Smithsonian Folklife

Smithsonian Folklife Culture of, by, and for the people

What a beautiful day of community, remembrance, and tradition. 🏼 We were thrilled to join the New York Buddhist Church f...
08/28/2026

What a beautiful day of community, remembrance, and tradition. 🏼

We were thrilled to join the New York Buddhist Church for their annual Obon celebration, bringing this longstanding tradition back to 106th Street as part of "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals."

From the powerful rhythms of taiko drumming to origami crafting and moments of remembrance, the day was a wonderful reflection on the connections between culture, history, place, and community.

Our team was honored to collaborate with the event, including technical support from our crew, and to be there with our mobile storytelling initiative, We Hold These Truths, gathering stories and memories from organizers and attendees.

The Festival of Festivals marches on across the country. See where we're headed next: https://s.si.edu/4uR4rii

Photos by Sojin Kim, Smithsonian Folklife

Bringing together fashion and music, the Mitakuye Owas’iƞ * All My Relatives * Mitákuye Oyás’iƋ Festival is a powerful...
08/27/2026

Bringing together fashion and music, the Mitakuye Owas’iƞ * All My Relatives * Mitákuye Oyás’iƋ Festival is a powerful source of community connection in the Great Plains region.

A free, public event held at Levitt Sioux Falls in South Dakota, the All My Relatives Festival will be celebrating its fourth iteration on August 29, in collaboration with our "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals" program. The event is one of dozens of Native fashion shows now held annually across the United States.

Emily Buhrow Rogers, PhD, a visiting scholar of folklore studies at Indiana University, dives into the event and the importance of Indigenous fashion on the Festival Blog: https://s.si.edu/3UlKL9x

This article received support from the American Folklore Society.

Photos by Jonathan & Letishia Kelley, Thinc Studio

All My Relations Celebration is a place where Indigenous music, dance, and art are celebrated. đŸŽ”The fourth annual gather...
08/26/2026

All My Relations Celebration is a place where Indigenous music, dance, and art are celebrated. đŸŽ”

The fourth annual gathering this year was the biggest yet, with a lineup featuring Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Sierra Spirit, and more. Youth empowerment and engagement are key to this event, by providing a platform for artistic expression and representation for new and existing musicians. We're grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with All My Relations Celebration this year as part of "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals."

There are still many more events to come this year as part of the Festival of Festivals. Learn more: https://festival.si.edu/2026/of-the-people

Photos by Josh Weilepp, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

"Everybody hollerin’ G.O.A.T.!" đŸȘˆđŸ„What began as late-summer gatherings among friends, family, and neighbors on National ...
08/25/2026

"Everybody hollerin’ G.O.A.T.!" đŸȘˆđŸ„

What began as late-summer gatherings among friends, family, and neighbors on National Heritage Fellow Othar "Otha" Turner’s farm in Gravel Springs, Mississippi, eventually became The GOAT Picnic, a free, annual music festival celebrating the best of Hill country blues and Mississippi-style goat cuisine.

This year, it takes place in Coldwater, Mississippi, August 28 and 29, as part of our initiative "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals." Shardé Thomas-Mallory, Turner's granddaughter, carries on his legacy both as a musician and as the leader of the G.O.A.T. Picnic tradition.

On the Festival Blog, learn more about the fife-and-drum tradition of Mississippi folk music, Otha Turner's legacy, and the origins of their signature "everybody hollering goat!” phrase: https://s.si.edu/4cSzUdp

Photos by Jean Frank, courtesy of G.O.A.T. Picnic

"Almost anything you can imagine, beetles have tried it.” đŸȘČFloyd Shockley is the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural ...
08/24/2026

"Almost anything you can imagine, beetles have tried it.” đŸȘČ

Floyd Shockley is the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's entomology collections manager. He, along with osteological preparator Inger Toraason and U.S. Department of Agriculture taxonomist Frank Krell, highlighted the incredible diversity of beetles represented in the Smithsonian’s collections during the “Meet the Beetles” session of "For the Common Good: Smithsonian Voices on Our Shared Future 250" in July.

The program only piqued our team's curiosity to visit the beetles (and the staff) where they work. In Folklife Magazine, hear from members of our team about their field trips for up-close experiences with drawer after drawer of beetles: https://s.si.edu/4xof8uM

Photos by Nidhi Bhat, Smithsonian Folklife

A book reading in a Chinese restaurant? We've officially entered a new tier of events!For this year's Great Michigan R...
08/23/2026

A book reading in a Chinese restaurant? We've officially entered a new tier of events!

For this year's Great Michigan Read, Michigan Humanities selected "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant" by author Curtis Chin. The (at times) humorous memoir explores identity and belonging and shows Chin's experience growing up through the lens of his family's restaurant and coming of age in 1980s Detroit. Through By the People, the council was able to bring this community-centered program to particularly fitting and flavorful spaces: Chinese restaurants!

In July, Center staff attended one of the events, engaging with community members and fellow readers, listening to reflections on the book's themes, and hearing Chin talk about his experience writing his memoir. Hosted at Mon Jin Lau in Troy, Michigan, the evening was complete with a book reading, engaging conversation, and delicious catering (pepper steak and almond chicken on the menu!).

The Great Michigan Read unites communities across the state through Michigan-centered fiction and non-fiction books. This signature program of Michigan Humanities inspires conversations from perspectives across the state, fostering a deeper appreciation for the humanities while connecting thousands of readers with authors and engaging educational programs.

Produced in collaboration with the Federation of State Humanities Councils, By the People shines a light on the individuals whose daily contributions keep our communities vibrant, connected, and evolving. Explore the StoryMap to find what’s happening near you. https://s.si.edu/4t2xMpP

Agua, Sol y Sereno is an organization with more than thirty years of experience in theater, working at the intersection ...
08/22/2026

Agua, Sol y Sereno is an organization with more than thirty years of experience in theater, working at the intersection of the performing arts—music, dance, and visual arts—and social, community, political, and cultural responsibility. 🎭

In July, our "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals" team returned to Puerto Rico for phase two of our work with Agua, Sol y Sereno, after previously visiting in May for their Festival Agua, Sol y Sereno: Arte y Comunidad, celebrating thirty-three years of collective creation and cultural work from its Casa Taller in Santurce.

This trip included a closer look at their work with community organization Taller Salud, a nonprofit that focuses on the health and wellness of women in the town of LoĂ­za, a stronghold of Afro-Puerto Rican culture. We were able to support and observe a series of workshops with women from the LoĂ­za community and their creation of a comparsa, or procession, as part of the Fiesta de Santiago de ApĂłstol.

Our team also connected with other cultural leaders in Loíza, including visual artist, barber, and community leader Juan Pablo Vizcaino from El Ancón de Loiza, visual artist Samuel Lind, and musician and mask maker Raul Ayala from the Batey de los Hermanos Ayala. Finally, we hosted a gathering acknowledging and thanking the communities that partipated in Agua, Sol y Sereno’s Arte y Comunidad festival back in May. We’re looking forward to a future exchange between this group and our administrative staff in September.

Learn more about the Festival of Festivals: https://s.si.edu/4uR4rii

Photos by Sharon Arana and Cristina Diaz-Carerra, Smithsonian Folklife

08/20/2026

What's the Montclair Jazz Festival? Listen and learn đŸ’—đŸŽ¶đŸŽ·

An opportunity to support young musicians, a concert of accomplished creatives, and a day filled with dance—The free, annual jazz festival in Montclair, New Jersey, is many beautiful things. This year, we were honored to collaborate with Montclair Jazz Festival as part of the "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals" initiative.

This celebration of sound is rooted in a passion for supporting youth in music. Starting in 2010, the Montclair Jazz Festival came together as a grassroots student recital (a moment to celebrate emerging talent on stage)! Since then, the festival has grown to be one of the region's premier jazz celebrations, but it has never stopped the passing the torch to young musicians.

The students of Jazz House Kids were instrumental in this year's event, bringing their passion into the spotlight. Our staff were able to witness the behind-the-scenes preparation a few days before the show, and even the practices got our toes tapping! Other highlights included Patrice Rushen's electric piano performance and Bilal's turn at the mic, among many other performances. The festival also hosted our "We Hold These Truths" program, an effort that centers community voices and shared histories.

To the entire Montclair Jazz Festival team: thank you for the love, energy, and community you create through this event. We loved every minute of it!

đŸŽ„: Video footage courtesy of Jazz House Kids and the Montclair Jazz Festival.

National Endowment for the Arts

With a 212-year legacy, the August Quarterly holds the crown for the oldest festival among the thirty-four collaborators...
08/18/2026

With a 212-year legacy, the August Quarterly holds the crown for the oldest festival among the thirty-four collaborators in "Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals."

Founded by Peter Spencer (1782–1843) in 1814, fifty-one years before the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, the August Quarterly was a space for not only religious freedom but also freedom from enslavement. Spencer is often missing from historical records of nineteenth-century African American churches, but he lies at the heart of the festival, where his story is far from forgotten.

The photographs below were taken by eighteen-year-old Henry Szymanski at the 1939 August Quarterly, ninety-six years after Spencer’s passing—most of these photos were taken on French Street, which is now known as Peter Spencer Way. 📾

On the Festival Blog, explore Spencer's legacy and learn more about the August Quarterly, which will host its 212th celebration from August 23 to 30 in Wilmington, DE: https://s.si.edu/45VFKqC

Photos by Henry Szymanski, Sr., Delaware Historical Society Digital Collections

A rubber duck that prevents coffee burns, a mobile community garden addressing food insecurity, an app that recommends w...
08/17/2026

A rubber duck that prevents coffee burns, a mobile community garden addressing food insecurity, an app that recommends what to wear based on the weather and your plans. ☕đŸȘŽâ˜”

These are just a few of the solutions that fourth grade students from DC Public Schools brought to this year’s DC STEAM Expo, held on June 6 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. A collaboration between the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the National Children's Museum, the Expo was the culmination of a semester of hard work and dedication among students and educators.

In Folklife Magazine, learn more about the young innovators who are using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) to rethink the problems—big and small—that shape their everyday lives: https://s.si.edu/4zgnqGn

Photos by Grace Bowie, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

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