The Festival, like all Smithsonian museums, is free. No tickets or turnstyles to ingather patrons and exclude the rest. The Festival has always been free—by the original vision of the event's founders—because the Festival is the Smithsonian's forum of living cultural ideas. The Festival is a celebration of traditional beauty, knowledge and wisdom. Participation in its potential for growth, delight and understanding will always be the free privilege of the citizens of the nation and the world.