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• Musicians gathered for jam sessions on both days of the Reunion Weekend, harkening back to early days of the Festival, playing extended version of bluegrass and old-time music.
  Photo by Joe Furgal, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• All ages were encouraged to join! Here a young visitor learned to play the washboard.
  Photo by Joe Furgal, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• Sailor Circus took one last flight on the Flying Trapeze before they head back to Sarasota.
  Photo by Caroline Angelo, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• Anvar Kasimbaev sold his ornate textiles during the International Folk Art Alliance pop-up market in the Festival Marketplace.
  Photo by Caroline Angelo, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• What cultural connections have you made at the Festival? In the Story Swap Lounge, visitors were asked to share some of their favorite moments from our 50-year history.
  Photo by Elisa Hough
• Curator Olivia Cadaval led an amusing discussion about the challenges of bringing animals to the National Mall. The best story: in 1975, the National Park Service called Festival staff, asking them to retrieve the sheep that had made its way to the viewing room at the top of the Washington Monument.
  Photo by Joe Furgal, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• Financial management specialist Claudia Telliho (right) led a Reunion Weekend panel about treating Festival participants as family, featuring former administrative officers Betty Derbyshire, Barbara Strickland, and former Office of International Relations director Francine Berkowitz.
  Photo by Caroline Angelo, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• “World’s Greatest Daredevil” Bello Nock was a special guest performer at the Salute to Youth Circus, surprising visitors with the many uses of what looked like a normal balloon.
  Photo by Josh Davis, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• Raices Hondureñas led visitors and staff in the closing procession through the alfombra de aserrín, blurring the images and offering the natural materials back to the earth.
  Photo by Caroline Angelo, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• Presenting the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival staff, for one photoshoot only, under the Big Top!
  Photo by Josh Weilepp, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Click on the image above to view full slideshow

The 50th anniversary of the Folklife Festival came to a close Sunday evening with a Salute to Youth Circus and a ceremonial stomp through the sawdust carpet. Today the National Mall begins transforming into its normal state, but in about forty-six short weeks we’ll do it all again! So far, the 2018 Festival is set to feature programs about Catalonia and Armenia—and more to come—with a focus on cultural heritage industries. Stay tuned to the Festival Blog for videos and interviews from this year and updates about the next.

We must thank all of our tireless participants for traveling from across town and the country and the world to share with us their passions, their stories, and their expertise. And thank you to our visitors, for opening your ears, eyes, and minds to these communities. It’s an honor to share these two weeks with you all.

Elisa Hough is the editor for the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.