The 2016 Folklife Festival ended today with whip cracks, a mass dance to accordion melodies, and last-minute lemonade and taco runs.

Thanks to warm weather, over a hundred talented artisans and performers, and all our sponsors, we enjoyed another beautiful day of the Folklife Festival on the National Mall.

On the opening day of the 2016 Folklife Festival, Basque trikitixa (accordion) sensation Kepa Junkera headlined the Ralph Rinzler Concert Stage, accompanied by five of the Sorginak.

Nothing about construction on the National Mall is straightforward.

Kaixo! 今日は! Kamthum muvak! Ողջույն! ¡Hola! سلام! Hawka! That’s “hello” in Basque, Japanese, Quechan, Armenian, Spanish, Pashto, and Kumeyaay

They say if you cut down a tree and count the rings, you can tell how old the tree is. In this sense, wood acts as an interesting relative-dating mechanism.

It’s time for Week Two of the 2016 Folklife Festival! After the Fourth of July, we bid farewell to FandangObon, Klaperttaŕak, the Joaldunak, and several other Basque and Californian groups.

At the 2016 Folklife Festival, the Oinkari Basque Dancers energetically twirled, jumped, and high-kicked across the Musika eta Dantza Etxea and Frontoia.

Each year in the last week of January, up to sixty people march from one village to another, with clanging bells strapped on their backs.

Happy Fourth of July! Before the rainy weather drove us inside the Arts and Industries Building, experts and artisans from California and Basque country shared their traditions and innovations with visitors on the National Mall.