Media Alert: Smithsonian Folklife Festival Continues June 29 to July 1 on National Mall

This year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrates the National Museum of the American Indian and the people whose voices the museum amplifies. The program “Indigenous Voices of the Americas: Celebrating the National Museum of the American Indian” highlights living traditions of Indigenous peoples and honors contemporary and traditional creative expressions, celebrations and community connections. This festival also marks several anniversaries for the museum, including the 20th anniversary of the museum on the National Mall and the 30th anniversary of the museum’s location in New York City.

Festival Information

The festival continues through Monday, July 1, on the National Mall between Third and Seventh streets. All events are free, and the festival is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On select evenings, live music on the festival’s Four Directions Stage will run until 7 p.m. The festival is co-presented by the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Park Service.

What To See and Do

The festival features more than 250 participants from 60 Indigenous communities from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

Highlights of the program include skateboarding and lacrosse; traditional crafts, including basket making, silk weaving, featherwork, ceramics and wood carving; storytelling; hands-on activities for children and adults; traditional and contemporary Indigenous music and dance; and food demonstrations.

On Saturday, June 29, the evening concert will feature Pamyua (5:30 to 7 p.m.; Four Directions Stage), and Sunday, June 30, Singer-songwriter Sara Curruchich will perform (5:30 to 7 p.m.; Four Directions Stage). The festival’s final concert will be the Sons of Membertou in the museum’s Potomac Atrium from 4 to 5 p.m., Monday, July 1.

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