During the Folklife Festival, I found myself repeatedly drawn to the Basque pottery tent where ceramicist Blanka Gomez de Segura worked through each day on her wheel.

It was the Fourth of July, and it was raining. Martha González, lead singer and songwriter of GRAMMY-winning band Quetzal, had just finished performing in a lively FandangObon performance at the 2016 Folklife Festival.

When people play sports at the frontoia, the community comes together. As the center of cultural life in the Basque country, the frontoia (pilota handball court) is a place not only to watch games but to participate.

In an interview following his presentation at the 2016 Folklife Festival’s On the Move: Migration and Immigration Today tent, Joel attempted to trace the flux of emotions he experienced as a young Jewish boy in Germany.

Learning the limitations of any particular stone is a skill that only comes from pushing the boundaries. Bernat Vidal, a stone carver from Basque country, has learned how to expertly read a stone, even characterize its personality.

Bakailaoa pil-pilean is perhaps the Basque country’s best known dish. The recipe itself is simple, but the dish is not easy to make.

Throughout our interview, she often referenced dreamlike interactions with magical figures, including a fairy who welcomed her to a treehouse deep in the woods.

Every time there was a rural sports demonstration at the Folklife Festival’s Frontoia, or Basque handball court, you could hear cheers of “aupa neskak!”—let’s go, girls!

George Abe is an energetic, enigmatic man. A Japanese American born and raised in California, he presented and performed as part of the Sounds of California program.

In 2014, the family sold 600 grams (1.3 pounds) of their Basque Idiazabal cheese for €13,050, or approximately $14,000.