Before my volunteer experience at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, I had reservations regarding the effectiveness of the event

Bògòlanfini is a textile traditionally made by Bamana people in Mali, on cloth woven by men, painted by women and worn during times of transition

Music and dance ensemble Don Abundio y sus Traviesos, from Mompox, Colombia, entertained a capacity crowd with a Carnival workshop

Peace Corps Participant Assistant Meredith Adhikari accompanied the Peace Corps participants to a reception honoring their contributions to this year's festival

Hamadoun (Simbè) Sankaré wrote this poem and read it at a July 6 reception organized by the Peace Corps to honor the participants in the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Peace Corps program.

African American Peace Corps volunteer Richard Campbell and Japanese American volunteer Shunpei Igushi talk about how they have experienced perceptions and generalized ideas of Americans during their service

Our team here is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a special delivery of a jeep from Colombia.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival will present the Peace Corps, honoring fifty years of exchange that have helped promote greater understanding and appreciation of cultures from around the world

This video features James I. Deutsch, the curator of the 2011 Folklife Festival program The Peace Corps

Smithsonian Festival Curator, Olivia Cadaval, sent this news update from Bogotá on April 3-11: