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      • 1990
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      • 1987
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      • 1986
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      • 1981
        • A Celebration of the American Tent Show
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      • 1980
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      • 1979
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      • 1978
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        • Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (1978)
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      • 1977
        • African Diaspora Street Culture
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        • Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (1977)
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      • 1976
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      • 1975
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      • 1974
        • African Diaspora (1974)
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      • 1973
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      • 1972
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      • 1971
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      • 1968
        • Crafts (1968)
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        • Texas
      • 1967
        • Crafts (1967)
        • Performances (1967)
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Explore the 2026 calendar and interactive story map to find events in your region!

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Storytelling

Festival Blog

Posts tagged with Storytelling

  • A translucent puppet of a bird with outstretched wings, each held up by a person holding a pole, takes center stage outdoors, under a pink sky at sunset.

    Storytelling, Traditional Knowledge

    A Native Puppet Theater Tells the Story of the Osage Homelands
    May 15, 2023 | Welana Fields Queton

    In the Wah.Zha.Zhe Puppet Theatre, we reimagine freedom and coexistence with the natural world.

    more
  • Crowds of people and goats on sandy terrain, green hills in the background.

    Environment, Storytelling

    The Maasai Mara Symphony: Soundscapes from the Kenyan Savanna
    May 30, 2022 | Sarah Wheedleton

    Cindy Obath wants to bring the human soundscape of the Maasai Mara to this summer’s Earth Optimism × Folklife program.

    more
  • Music, Storytelling

    Folklife Soundbite: The Pirate of the Mountain
    June 29, 2018 | Elisa Hough

    How is a folktale formed? Or a folksong composed?

    more
  • Art & Design, Storytelling

    Then and Now: The Festival in Photographs
    July 8, 2017 | Josh Weilepp

    See an interactive display of photographs from early years of the Folklife Festival and our 50th anniversary.

    more
  • Storytelling, Work Life

    Essentialism Takes the Stage: Happenstance Theater’s Homage to the Circus
    July 4, 2017 | Hae-Yang Chang, Wilson Korges

    Husband and wife Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell started the troupe in 2006. Their house, tucked away among the trees, is half living space and half composing space.

    more
  • Storytelling

    Lessons in Storytelling: Bridging Cultures and Communities
    June 16, 2017 | Angelica Aboulhosn

    Kiran Singh Sirah is no stranger to the many mispronunciations of his name. In fact, he enjoys hearing the innumerable iterations of “Kiran,” a Sanskrit name that translates to “light from the sun” or “ray of sunshine.”

    more
  • Language, Storytelling, Traditional Knowledge

    Frogs in Love: A Kumeyaay Story and Song
    July 15, 2016 | Elisa Hough

    Many ancient cultures tell tales of why the sun shines during the day and the moon at night. In some stories the sun and the moon are siblings, in others they are lovers.

    more
  • Immigration & Migration, Storytelling

    Out of the Shadows: Immigrant Stories through Puppetry
    June 14, 2016 | Guest Author

    Shadow puppetry, like many ancient performance arts, is traditionally used to tell folk stories, literary tales, or religious epics.

    more
  • Immigration & Migration, Storytelling

    On the Move: Storyteller Noa Baum
    May 13, 2016 | Alissa Stern

    “I always thought I would go home,” storyteller Noa Baum said one rainy morning over hot chocolate and cappuccino. “I never planned or imagined I would stay in America.”

    more
  • Crafts, Storytelling

    Women Making a Difference: The Women’s Collective
    November 27, 2012 |

    This story was filmed at the Center during a 2012 “Call My Name” quilting workshop conducted by The NAMES Project Foundation.

    more
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    Posts by Festival

    Recent Posts

    1. At the Mid-Autumn Festival, Philadelphia’s Chinatown Is “Building the World We Want”
    2. A Look at Family Farm Folklore in Photos, from the Folklife Festival to Farm Aid
    3. Showcasing South Dakota’s Native Fashion at the Mitakuye Owas’iƞ * All My Relatives * Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ Festival
    4. Everybody Hollerin’ G.O.A.T.! How the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band Carries a Mississippi Tradition
    5. Two Storytellers Are Guiding a National Conversation, Holding “Truths” of the American People

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