For some, the Festival is an entertaining show on the National Mall, a pleasant summertime diversion with song, dance, and food. For others, it is a museum exhibition, albeit with living people, but nonetheless a display of traditions rooted in a historical past. While these are indeed possible ways to see the Festival, they might not be the best. More appropriate, in my opinion, is to see the Festival as the exercise and pursuit of cultural democracy—a view closer to the intentions of Festival producers, collaborators, and most participants.