The Festival of American Folklife, since its initiation in 1967, sought to present varied folk traditions representing a broad spectrum of our nation's cultural groups. It was the Smithsonian's hope and belief that the 1971 Festival would deepen and advance public appreciation of the richness and viability of American grass-roots creativity.
The 1971 Festival featured the State of Ohio, Pacific Northwest Coast Indians and Alaskan Eskimos, and the American worker as a part of organized labor. It took place for five days on the National Mall, between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 10th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of History and Technology and the National Museum of Natural History.
Evening programs took place in two locations: Indian Pow Wows were held in the Indian Area at 13th Street opposite the National Museum of History and Technology nightly except July 4th when a powwow was held on the Washington Monument Grounds. Evening concerts took place on the Main Stage located in front of the National Museum of Natural History. The Main Stage also hosted its own performers and others drawn from one of the Festival's three other programs; the resulting recordings constitute a separate subseries below.
The 1971 Festival was once again produced by the Division of Performing Arts, where James R. Morris was Director and Richard Lusher was Deputy Director. Ralph Rinzler continued as Festival Director, with Gerald L. Davis as Assistant Director and Kenneth S. Goldstein as Special Assistant to the Secretary on Folklore and Folklife.
