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  • 2022 Festival,

    Day Three: Top Ten Photos

    June 25, 2022 | Annabella Hoge, Elisa Hough | Comments

    Today the Festival welcomed visitors and warm weather to the National Mall. During a day of nonstop activity, Emirati artist Umm Saeed led a henna demonstration and kids played “Bee I.D. Bingo” in the People-Powered Science tent. NOON oud player Mohammed Hosny taught visitors about his instrument before the whole band performed in the afternoon, and visitors learned beading traditions with artists from Kenya’s Maasai Mara.

    In Festival Foodways, celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn taught a crowd how to make his “chik’n” sandwich with oyster mushrooms. Missed his demonstration? Check out the recipe and make your own. The evening came to a close with a screening of My Garden of a Thousand Bees and a performance by bluegrass icon Alice Gerrard, singing songs of justice and equality for women and the world.

    Our Top Ten for Day Three features a few of the women who have enriched our Festival with their wisdom, skill, and creativity.  In the words of Semi Lotawa, representing the weavers of Rise Beyond the Reef in Fiji, “The women are the vessels of knowledge in our communities.”

    A woman smiles while seated at a round table, threading a white string through a needle. She is surrounded by a collection of fabrics and design tools.
    Folklife curator and visual artist Diane N’Diaye joined a roundtable activity in the Around the World in 80 Fabrics pop-up.
    Photo by Mark Roth, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Three women gather around an outdoor wooden table littered with letterpress blocks of different letters, numbers and sizes. The blocks are red, black and brown.
    Letterpress artists from the UAE invite visitors to try their craft in the Story Majlis.
    Photo by Josh Weilepp, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A seated woman with crutches beside her smiles at four people standing around a wood table in an outdoor wooden construction. The table is littered with folded paper and the standing individuals are folding origami.
    Peggy Oki taught visitors how to make origami whales in the Wavelength area.
    Photo by Mark C. Young, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Two women lean over a small, wooden architecture model and adjust the walls. They are both looking down at the structure and in the background is a striped, black and white wall.
    Architecture students from Zayed University are studying traditional buildings to envision how they can be reused for new purposes.
    Photo by Stanley Turk, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A seated woman in traditional Emirati dress applies a henna design to another seated woman’s outstretched hand. They’re seated on colorful, striped cushions in front of two other individuals in Emirati dress and a wall of hanging, woven baskets.
    The UAE’s Weaving tent turned into a henna studio.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    A woman in traditional Kenyan dress speaks to two individuals with their backs turned in an outdoor pop-up. Behind her is a sign that reads “Maasai Mara: Connectivity & Coexistence” and there are tables behind her littered with beaded designs.
    Simaloi Saitoti shared conservation efforts and craft traditions from the Maasai Mara in Kenya.
    Photo by Mark Roth, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Two hands quickly spin white wool into yarn in the foreground. The woman spinning is seated on colorful carpet next to red and yellow yarn in a basket.
    An Emirati weaver spun soft wool in the colorful Weaving tent.
    Photo by Mark C. Young, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Two women, one in traditional Fijian dress and the other in traditional Emirati dress and covered by a Burqa, weave palm leaves together. They are sitting together in the grass.
    Fijian and Emirati weavers worked together in an impromptu collaboration, bonding over their shared craft. Umm Saeed invited the Fijians to visit her and share their craft in the United Arab Emirates.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Four individuals in matching yellow shirts pass out drinks and bags of popcorn to two visiting individuals at an outdoor table. The table is covered with a blue cloth and behind the table is a grass lawn, trees, and a large brick building.
    Staff from HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and the Smithsonian passed out giveaways to visitors at the screening of My Garden of a Thousand Bees.
    Photo by Jennifer Berry, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
    Three musicians gather around a microphone on an outdoor stage singing. They are each holding a string instrument.
    Alice Gerrard (center) with Tatiana Hargreaves (left) and Reed Stutz performed on the Ralph Rinzler Main Stage.
    Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

    Join us for a hot summer day on Day 4 and the start of the Festival’s first weekend! Start your morning with a coffee demonstration or short films about animal conservation at Pocket Cinema. Check out Foodways for Emirati dishes from home, foraged mushroom dumplings, heathy vegetable cooking and more! Drop in for an origami workshop at the Wavelength installation and try something sweet at the honey tasting. Visit the Folklife Studio for conversations about electric transportation and eco-friendly fashion.

    Stick around in the evening for a touching musical performance dedicated to Tito Matos. 

    Annabella Hoge is the 2022 Folklife Festival media intern, and Elisa Hough is the editor at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Together they are Team Top Ten.

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