by Peggy Robin
The Folk Life Festival is back for the 58th time -- and this year the theme is Youth and the Future of Culture
About fifty-two percent of the world’s population is under thirty, the highest in recorded history. Young people around the globe are working across generations and communities to understand and shape the world they will inherit. At the 2025 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Youth and the Future of Culture highlights their stories, creativity, and aspirations. From media production to traditional building trades, from Indigenous language reclamation to lowrider-car innovations, and more, Festival participants will express who they are in the present with an eye toward a vibrant, sustainable future.
The festival runs from Wednesday, July 2 through Monday, July 7
Hours and activities are different each day - view the full schedule at https://festival.si.edu/schedule
There's a wealth of concerts, workshops, presentations, demonstrations, and performances -- but as "Still LIfe with Robin" has a local DC focus as its theme, let me highlight just one of the Folk Life Festival's offerings:
Thursday, July 3rd, 5:30–8 p.m. | Homegrown Futures: The Sound of D.C.
Festival Main Stage
Washington, D.C., boasts a deep repertoire of homegrown music and spoken word. Through after-school and cultural programs, local artists are training the next generation of performers from go-go to spoken word to jazz. This concert celebrates some of D.C.’s own young artists and their teachers with performances by DCPS Let’s Go-Go Band, the UDC JAZZtet, and spoken-word artists from Words Beats & Life.
The festival map is below and at this link: https://festival.si.edu/map
Tips for festival-goers: Check the weather before you go! Events may be canceled, rescheduled or moved to other locations in the event of storms or extreme heat. Figure it's always several degrees hotter on the flat, open expanse of the Mall than it is at the edges where there are shade trees. Wear a broad-brimmed hat; keep a water bottle filled with ice water with you, and consider bringing a small battery-operated fan. Remember, air-conditioned museums are always a short walk away. No need to use port-a-potties when there are indoor facilities available.
More tips available in my 2023 "Still Life with Robin" column on the 2023 Folk Life Festival at https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2023/07/still-life-with-robin-living-folk-life.html
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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.
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