Washington, the capital city, has long been known for its official culture and public celebrations such as presidential inaugurations, Independence Day pageantry, military band concerts, state funerals, and embassy receptions. Yet it possesses another reality, one sometimes hidden beneath the official veneer. Washington, the residential city, burgeons with cultures transplanted from beyond urban, state, and national boundaries as well as with hybrid traditions newly rooted in an urban environment. Over the next several years the Office of Folklife Programs will explore the fascinating, vital, and variegated pool of cultures that enliven the