of numerous streams, so too does the culture of the South represent the confluence of Native American, African, and European traditions, joining together with a stream of visitors from around the globe.

Iowa, which celebrated its sesquicentennial on the National Mall, is known as the land between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and symbolizes an important cultural watershed. For many, Iowa represents grassroots America, our heartland. The land and the rivers give Iowans a strong sense of purpose, and have nourished the value of community life as a centerpiece in our national consciousness - a value that was ever-present in the Iowa Festival program.

The Smithsonian, which has grown into the world's foremost national scientific, historical, and artistic complex, represents yet another kind of cultural watershed. It collects aspects of America's heritage, documenting the ebb and flow of history over the years and across the nation, and encourages visitors to find themselves in its never-ending course. For its 150th anniversary, visitors had a chance to peer behind the scenes and to meet Smithsonian workers in every field.

The Smithsonian saw the Festival as a wonderful way to help celebrate the anniversaries of these institutions, for like them, the Festival stands as a tribute to our own ability to speak with each other, to share our cultures and traditions, and to do so in a civil, tolerant, respectful, and enlightening way. The Festival itself is an enduring institution, and in 1996 it marked its own thirtieth event in typical fashion - by working hard to amplify the voices of others.

The 1996 Festival took place during two five-day weeks (June 26-30 and July 3-7) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 9th Street and 13th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan). It featured three programs and a special event, the second Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert. 

The 1996 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; essays provided background on the Festival and 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 Programs & Cultural Studies.

Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies

Richard Kurin, Director; Richard Kennedy, Deputy Director; Diana Parker, Festival Director; Anthony Seeger, Director, Smithsonian/Folkways Recordngs; James Early, Director, Cultural Studies & Communications; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist; Olivia Cadaval, Chair, Research & Education; Betty Belanus, Marjorie Hunt, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Peter Seitel, Curators, Folklorists, Educational and Cultural Specialists; Carla M. Borden, Program/Publications Manager; John W. Franklin, Program Manager; Arlene L. Reiniger, Program Specialist; Jeffrey Place, Archivist; Stephanie Smith, Assistant Archivist; Roland Freeman, Ivan Karp, Alan Lomax, Worth Long, Kate Rinzler, Research Associates & Collaborators

Folklife Advisory Council and Folkways Advisory Council

Roger Abrahams, Jacinto Arias, Michael Asch, Jane Beck, Don DeVito, Pat Jasper, Ella Jenkins, Jon Kertzer, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, John Nixdorf, Bernice Johnson Reagon, John Roberts, Carol Robertson, Gilbert Sprauve, Jack Tchen, Ricardo Trimillos, Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez

National Park Service

Roger Kennedy, Director; Robert G. Stanton, Regional Director, National Capital Region
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: Folklore
label: Topic
content: Folk art
label: Topic
content: Food habits
label: Topic
content: Folk music
label: Topic
content: arts and crafts
label: Topic
content: World music
label: Topic
content: Folk festivals
creator: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1996 Festival of American Folklife
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 1996 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies 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 26-July 7, 1996
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1996
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Digital images
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Memorandums
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Photographic prints
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Negatives
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: Arranged in 5 series.

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: The American South

Series 3: Iowa - Community Style

Series 4: Special Events

Series 5: Working at the Smithsonian
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Digital images
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Memorandums
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographic prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Negatives
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1996 Festival of American Folklife. 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: 1996 Festival of American Folklife 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.