Skip to main content

Festival Blog

  • 2024 Festival, Indigenous Voices of the Americas,

    Day Four: Top Ten Photos

    June 29, 2024 | Chloe E.W. Levine, Elisa Hough, Molly Szymanski | Comments

    The first weekend day of the Festival was the busiest yet. Bright and early, people of all ages joined members of Hawaiian classical dance group Hālau o Kekuhi at the Family Activities tent for a workshop on stamping, where they could recreate the patterns and symbols on hula dancers’ skirts, including hinaholo, which represents the goddess of the tidal currents and wa‘a kaulua, which represents the Hawaiian tradition of voyaging.

    Temperatures rose twofold in the Ceramics Tent, where Oaxacan studio Taller Ruiz Lopez fired up the kiln to finish the pottery that has been formed so far this week. In the afternoon, our accessibility staff led a visual description tour of the Festival, allowing blind and low-vision visitors to interact with artists and have tactile experiences with their wares.

    As evening fell, our spirits did not. Two featured concerts—Kaqchikel singer Sara Curruchich in the Rasmuson Theater and Arctic music and dance group Pamyua on Four Directions Stage—brought the energy into the end of Day Four.

    Under a wooden shade structure, two people on stage face a crowd of people, all doing the same movement, looking upward and holding their hands above the heads, palms up.
    Who wants to hula? In the Folklife Studio, Hālau ʻŌhiʻa led visitors in a Hawaiian dance workshop, telling stories through movement.
    Photo by Ronald Villasante, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A woman wearing a green shirt leans on a countertop, smiling. In front of her sits two bottles of michelada mix and two cans of Modelo beer.
    Oaxacan American chef Bricia Lopez hosted the Happy Half Hour on Day Four, making her I Heart Micheladas cocktails with Modelo beer, fresh lime, and her patented michelada mix.
    Photo by Craig Fergus, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Four women in colorful clothing, plus two just out of frame, each holding a paper plaque and a small Bolivian flag, with red, yellow, and green stripes. A man in a navy suit speaks to them through a microphone.
    The kicks and flips paused as Rodrigo Ruíz, first secretary of the Embassy of Bolivia, honored the women of Imilla Skate for sharing their cultural traditions on the National Mall.
    Photo by Ronald Villasante, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Two men with patterned headbands hold vertical flute-like instruments to their mouths.
    Musicians Waikil and Ketrafe played a pifilca duet during their Mapuche instruments workshop at the Folklife Studio. The pifilca is a Mapuche wind instrument that, due to its ladder-shaped interior, plays only one rhythmic, rumbling note.
    Photo by Craig Fergus, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A woman wearing a tan patterned dress and red glasses holds her hands above her head and cheers. In one hand, she is holding a maraca.
    A joyful racer celebrated her commendable performance in the Pataxó maraca relay race at the Sports and Games pavilion. The game, traditionally played by children in Brazil, was for all ages today. And yes, everybody won.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    About a dozen people gather, seated, in the grass, playing guitars, banjos, and fiddles. A crowd gathers around them.
    Musicians from around the D.C. area gathered to swap tunes and share stories at our annual old-time jam. This year, the Gaudry Boys hosted the session, serving up Métis traditional fiddle music from Canada.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Seven people perform on stage, most standing and playing wooden keyed instruments. A person seated in front plays percussion on a large barrel drum and an upside-down turtle shell.
    For one day only, D.C. locals Marimba Maya AWAL assembled a full group to perform on the Four Directions Stage. In the Maya Mam language, awal refers to “The Sower”; their objective is to value and sow the culture that their children will one day learn and sustain.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    In focus, a woman in gold regalia and beaded jewelry embraces two kids, also in colorful, feathered regalia.
    In between performances, members of Native Pride Productions share a moment of intergenerational embrace.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A woman wearing a black, white, and purple decorated dress holds a large, patterned pot on her head. On her fingers are many large turquoise rings.
    A member of the Zuni Olla Maidens balanced her olla, a ceramic jar used for carrying water, on her head during their performance in the Potomac Atrium. The all-woman music and dance group wears the olla on their heads for the entire duration of their performance to symbolize the life-giving work of their foremothers.
    Photo by Ralph H. Johnson, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    On an outdoor stage, three men sing and play frame drums. On a platform below them, adults and small children dance.
    Adults and children alike danced on the platform during Pamyua’s featured concert at Four Directions Stage. They refer to their music as Inuit soul, bringing a modern twist to traditional Inuit music.
    Photo by Stephen L. Kolb, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

    The Festival starts early on Sunday, June 30, with Morning on the Mall, an accessible, sensory-friendly program at 9:30 a.m. Later in the day, listen to Indigenous hip-hop with performances from MISK’I and K’achamosita as well as Waikil and Ketrafe, watch skaters practice their tricks at the Skate Jams, learn about the volcanic traditions of Hawai‘i, and more.

    The forecast suggests stormy weather on Sunday, so be sure to check the schedule for updates before your visit. Don’t miss the final two days of the 2024 Festival!

    Molly Szymanski is a media intern with the 2024 Folklife Festival. They are from Baltimore and currently live in College Park, Maryland. Elisa Hough is the editor and web content manager for the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Chloe E.W. Levine is the social media coordinator for the 2024 Folklife Festival. The city she has most recently called home is Somerville, Massachusetts.

    • Support the Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, sustainability projects, educational outreach, and more.
    Support Folklife. Donate Now.

    .