On November 3, 1885, the Chinese were driven out of Tacoma, Washington.

The 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival began on June 29 with a ceremony in the Smithsonian’s newly reopened Arts and Industries Building.

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.

Under clear blue skies, our technical team is installing white tents and billowing signs on the green grass of the National Mall. You know what that means? The Smithsonian Folklife Festival will soon be upon us!

According to the 2010 census, there are fewer than 100,000 Indonesian Americans, a relatively small number given that Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country. Why do so few Indonesians immigrate to the United States?

We are honored here at Split This Rock to work with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Our goal as an organization is to call poets to a greater role in public life and foster a national network of socially engaged poets.

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

In the nineteenth century, American pioneers pushed through the boundaries of the nascent nation to undeveloped western lands, following their dreams of economic opportunity, self-determination, and prosperity.

What happens to people when they move? What happens to the host cultures and the cultures they leave behind? How do others respond, and how might we respond more constructively?

The Folklore Society of Greater Washington is dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional folk arts in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.