• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 1 / 10
  Armenian musician Vache Pashinyan stunned the audience with his haunting performance on the duduk at the opening ceremony.
  Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 2 / 10
  Between speeches at the ceremony, Arto Tunçboyacıyan surprised guests by improvising a song on a glass bottle and tambourine while wandering through the aisles.
  Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 3 / 10
  Mosaic artist Lívia Garreta welcomed visitors to her trencadís demonstration area in the Catalonia program.
  Photo by Vivianne Peckham, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 4 / 10
  President Armen Sarkissian and First Lady Nouneh Sarkissian met with Armenian artisans, accompanied by clergy from the Armenian Churches in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City.
  Photo by Willa Friedman, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 5 / 10
  Les Anxovetes shared “songs of the sea” at the Ateneu Exchange stage in the Catalonia program area.
  Photo by Vivianne Peckham, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 6 / 10
  Kwasi Asare showcased traditional and contemporary techniques in Ghanaian kente cloth weaving in the Marketplace.
  Photo by Joshua Davis, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 7 / 10
  Behind the scenes at the Shadow Theater, presented by the Ayrogi troupe.
  Photo by Joshua Davis, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 8 / 10
  Varduhi Poghosyan and Anna Tepanosyan skillfully prepared lavash, tasty Armenian bread baked at 400 degrees in the wood-fired clay tonir oven inside the Hazarashen. They will be baking every day, so come by and try a piece!
  Photo by Robert Leopold, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 9 / 10
  Visitors met a capgros (big head) in the Catalonia Dance Workshop.
  Photo by Vivianne Peckham, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
• 10 / 10
  Yacine & The Oriental Groove brought the night to a close in a high-energy performance on the Rinzler Stage, the first in our evening concert series.
  Photo by Kerri Redding, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Click on the photo above to view full slideshow

The Folklife Festival continued today with better weather, music from every corner, and a few VIP visitors. The morning started with a formal opening ceremony in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, then continued down the National Mall.

See our favorite photos from the day here, and add your own in our Flickr group! Use #2018Folklife when your share your pictures on social media.

Tomorrow, you can start your morning by making a leather magnet in the Marketplace. Work up a sweat in a Catalan dance class with Ivan Caro and cool down with Occitan songs with Alidé Sans. Learn the beginning steps of Armenian embroidery and make a small piece to take home with you, or hang it up on our Tree of Life!

Later, discuss traditional gender roles and how cultural heritage enterprises can help deviate from those restrictions. Join us at the evening concert to celebrate Armenian jazz and folk-fusion with Yerevan-based Miqayel Voskanyan, who specializes in the ancient Armenian tar.

Elisa Hough is the editor for the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Rachel Barton is the media intern for the 2018 Folklife Festival. Together they are Team Festival Blog.