MEXICO at the Smithsonian, summer 2010

Every summer the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION sponsors the SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL. They have done so every year since 1967. Every year they have had a different program. (You can see a list of past programs here: http://www.festival.si.edu/past_festivals/year.aspx )

The following is from the mission statement:
"The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exposition of living cultural heritage annually produced outdoors on the National Mall of the United States in Washington, D.C., by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

The Festival takes place for two weeks every summer overlapping the Fourth of July holiday. It is an educational presentation that features community-based cultural exemplars. Free to the public, like other Smithsonian museums, each Festival typically draws more than one million visitors."

The festival takes place on the National Mall (between the Washington Monument and the Capitol) and this year the festival will take place June 24-28 and July 1-5, 2010. (The festival exhibits and entertainment are free.) General festival information can be found here:

http://www.festival.si.edu/index.aspx

For 14 years I volunteered for the Folklife Festival - always a lot of fun, but was not able to do so last year because of health issues (I hope I will be able to volunteer this summer - even if just for a few days).
This summer's program includes: 1) Smithsonian Inside Out; 2) Asian Pacific Americans; and 3) Mexico
Details of the MEXICO program (partly in celebration of the Revolution Centenary) can be found here:

http://www.festival.si.edu/2010/mexico.aspx

I hope you have the time to read about the festival and about some of the participants that will be coming from various parts of Mexico. If anyone plans to visit Washington DC this summer, try not to miss this.

Natalie