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The 42nd annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall takes place this week through Sunday, June 29; and again from July 2 through July 6. Programs are: “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon;” “NASA” Fifty Years and Beyond;”and “Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine.”   To get an up-to-date schedule for this weekend’s events at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, click here.

(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Endick, Smithsonian Institution

The 42nd annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall takes place this week through Sunday, June 29; and again from July 2 through July 6. Programs are: “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon;” “NASA” Fifty Years and Beyond;”and “Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine.”    

BHUTAN

Bhutan Kitchen: 11 a.m. Dragon Drinks: Tea and Alcohol; Noon Cattle God’s Gifts: Butter and Cheese; 1 p.m. Taste of Bhutan; 3 p.m. Buckwheat Noodles; 4 p.m. Festive Foods

Four Friends Narrative Stage: 11 a.m. The Eight Lucky Signs; 11:45 a.m. The Art of Bhutanese Postage Stamps; 12:30 p.m. Monarchy and Democracy; 1:15 p.m. Texas-Bhutan Connections; 2 p.m. Looking at the Stars; 2:45 p.m. Bhutan in the 21st Century; 3:30 p.m. Ghos and Kiras 4:15 p.m. Home Altars and Rituals; 5 p.m. Storytelling

Tsechu Stage: 11 a.m. Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; 12:00 p.m. Ritual Monastic Dance; 1 p.m. Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; 2 p.m. Teaching; 3 p.m. Ritual Monastic Dance; 4 p.m. Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; 5 p.m. Closing Ritual; 6 p.m. Evening Concert: Music and Dance from the Land of the Thunder Dragon

NASA

Exploration Stage: 11 a.m. NASA Pioneers; 11:45 a.m. Moon Bound; 12:30 p.m. Astronaut Adventures; 1:30 p.m. Mysterious Universe; 2:15 p.m. NASA and Popular Imagination; 3:15 p.m. Sun-Earth Connections; 4 p.m. Astronaut Adventures; 4:45 p.m. International Space Station 

Food Lab: 11 a.m. Planning for the Moon and Mars; 12:00 p.m. Creating Menus for Space; 1 p.m. Packaging Food for Space; 2 p.m. Planning for the Moon and Mars; 3 p.m. Creating Menus for Space; 4 p.m. Packaging Food for Space

Galaxy Stage: 11 a.m. International Space Station; 11:45 a.m. High Flight; 12:30 p.m. NASA Pioneers; 1:30 p.m. NASA in Second Life; 2:15 p.m. NASA and Nation; 3:15 p.m. NASA and Popular Imagination; 4 p.m. Probing the Planets; 4:45 p.m. Mysterious Universe

TEXAS

Dance Hall: 11:30 a.m. Los Texmaniacs with Augie Meyers; 12:30 p.m. Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys; 1:30 p.m. Little Joe y la Familia; 2:30 p.m. Gillette Brothers; 3:30 p.m. Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys; 4:30 p.m. Los Texmaniacs with Augie Meyers

Lone Star Kitchen: 11 a.m. Polish Texan Cooking; 12:15 p.m. Cowboy Cooking; 1:30 p.m. Cheese and Chiles: From Texas to Bhutan; 2:30 p.m. Southern African American Cooking; 3:30 p.m. San Antonio Tex-Mex Cooking; 4:30 p.m. Vietnamese Cooking

Opry House: 11 a.m. Les Amis Creole; 12:00 p.m. Little Joy y la Familia; 1 p.m. Texas Johnny Brown; 2 p.m. Joe Ely and Joe Guzman; 3 p.m. Jones Family Singers; 4 p.m. Gillette Brothers; 6 p.m. Evening Concert: Texas songsters Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines. Joe Ely and Joel Guzman

Texas Talk: 11:15 p.m. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning; 12:15 p.m. Lubbock on My Mind; 1:15 p.m. Sustenance in the Black Church; 2:15 p.m. Tex-Mex Food and Tex-Mex Music; 3:15 p.m. Accordions: Texas Style; 4:15 p.m. Cowboy Grub and Gab

(Photo of prayer flags and monks in Bhutan is courtesy of Larry Stuebing) 

The 42nd annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall takes place this week through Sunday, June 29; and again from July 2 through July 6. Programs are: “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon;” “NASA” Fifty Years and Beyond;”and “Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine.”   

BHUTAN

Bhutan Kitchen: 11 a.m. Dragon Drinks: Tea and Alcohol; 12:00 p.m. Cattle God’s Gifts: Butter and Cheese; 1 p.m. Taste of Bhutan; 3 p.m. Buckwheat Noodles; 4 p.m. Festive Foods

Four Friends Narrative Stage: 12:30 p.m. What’s in a Name?; 11:45 p.m. Movie Making in Bhutan; 12:30 p.m. Cultural Identify; 1:15 p.m. Prayer Flags and Prayer Wheels; 2 p.m. Protecting Bhutan’s Environment; 2:45 p.m. Birth, Death and Rebirth; 3:30 p.m. Crops: From Farm to Family; 4:15 p.m. Natural Resources Used in Art; 5 p.m. Storytelling

Tsechu Sta ge: 11 a.m. Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; 12:00 p.m. Ritual Monastic Dance; 1 p.m. Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; 2 p.m. Ritual Monastic Dance; 3 p.m. Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; 4 p.m . Teaching; 5 p.m. Closing Ritual

NASA

Exploration Stage: 11 a.m. Mysterious Universe; 11:45 p.m. NASA and Popular Imagination; 12:30 p.m. Why We Explore; 1:30 p.m. Astronaut Adventures; 2:15 p.m. Science Update; 3:15 p.m. NASA and Popular Imagination; 4 p.m. Rocket Scientists; 4:45 p.m. Astronaut Adventures

Food Lab: 11 a.m. Packaging Food for Space; 12:00 p.m. Planning for the Moon and Mars; 1 p.m. Creating Menus for Space; 2 p.m. Packaging Food for Space; 3 p.m. Planning for the Moon and Mars; 4 p.m. Creating Menus for Space

Galaxy Stage: 11 a.m. Moon Bound; 11:45 a.m. NASA Pioneers; 12:30 p.m. NASA and Popular Imagination; 1:30 p.m. What on Earth?; 2:15 p.m. NASA and Nation; 3:15 p.m. Space Shuttle; 4 p.m. Probing the Planets; 5 p.m. Mysterious Universe

TEXAS

Dance Hall: 11:30 a.m. Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines; 12:30 p.m. The Jones Family Singers; 1:30 p.m. Los Texmaniacs with Mingo Saldivar; 2:30 p.m. Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys; 3:30 p.m. Texas Johnny Brown; 4:30 p.m. Little Joe y La Familia

Lone Star Kitchen: 11 a.m. Southern African American Cooking; 12:15 p.m. Polish Texan Cooking; 1:30 p.m. Cowboy Cooking; 2:30 p.m. Vietnamese Cooking; 3:30 p.m. San Antonio Tex-Mex Cooking; 4:30 p.m. Cowboy Cooking

Opry House:  11 a.m. The Jones Family Singers; 12 p.m. The Gillette Brothers; 1 p.m. Les Amis Creole; 2 p.m. The Gillette Brothers; 3 p.m. Los Texmaniacs with Augie Meyers; 4 p.m. Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys

Texas Talk: 11:15 p.m. San Antonio Sounds; 12:15 p.m. Ethnic Restaurants in Texas; 1:15 p.m. Family Bonds; 2:15 p.m. Remembering the Duke Peacock Record Label; 3:15 p.m. Becoming a Winemaker; 4:15 p.m. Texas: French Style 

(Image Courtesy of NASA)

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival gets underway today on the National Mall with music, song, dance, crafts and story telling. Featured programs are: “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon;” “NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond;” and “Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine.”  The opening ceremony is at 11a.m. in the Dancehall.

Bhutan

Bhutan Kitchen: Noon Cattle God’s Gifts: Butter and Cheese; Taste of Bhutan 1 p.m.;  Buckwheat Noodles 3 p.m.; Festive Foods 4 p.m.

Four Friends Narrative Stage:  Four Friends Story 12:30 p.m.; Life of Monks and Nuns 1:30 p.m.; Understanding Art in Bhutan 2:00 p.m.; Gross National Happiness 2:45 p.m.; Images of Bhutan 3:30 p.m.; Passing on Traditional Arts 4:15 p.m.; Storytelling 5:00 p.m. 

Tsechu Stage: Noon Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance; Ritual Monastic Dance 1:00 p.m.; Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance 2 p.m.; Traditional Bhutanese Music and Dance 3 p.m.; Ritual Monastic Dance 4 p.m.; Closing Ritual 5 p.m.

NASA

Exploration Stage:  Noon Space Shuttle; Why We Explore 12:30 p.m.;  NASA and Nation 1:30 p.m. ; Astronaut Adventures 2:15 p.m.;  Moonbound 3:15 p.m.; Astronaut Adventures 4:00 p.m.; What on Earth? 4:45 p.m.

Food Lab:  Noon Packaging Food for Space; Planning for the Moon and Mars 1 p.m.; Creating Menus for Space 2 p.m.;  Packaging Food for Space 3 p.m.; Planning for the Moon and Mars 4 p.m.

Galaxy Stage: Noon High Flight; NASA and Nation 12:30 p.m.; Sun-Earth Connections 1:30 p.m.; Rocket Scientists 2:15 p.m.; Mysterious Universe 3:15 p.m.; Leading the Greening 4:00 p.m.; International Space Station 4:45 p.m.  

Texas

Dance Hall: Opening Ceremony 11 a.m.; Texas Johnny Brown 12:30 p.m.; Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines 1:30 p.m.;  Little Joe y la Familia 2:30 p.m.;  Les Amis Creole 3:30 p.m.;  Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys 4:30 p.m.

Lone Star Kitchen:  San Antonio Tex-Mex Kitchen 12:15 p.m.; Polish Texan Cooking 1:30 p.m.; Cowboy Cooking 2:15 p.m.; Vietnamese Cooking 3:15  p.m.; Southern African American Cooking 4:30 p.m.

Opry House: Noon The Jones Family Singers; Los Texmaniacs with Fiddlin’ Frenchie Burke 1 p.m.; Texas Johnny Brown 2 p.m.; Los Texmaniacs with Mingo Saldivar 3 p.m.; Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines 4 p.m.

Texas Talk:  Talking Terroir 12:15 p.m.; Making Wine for Texas Tastes 1:15 p.m.; Fiddles, Fiddles, Fiddles 2:15 p.m.;  Eating in San Antonio 3:15 p.m.; Tejano Music  4:15 p.m.

(Photograph of Bhutanese builders working on the construction of the traditional Bhutanese Buddhist temple on the National Mall, courtesy of Jennifer Endick, Smithsonian Institution) 

Despite a long, illustrious history of viewing animated film, I’m hard-pressed to recall any that feature American Indians, let alone films made by them. Disney’s “Pocahontas” immediately springs to mind. But that musical blitzkrieg and its irresponsible historiography does nothing but make this native Virginian’s eyes roll. Consequently, I met news of the National Museum of the American Indian’s “Animation Celebration!” series of short subject animation with excitement. (What’s your favorite animated short? Might I recommend the simply sadistic “Billy’s Balloon” by Don Hertzfeldt?)

The selection of films, however, makes for a jarring movie-going experience. Instead of focusing on one tribe or geographic region, films from different parts of the U.S. and Canada are represented. In addition, some films preserve indigenous tongues while others ply their storytelling craft in English. Work from high school students is screened alongside that of more experienced animators, inviting unfair comparisons.

Noteworthy were the two films, “Maq and the Spirit of the Woods” and “Wapos Bay,” mainly because of their association with the National Film Board of Canada. (The NFB encourages the filmmaking endeavors of indigenous peoples, and in 2001 it co-produced the live action film “Atanarjuat,” the first to be written, directed and acted by Canadian Inuit.)

“Maq” is an interesting extension of oral storytelling traditions. Told by a narrator, the animation is not the primary means of conveying the story. Instead, the visuals are ornamental and meant to enhance the listening experience. “Wapos Bay” is a Canadian television series that has enjoyed past screenings at the Museum of the American Indian.

Detailing the lives of a Cree family in Saskatchewan that tries to blend cultural traditions with modern living, it was refreshing to see stereotype-free representations of American Indian characters take center stage. (And fans of Art Clokey—the animator who gave us Gumby, among other things—will appreciate the show’s visual style.)

More animation from the National Film Board of Canada can be seen here. (For additional American Indian-themed animation, check out “The Owl Who Married a Goose;” Also be sure to check out the NFB’s work with aboriginal filmmakers.)

“Animation Celebration!” continues at the National Museum of the American Indian through June 30. Screenings are held daily at 12:30 and 3:30 and are free to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served.

(Still from Maq and the Spirit of the Woods ,Directed by Phyllis Grant, Produced by Michael Fukushima, Kent Martin © 2006 National Film Board of Canada. All rights reserved)