Smithsonian Folklife Festival Photo Gallery
July 3, 2016
Colorful sights, sounds, and tastes — textiles of handwoven fabric donned by cultural dancers, translators relaying the Basque speech of artists explaining their process of carving vibrant wooden creatures, sizzling hot Txangurro burgers to frozen artisanal gelato — invite passersby to explore rich Basque culture, diverse Californian sounds, and share their own migration or immigration stories. This annual celebration, known as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, takes place from June 29 to July 4 and July 7-10 on the National Mall.
“Basque: Innovation by Culture” and “Sounds of California” are this year’s two main themes. The well-preserved crafts, dance, music, and food of the Basque people, in addition to their industrial success, are highlighted throughout the booths. Also featured is the idea of “social power” being derived from the varying musical expressions of California.
![Kai Wang conducts Symphonic Orchestra as the first Jefferson orchestra performance composed and conducted by a student. Everyone in the ensemble dressed in red to symbolize good fortune and joy for the Lunar New Year. “I was just proud of him, because [the piece] was such quality,” orchestra director Allison Bailey said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0893.jpeg)
![Sophomore Holly Huang twirls a ribbon as she performs her dance, “Joy of the Dragon.” Chinese ribbon dance is a traditional art form originating in ancient China. Her ribbon dance was inspired by the revered mythical creature and this year’s Chinese zodiac sign, the dragon. “My ribbon symbolized a dragon flying in the air. My outfit was [also] inspired by the dragon, the color was the same color as my ribbon, but on the shoulder there were some details like dragon scales,” Huang said. “I liked how there were a lot of people in the audience and it was just really fun to perform.”](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0964-1-600x387.jpg)