Scope and Contents note

This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1971 Festival of American Folklife. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.

Arrangement note

Arranged in 5 series.

Historical note

The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.

The 1971 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Division of Performing Arts.

For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

Introduction

The Festival of American Folklife, since its initiation in 1967, sought to present varied folk traditions representing a broad spectrum of our nation's cultural groups. It was the Smithsonian's hope and belief that the 1971 Festival would deepen and advance public appreciation of the richness and viability of American grass-roots creativity.

The 1971 Festival featured the State of Ohio, Pacific Northwest Coast Indians and Alaskan Eskimos, and the American worker as a part of organized labor. It took place for five days on the National Mall, between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 10th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of History and Technology and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan).

Evening programs took place in two locations: Indian Pow Wows were held in the Indian Area at 13th Street opposite the National Museum of History and Technology nightly except July 4th when a powwow was held on the Washington Monument Grounds. Evening concerts took place on the Main Stage located in front of the National Museum of Natural History. The Main Stage also hosted its own performers and others drawn from one of the Festival's three other programs; the resulting recordings constitute a separate subseries below.

The 1971 Festival was once again produced by the Division of Performing Arts, where James R. Morris was Director and Richard Lusher was Deputy Director. Ralph Rinzler continued as Festival Director, with Gerald L. Davis as Assistant Director and Kenneth S. Goldstein as Special Assistant to the Secretary on Folklore and Folklife.

The 1971 Program Book included information on all of the programs, a participant list, and schedule.

Festival speakers and consultants

Roger Abrahams, Daniel Barnes, Mike Cooney, Hazel Dickens, Josh Dunson, Kenneth S. Goldstein, Archie Green, Richard Hulan, Martin Koenig, George Mitchell, Patrick Mullen, Hoyle Osborne, Ethel Raim, Alice Foster Seeger, Bob Siggins, Frances Utley, Arthur Walker

Forms Part Of

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1971 Festival of American Folklife forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .

Related Archival Materials note

Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.

Related collections

Related collections

English Description:

The Caribbean Resource Guide groups the Smithsonian Folklife Festivals that are related to the culture of the geographical region of the Caribbean and its relationship with the United States of America. The themes developed in the different festivals program are related to migration, music, dances, food, carnivals, languages, religions, among other materials belonging to the tangible and intangible heritage of the Caribbean. The titles of the Caribbean programs are the following: African Diaspora Program (1974-1977), Caribbean Carnivals (1979), Caribbean Americans (1980), National Heritage Fellowships Program (1983), Cultural Conservation (1985), Metropolitan Washington (1987) , Ingenuity and Tradition: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1988), The Caribbean: Cultural Encounters in the New World (1989), US Virgin Islands (1990), Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Culture in the Americas (1992), The Commonwealth of the Bahamas (1994), Culture and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (1994), Bermuda Connections (2001), Haiti: Freedom and Creativity from the Mountains to the Sea (2004), Our Music: Music in Latino Culture (2004-2006), Special Events (2008), The Americas: A musical world / The Americas: A Musical World (2009), Special Program : Haiti, earthquake, Tribute To Haiti Concert (2010), Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Promoting World Peace and Friendship (2011), The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity (2013). Also, this Resource Guide can contain materials from other Latinx communities.

Spanish Description:

La Guía de Recursos Caribeños agrupa los Smithsonian Folklife Festivals que se relacionan con la cultura de la región geográfica del Caribe y su relación con los Estados Unidos de América. Los temas desarrollados en los diferentes programas de los festivales están relacionados con la migración, música, bailes, comida, carnavales, idiomas, religiones, entre otros materiales pertenecientes al patrimonio tangible e intangible del Caribe. Los títulos de los programas caribeños son los siguientes: African Diaspora Program (1974-1977), Caribbean Carnivals (1979), Caribbean Americans (1980), National Heritage Fellowships Program (1983), Cultural Conservation (1985), Metropolitan Washington (1987),Ingenuity and Tradition: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1988), The Caribbean: Cultural Encounters in the New World (1989), U.S. Virgin Islands (1990), Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Culture in the Americas (1992), The Commonwealth of The Bahamas (1994), Culture and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (1994), Bermuda Connections (2001), Haiti: Freedom and Creativity from the Mountains to the Sea (2004), Nuestra Música: Music in Latino Culture (2004,2005, 2006, 2009), Special Events (2008), Las Américas: Un mundo musical/The Americas: A Musical World (2009), Special Program: Haiti, earthquake, Tribute To Haiti Concert (2010), Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Promoting World Peace and Friendship (2011), The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity (2013). Además, esta guía de recursos caribeños puede contener materiales de otras comunidades Latine.