The Folklife Festival’s Opening Ceremony will be held on the Motor City stage in front of the Smithsonian Castle on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 11a.m. on the National Mall. Speakers at this year’s Festival will include:

• G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
• Richard Kurin, Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture
• Daniel Sheehy, Director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
• Stephen Kidd, Director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Colombia: The Nature of Culture

• Gabriel Silva Luján, Ambassador of Colombia to the United States
• Mariana Garcés Córdoba, Minister of Culture of Colombia
• Musical performance by: Grupo Cabrestero

The Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Promoting World Peace and Friendship

• Aaron S. Williams, Director of the Peace Corps
• Musical performance by: San dancers from Botswana

Rhythm and Blues: Tell It Like It Is

• Dr. Mable John, American blues vocalist
• Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Deputy Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Musical performance by: Stax Music Academy

Join us and our honored guests at the Opening Ceremony!

Van Luong is the festival blogger for the 2011 Folklife Festival.