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Archive: January 2015 (9 Posts)

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Carlos Núñez Concert Honors Alan Lomax’s Spanish Fieldwork

Posted by: Stephen Winick

As I have mentioned several times on this blog, the 100th birthday of Alan Lomax is fast approaching.  We’ll be celebrating the birthday itself with an exhibit, and then extending our celebrations throughout the year.  However, today I thought it might be fun to show you that we’ve already gotten a jump on our celebrations …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Vasant Panchami: A Celebration of Learning

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

January 24, 2015 is the date for the Hindu festival Vasant Panchami or Saraswati Puja, celebrating both the coming of spring and the birthday of  Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, learning, crafts, and fine arts.  The date for the celebration of Vasant Panchami varies from year to year, as it is calculated by a lunar calendar. It falls on …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Thoughts on Martin Luther King Day

Posted by: Stephen Winick

On Monday, January 19, we will be celebrating the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States. King, the foremost leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, was actually born eighty-six years ago today: January 15, 1929.  The Civil Rights Movement has struggled and continues to struggle for equal rights for all people, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Webcast of Cultural Heritage Archives Symposium Online

Posted by: Nicole Saylor

This is a guest blog post by folklife specialist Catherine Hiebert Kerst. The photos are by Stephen Winick for AFC. For anyone who missed the September, 2013 Cultural Heritage Archives: Networks, Innovation, & Collaboration Symposium hosted by the American Folklife Center, or anyone who wants to revisit it, the full webcast is online at the …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

The Battle of New Orleans Bicentennial

Posted by: Stephen Winick

When I woke up this morning, my Facebook feed was full of pictures of people dressed in colorful uniforms that naval or military units wore 200 years ago.  Many of these pictures are of personal friends, who have made their way from the cold snowy north down to New Orleans and are now dressed up …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Washington, DC: At Home in the Nation’s Capital

Posted by: Megan Harris

In case you missed it, this past holiday season, we explored the meaning of home–how members of the military have missed home, returned home, and recreated a sense of home far away from loved ones. All of this reflection got me thinking about my own definition of home and the specific places that I’ve called …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Farewell to the Holidays

Posted by: Stephen Winick

On this snowy January day, I’d like to wish the readers of Folklife Today a happy end to the holiday season.  Many people take down their Christmas decorations immediately after the day itself, and others use New Year’s Day as the end of their holiday. But among many communities, the Christmas season culminates after Twelfth …