This COVID Recollections entry details an upcoming American Folklife Center symposium and concert, both focused on COVID-19 and cultural heritage, which will take place at the Library of Congress on March 12 and 13, 2026. These events are free and open to the public, but the concert requires pre-registration. The American Folklife Center is organizing these events as part of the COVID-19 American History Project.
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (AFC) turns 50 today, January 2, 2026. To mark the occasion, AFC will sponsor public programs, special events, and other activities throughout the coming year, celebrating the Center’s role in the preservation and promotion of traditional culture. Events will include special editions of our Homegrown Concert series and Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture series; special symposia, including one dedicated to our COVID-19 Oral History Project; and a major exhibition of treasures from the Center’s collections, to launch in mid-September. The American Folklife Center dates back to January 2, 1976, when President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-201, The American Folklife Preservation Act. The Act created the Center and placed it here at the Library of Congress with a mandate to “preserve, support, revitalize, and disseminate” American folklife.
