Smithsonian Folk Life Festival 2011
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exposition of living cultural heritage produced on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This year's themes are the Peace Corps, Rhythm and Blues, and Colombia. (All images by Alison Klein for VOANews
The Peace Corps sends volunteers to some of the most remote corners of the globe, and they return with 27 months� worth of intimate familiarity with one particular cuisine. "Home Cooking" demonstrations go on throughout the festival. Pictured is a demonst
The Peace Corps sends volunteers to some of the most remote corners of the globe, and they return with 27 months' worth of intimate familiarity with one particular cuisine. Home Cooking demonstrations go on throughout the festival. Pictured is a demonstra
Ana Dolores Russi Suarez demonstrates the wool-weaving craft in the Colombian Village. Suarez learned this craft by watching her family and community weavers in Colombia.
Participants dance to traditional salsa music. Music and dance are regionally specific -- The traditions reflect the history of Colombia as well as the way of life.
Colombian musicians performing for the Tango workshop.
Jose Alexander Salazar Tapiero comes from Colombia's coffee-growing region. Currently he is a researcher with the Federation of Coffee Growers.
Berries from the coffee plant.
The Peace Corps program at the festival combines the goals of both organizations by honoring fifty years of exchange that have helped promote greater understanding and appreciation of cultures from around the world.
Children are taught how to make Malian mud cloth, which utilizes iron-rich mud, natural dyes, and cotton cloth to produce distinctive colors and culturally symbolic patterns.
Master weaver Nkerisapa Lewano is an active member of the Ngurunit Basket Weavers Group in northern Kenya, a program sponsored by the Peace Corps.
Rukaya Amidu demonstrates the labor of producing shea butter. She is a member of the Christian Mother�s Association shea butter cooperative in Damongo, Ghana.
In the Oral Histories tent at the Peace Corps section of the festival, past participants can post memories and contact info for others in the area who served in their same country or region.
Smithsonian Folk Life Festival 2011
DJ Questlove and Soul Train wrap up the first night of the festival with a dance party on the mall, Thursday June 30, 2011.
DJ Questlove and Soul Train wrap up the first night of the festival with a dance party on the mall, Thursday June 30, 2011.