Why are there airplanes at the Festival of American Folklife? What is the aviation industry doing at a folklife festival? Are the pilots, flight attendants, and maintenance workers who support the airline industry "folk?" If they do not play banjos or sing old songs, why are they here?

Questions such as these are asked by puzzled visitors whenever a contemporary occupational group is presented at the Festival of American Folklife. Because folklore is often identified with old and dying customs, contemporary traditions which have grown out of work experience and are organized around job skills and occupational identity seem incongruous. But folklore is not simply a list of "things," such as old songs or "tall tales." It is a way people relate to and communicate with each other. Folklore is small scale, face to face; it is imbued with personal artistry and group sensibilities, derived from one's ethnic, regional, religious or occupational affiliation.