The Festival's 1978 theme of "community" offered the occasion to highlight the occupational communities of the Washington, D.C. region, building upon presentations of "Folklore in Your Community" at the 1977 Festival. No one exemplifies the idea of occupational group as community better than the stone carvers who have been working in Washington at the National Cathedral. They practice an art, a skill, a centuriesold craft in much the traditional way that it was practiced in their families five generations ago. Many of the traditional stone carvers were retired, and it was said that their unique art was dying, for there were no young apprentices training to take their places. Stone carvers demonstrated this art at the 1978 Festival and shared stories with the public about their skills and secrets, their history and their jobs.

Some of the other participants who were featured in workshops for the Folklore in Your Community project were taxi drivers, open market vendors, street hawkers, and local storytellers, all from the Washington area, celebrating the rich and vital folklore and folklife in and around the Nation's Capital.