Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1996 Festival of American Folklife

Summary

Collection ID:
CFCH.SFF.1996
Creators:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Dates:
June 26-July 7, 1996
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 1996 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 5 series.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
  • Series 2: The American South
  • Series 3: Iowa - Community Style
  • Series 4: Special Events
  • Series 5: Working at the Smithsonian

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 1996 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies 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: 1996 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: 1996 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
In 1996, questions of national unity and purpose remained as salient as they had been twenty years before, for the Bicentennial Festival - yet there was also much to celebrate, and good cause to do so. On the state level, the year marked the 150th anniversary of Iowa statehood; on the international level, it marked the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics; and for the nation and the world, the Smithsonian celebrated its 150th anniversary. Each of these anniversaries recalled what we value as Americans and helped set our course for the future.
The 1996 Festival joined with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to present a program on the culture of the American South, both on the National Mall and, before a world audience, back home in Atlanta during the Olympic Games. The Olympics symbolize people from the world over coming together in common athletic and artistic purposes. Just as a watershed is fed by the confluence of numerous streams, so too does the culture of the South represent the confluence of Native American, African, and European traditions, joining together with a stream of visitors from around the globe.
Iowa, which celebrated its sesquicentennial on the National Mall, is known as the land between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and symbolizes an important cultural watershed. For many, Iowa represents grassroots America, our heartland. The land and the rivers give Iowans a strong sense of purpose, and have nourished the value of community life as a centerpiece in our national consciousness - a value that was ever-present in the Iowa Festival program.
The Smithsonian, which has grown into the world's foremost national scientific, historical, and artistic complex, represents yet another kind of cultural watershed. It collects aspects of America's heritage, documenting the ebb and flow of history over the years and across the nation, and encourages visitors to find themselves in its never-ending course. For its 150th anniversary, visitors had a chance to peer behind the scenes and to meet Smithsonian workers in every field.
The Smithsonian saw the Festival as a wonderful way to help celebrate the anniversaries of these institutions, for like them, the Festival stands as a tribute to our own ability to speak with each other, to share our cultures and traditions, and to do so in a civil, tolerant, respectful, and enlightening way. The Festival itself is an enduring institution, and in 1996 it marked its own thirtieth event in typical fashion - by working hard to amplify the voices of others.
The 1996 Festival took place during two five-day weeks (June 26-30 and July 3-7) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 9th Street and 13th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan). It featured three programs and a special event, the second Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert.
The 1996 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; essays provided background on the Festival and on each of the programs.
The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies.
Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies
Richard Kurin, Director; Richard Kennedy, Deputy Director; Diana Parker, Festival Director; Anthony Seeger, Director, Smithsonian/Folkways Recordngs; James Early, Director, Cultural Studies & Communications; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist; Olivia Cadaval, Chair, Research & Education; Betty Belanus, Marjorie Hunt, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Peter Seitel, Curators, Folklorists, Educational and Cultural Specialists; Carla M. Borden, Program/Publications Manager; John W. Franklin, Program Manager; Arlene L. Reiniger, Program Specialist; Jeffrey Place, Archivist; Stephanie Smith, Assistant Archivist; Roland Freeman, Ivan Karp, Alan Lomax, Worth Long, Kate Rinzler, Research Associates & Collaborators
Folklife Advisory Council and Folkways Advisory Council
Roger Abrahams, Jacinto Arias, Michael Asch, Jane Beck, Don DeVito, Pat Jasper, Ella Jenkins, Jon Kertzer, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, John Nixdorf, Bernice Johnson Reagon, John Roberts, Carol Robertson, Gilbert Sprauve, Jack Tchen, Ricardo Trimillos, Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez
National Park Service
Roger Kennedy, Director; Robert G. Stanton, Regional Director, National Capital Region

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
Contracts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plans (drawings) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folklore Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Digital images Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Business records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Food habits Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Memorandums Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
arts and crafts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiocassettes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk festivals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Negatives Genre Form 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