Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife

Summary

Collection ID:
CFCH.SFF.1980
Creators:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Dates:
October 8-13, 1980
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Cubic foot
approximate
Repository:
The Smithsonian Institution 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 materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1980 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

Arrangement note
Arranged in 7 series.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
  • Series 2: American Talkers
  • Series 3: Caribbean Americans
  • Series 4: Community Activities and Food Preservation
  • Series 5: Finnish Americans
  • Series 6: Folk Housing and Energy Efficiency
  • Series 7: Southeast Asian Americans

Historical note

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 1980 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Office of Folklife Programs and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

Administration

Author
CFCH Staff

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation note
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access note
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Conditions Governing Use note
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
The Rinzler Archives is continually engaged in digitization of archival materials to facilitate preservation and ready access by users. However, given the diversity of legacy formats of the originals, some older materials may not be available. Notably, certain older audio recordings cannot be played because of deterioration of the tape stock, and the Archives has no playback equipment for EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) or multi-track audio recordings. Where listening or viewing copies are available, this is generally indicated for each item. Users are encouraged to contact Archives staff to verify that the materials of interest to them are already accessible, or to determine if they can be digitized as needed.

Forms Part Of

Forms Part Of
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 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.

More Information

Introduction

Introduction
The 1980 Festival was the third to use "community" as its over-arching theme, and the last to be held in October. As with recent Festivals, it was held on a site on the National Mall later to be occupied by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, between 14th and 15th Streets and between Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive (see site plan). It was also the first to be organized by the newly-established Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1992), successor to the former Folklife Program of the Office of American and Folklife Studies (1977-1980). The indoor programming in several museums that had characterized the 1977-1979 Festivals was discontinued and all activities were held outdoors.
When families and community groups gather to celebrate or to mourn, Festival Director Ralph Rinzler observed in the program book, they depend on traditional flavors, sounds, dances, and prayers to reinforce their sense of belonging, their group strength and cultural identity. At the annual Folklife Festival, the Smithsonian acknowledged the power of these traditions, which recall the value that Americans continue to place on being members of groups - familial, occupational, ethnic, regional, and religious. Festival organizers considered this recognition a step in the process of cultural conservation, in the belief that cultural variety, on a national and on a global scale, makes life itself more rewarding. Community and identity thus served as the twin poles around which Festival programs were organized.
The 1980 Festival (October 8-13) included a Caribbean Carnival with steel band and calypso competitions; Finnish Americans from northern Minnesota demonstrating a traditional "whip-sled" for children and such crafts as making Christmas tree ornaments from wood shavings; Southern carpenters building a traditional "dog trot" house; Southeast Asians demonstrating weaving, embroidery, stone carving, calligraphy; among others. The Festival asserted that rootedness is a tangible part of the fascination with history, our own or our country's or that of some distant place. This was seen as a part of life that everyone should value, and so the Festival not only celebrated customs and ways of doing things, but evoked the pride of being someone from somewhere. The 1980 Program Book provided information on each of the programs.
The 1980 Festival was again co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Music Performance Trust Funds. It was organized by the Office of Folklife Programs.
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, Scott Odell, Ralph Rinzler, Peter Seitel, Richard Sorenson, Thomas Vennum
Office of Folklife Programs
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Richard Derbyshire, Archivist; Susan Kalcik, Folklorist; Jeffrey LaRiche, Program Coordinator; Jack Santino, Folklorist; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Ethnomusicologist; Steve Zeitlin, Folklorist
National Park Service
Russell E. Dickenson, Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region

Fieldworkers and presenters

Fieldworkers and presenters
Steve Addiss, John W. Berquist, Charley Camp, Amy Catlin, Dennis Coelho, Héctor Corporán, Amanda Dargan, Richard Flint, Marjorie Hunt, Geraldine Johnson, Fred Lieberman, Howard Marshall, Von Martin, Maxine Miska, Bill Moore, Elliott Parris, Leslie Prosterman, Arthur Rosenbaum, Jack Santino, Marta Schley, Katherine Williams, Margaret Yocom, Steven Zeitlin

Shared Stewardship of Collections

Shared Stewardship of Collections
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Business records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Food habits Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folklore Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
arts and crafts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Contracts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Digital images Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Memorandums Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plans (drawings) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk festivals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiocassettes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Caribbean Area Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Haiti Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jamaica Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Virgin Islands Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Costa Rica Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Panama Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colombia Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Afro-Caribbean cults Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Afro-Caribbeans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yoruba (African people) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Santeria Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gabon, -- Ngounié, -- Samba Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rumba (Dance) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reggae music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rastafarians Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carnivals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Folklife Festival Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
600 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, D.C.
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-6440
Fax Number: Fax: 202-633-6474
rinzlerarchives@si.edu