Well-told stories shimmer in the light, guiding our footsteps and carrying us through the unknown.

What would happen if we leaned into the Festival being as much about ideas as about the stories that hold them?

Since we last gathered on the National Mall, our sense of the world—our place in it and our hope for it—has been challenged and enriched.

I admit that I asked myself more than once: “What is the point?”

This year we have been tested in ways that are simultaneously unimaginable and utterly predictable.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an exercise in cultural democracy, equity, and diplomacy.

On the Folklife Festival’s 50th anniversary, one thing I’ve learned is that milestones are tricky business. They simultaneously fill you with a soaring sense of pride and the overwhelming reality of how much more there is to do.

The conversation usually ends one of two ways: “It’s wonderful and timely that you’re focusing on circus and migration for the Festival’s 50th,” or “Circus is great, but I’m not sure it’s suitable for the 50th. And where’s the country focus?”

Each year we ask, how do we better engage you, the visitor, in the creation, production, and presentation of our programs? Since its inception, the Festival has been a unique dance between participants, curators, and visitors.

To develop the Perú: Pachamama program, the Festival’s research, technical, graphic, and administrative teams exchanged ideas, strategies, and concerns with our Peru-based partners.