Smithsonian Folklife Festival Seeks Volunteers

The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage needs capable and enthusiastic volunteers before, during and after its annual Folklife Festival, which will be held on the National Mall Wednesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 28, and Wednesday, July 1, through Sunday, July 5.

Volunteers for the “Giving Voice: The Power of Words in African American Culture” program will assist program participants with their presentations of African American oral traditions, including poetry, storytelling, humor and drama. This program is presented in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015. Volunteers supporting the “Las Americas: Un mundo musical/The Americas: A Musical World” program will help artists from the United States and Latin America present some of the many different styles of music found throughout the Americas. Volunteers for the “Wales Smithsonian Cymru” program will help the Festival’s Welsh participants share their rich culture and heritage by highlighting the connections between traditional culture, new technologies and national efforts for sustainability. Volunteers also are needed to support a wide variety of other areas, including the Marketplace (the Festival’s retail venue), information kiosks and the Festival’s recycling program.

Certified American Sign Language interpreters and volunteers who speak Spanish or Welsh are especially needed.

More information on all the volunteer opportunities and an application are available at www.folklife.si.edu/join_us/volunteers.aspx or by contacting volunteer coordinator Laura Jenkins at jenkinsl@si.edu or (202) 633-6484.

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SI-207-2009