Skip to main content Skip to main navigation
Smithsonian logo Smithsonian main website
  • Living traditions of, by, and for the people
  • Folklife
  • Folkways
  • Festival
Festival Logo Festival Logo Festival Logo
Festival Logo Festival Logo Festival Logo
  • 2026
    • Of the People
    • By the People
    • For the People
    • Spotlight Programs
    • For the Common Good
  • Visit
    • General Information
    • Festival 101
    • Map
    • Marketplace
    • Accessibility
    • FAQ
  • Learn
    • Festival Blog
    • Podcast
    • Festival Video
    • Storied Objects
    • Past Programs
  • Schedule
    • Event Calendar
    • D.C. Schedule
    • Livestream Events
    • Archived Events
  • Sponsors
    • Event Sponsors
    • Make a Donation
  • About Us
    • Mission & History
    • Staff
    • Press
    • Contact
    • Mailing List
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Volunteer
Browse By
  • Theme
    • Art & Design
    • Building Arts
    • By Our Interns
    • Celebrations
    • Community
    • Crafts
    • Cultural Sustainability
    • Cultural Transmission
    • Dance
    • Dress
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Folklife Resources
    • Foodways
    • Future Programs
    • History
    • Immigration & Migration
    • Indigenous Peoples
    • Language
    • Marketplace
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Social Justice
    • Sponsor Highlight
    • Sports & Games
    • Storytelling
    • Traditional Knowledge
    • Tribute
    • Work Life
  • Year/Program
    • 2010s
      • 2018
        • Armenia
        • Catalonia
        • Crafts of African Fashion
        • On the Move
        • Sisterfire
      • 2017
        • 50th Anniversary
        • Circus Arts
        • Festival at 50
        • IlluminAsia
        • On the Move
      • 2016
        • Basque
        • On the Move
        • Sounds of California
        • Special Events (2016)
      • 2015
        • Peru
        • Special Events (2015)
      • 2014
        • China
        • Kenya
        • Special Events (2014)
      • 2013
        • Hungarian Heritage
        • One World, Many Voices
        • Special Events (2013)
        • The Will to Adorn
      • 2012
        • Campus and Community
        • Citified
        • Creativity and Crisis
        • Special Events (2012)
      • 2011
        • Colombia
        • Peace Corps
        • Rhythm and Blues
        • Special Events (2011)
      • 2010
        • Asian Pacific Americans
        • México
        • Smithsonian Inside Out
        • Special Events (2010)
    • 2000s
      • 2009
        • Giving Voice
        • Las Américas
        • Special Events (2009)
        • Wales Smithsonian Cymru
      • 2008
        • Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon
        • NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond
        • Special Events (2008)
        • Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine
      • 2007
        • Mekong River: Connecting Cultures
        • Northern Ireland at the Smithsonian
        • Roots of Virginia Culture: The Past is Present
        • Special Events (2007)
      • 2006
        • Alberta at the Smithsonian
        • Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions
        • Nuestra Música: Latino Chicago
        • Special Events (2006)
      • 2005
        • Food Culture USA
        • Forest Service, Culture, and Community
        • Nuestra Música: Music in Latino Culture (2005)
        • Oman: Desert, Oasis, and Sea
        • Special Events (2005)
      • 2004
        • Haiti: Freedom and Creativity from the Mountains to the Sea
        • Nuestra Música: Music in Latino Culture (2004)
        • Special Events (2004)
        • Water Ways
      • 2003
        • Appalachia: Heritage and Harmony
        • Mali: From Timbuktu to Washington
        • Scotland at the Smithsonian
        • Special Events (2003)
      • 2002
        • The Silk Road
      • 2001
        • Bermuda Connections
        • Masters of the Building Arts
        • New York City at the Smithsonian
        • Special Events (2001)
      • 2000
        • El Río
        • Special Events (2000)
        • Tibetan Culture Beyond the Land of Snows
        • Washington, D.C.: It's Our Home
    • 1990s
      • 1999
        • Celebrating New Hampshire's Stories
        • Gateways to Romania
        • South Africa: Crafting the Economic Renaissance of the Rainbow Nation
        • Special Events (1999)
      • 1998
        • Pahiyas: A Philippine Harvest
        • Special Events (1998)
        • The Baltic Nations: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
        • The Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin
        • Wisconsin
      • 1997
        • African Immigrant Folklife
        • Sacred Sounds: Belief & Society
        • Special Events (1997)
        • The Mississippi Delta
      • 1996
        • Iowa - Community Style
        • Special Events (1996)
        • The American South
        • Working at the Smithsonian
      • 1995
        • Heartbeat: The Voices of First Nations Women
        • Russian Roots, American Branches: Music in Two Worlds
        • Special Events (1995)
        • The Cape Verdean Connection
        • The Czech Republic: Tradition and Transformation
      • 1994
        • Culture and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean
        • Masters of Traditional Arts: The National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows
        • Thailand: Household, Temple Fair & Court
        • The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
      • 1993
        • American Social Dance
        • Kids' Stuff
        • Metro Music
        • U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
      • 1992
        • Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Culture in the Americas
        • New Mexico
        • The Changing Soundscape in Indian Country
        • Workers at the White House
      • 1991
        • Family Farming in the Heartland
        • Forest, Field and Sea: Folklife in Indonesia
        • Land in Native American Cultures
        • Roots of Rhythm and Blues: The Robert Johnson Era
      • 1990
        • Musics of Struggle
        • Senegal
        • U.S. Virgin Islands
    • 1980s
      • 1989
        • American Indian Program
        • Cultural Conservation (1989)
        • Hawai'i
        • Les Fêtes Chez Nous: France and North America
        • The Caribbean: Cultural Encounters in the New World
      • 1988
        • American Folklore Society Centennial
        • Festival Music Stage
        • Ingenuity and Tradition: The Common Wealth of Massachusetts
        • Migration to Metropolitan Washington: Making a New Place Home
        • Music from the Peoples of the Soviet Union
      • 1987
        • Cultural Conservation and Languages: America's Many Voices
        • Metropolitan Washington
        • Michigan
      • 1986
        • 20th Anniversary Music Stage
        • American Trial Lawyers
        • Cultural Conservation: Traditional Crafts in a Post-Industrial Age
        • Japan: Rice in Japanese Folk Culture
        • Tennessee
      • 1985
        • Cultural Conservation (1985)
        • Louisiana
        • Mela! An Indian Fair
        • Special Events (1985)
      • 1984
        • Alaska
        • Black Urban Expressive Culture from Philadelphia
        • The Grand Generation
      • 1983
        • Aviation Program
        • Festival Sampler
        • French/French-American Program
        • National Heritage Fellowships Program (1983)
        • New Jersey
      • 1982
        • Children's Program (1982)
        • Korea
        • National Heritage Fellowships Program (1982)
        • Oklahoma
      • 1981
        • A Celebration of the American Tent Show
        • Adobe Architecture
        • Arts Endowment Folk Arts Program
        • Children's Program (1981)
        • Folklore of the Deaf
        • Music and Crafts of the Southeastern United States
        • Northeastern Music and Dance
        • Ojibwa Culture
        • South Slavic Americans
      • 1980
        • American Talkers
        • Caribbean Americans
        • Community Activities and Food Preservation
        • Finnish Americans
        • Folk Housing and Energy Efficiency
        • Southeast Asian Americans
    • 1970s
      • 1979
        • Caribbean Carnival
        • Children's Area
        • Folklife in the Museum - Folk Medicine
        • Folklore in Your Community
        • Medicine Show
        • Native American Architecture
      • 1978
        • Chesapeake Bay Traditions
        • Children's Folklife
        • Coal Miners & Oil Workers
        • D.C. Folklore
        • Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations (1978)
        • Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (1978)
        • Mexican & Mexican American Traditions
        • Other Programs (1978)
        • San Juan Pueblo Culture
      • 1977
        • African Diaspora Street Culture
        • America's Appetite (for Energy)
        • Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations (1977)
        • Folklife in the Museum: Hall of Musical Instruments
        • Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (1977)
        • Native American Musical Styles
        • Other Programs (1977)
        • Virginia Folk Culture
      • 1976
        • African Diaspora (1976)
        • Children's Program (1976)
        • Family Folklore (1976)
        • Festival Stage (1976)
        • Native Americans (1976)
        • Old Ways in the New World (1976)
        • Regional America (1976)
        • Working Americans (1976)
      • 1975
        • African Diaspora (1975)
        • Children's Program (1975)
        • Family Folklore (1975)
        • Festival Stage (1975)
        • Native Americans (1975)
        • Old Ways in the New World (1975)
        • Regional America (1975)
        • Working Americans (1975)
      • 1974
        • African Diaspora (1974)
        • Children's Program (1974)
        • Family Folklore (1974)
        • Festival Stage (1974)
        • Native Americans (1974)
        • Old Ways in the New World (1974)
        • Regional America (1974)
        • Working Americans (1974)
      • 1973
        • Native Americans (1973)
        • Old Ways in the New World (1973)
        • Regional America (1973)
        • Working Americans (1973)
      • 1972
        • Maryland
        • Southwest Indians
        • Union Workers
      • 1971
        • Northwest Coast Indians
        • Ohio
        • Performances (1971)
      • 1970
        • Arkansas
        • Crafts (1970)
        • Performances (1970)
        • Southern Plains Indians
    • 1960s
      • 1969
        • Crafts (1969)
        • Pennsylvania
        • Performances (1969)
        • Toby Show
      • 1968
        • Crafts (1968)
        • Performances (1968)
        • Texas
      • 1967
        • Crafts (1967)
        • Performances (1967)
Browse By
exclamation_triangle

Explore the 2026 calendar and interactive story map to find events in your region!

close Dismiss

Sylvia Wilson

Festival Blog

Posts tagged with Sylvia Wilson

  • Egungun masquerade in Cotonou, Benin. Photo by Rebecca Fenton

    Dance, Music

    The Sonic Landscape of Benin: Music from Smithsonian Folkways
    October 24, 2019 | Sylvia Wilson

    In Benin, musical traditions and accompanying dances connect participants to their religion, community, and natural environment.

    more

    • Posts by Festival

    Recent Posts

    1. At the Mid-Autumn Festival, Philadelphia’s Chinatown Is “Building the World We Want”
    2. A Look at Family Farm Folklore in Photos, from the Folklife Festival to Farm Aid
    3. Showcasing South Dakota’s Native Fashion at the Mitakuye Owas’iƞ * All My Relatives * Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ Festival
    4. Everybody Hollerin’ G.O.A.T.! How the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band Carries a Mississippi Tradition
    5. Two Storytellers Are Guiding a National Conversation, Holding “Truths” of the American People

    Themes

    • Art & Design
    • Building Arts
    • Celebrations
    • Community
    • Crafts
    • Cultural Sustainability
    • Cultural Transmission
    • Dance
    • Dress
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Foodways
    • History
    • Immigration & Migration
    • Language
    • Marketplace
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Social Justice
    • Sports & Games
    • Storytelling
    • Traditional Knowledge
    • Work Life

    Multimedia

    • Audio
    • Photos
    • Video
    Join our email list for the latest news from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

    Email powered by MailChimp ( Privacy Policy, Terms of Use )

    Support the Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Cultural Vitality Program, educational outreach, and more.
    Support Folklife. Donate Now.
    • 2026
      • Of the People
      • By the People
      • For the People
      • Spotlight Programs
      • For the Common Good
    • Visit
      • General Information
      • Festival 101
      • Map
      • Marketplace
      • Accessibility
      • FAQ
    • Learn
      • Festival Blog
      • Podcast
      • Festival Video
      • Storied Objects
      • Past Programs
    • Schedule
      • Event Calendar
      • D.C. Schedule
      • Livestream Events
      • Archived Events
    • Sponsors
      • Event Sponsors
      • Make a Donation
    • About Us
      • Mission & History
      • Staff
      • Press
      • Contact
      • Mailing List
      • Jobs & Internships
      • Volunteer
    • Smithsonian Institution
    • © 2026 Smithsonian Institution
      • Contact
      • Privacy
      • Terms of Use
      • Credits
    • Connect with us
    TOP