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Category: Folk Drama

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

The Library of Congress Mannequin Challenge and Emerging Traditions

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

The Library of Congress has created its own Mannequin Challenge video featuring many staff members and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. The American Folklife Center’s Jennifer Cutting, Valda Morris, and Kelly Revak were among the participants. Here it is (it can also be found on Library of Congress YouTube at the link). The Mannequin Challenge …

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

Hipster St. George and the Unicorn: A Web Archiving Mumming

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: Every year, in the week before Christmas, staff members of the American Folklife Center put our research and performance skills into play, bringing collections to life in a dramatic performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress.  Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance …

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 …

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

St. George, the Dragon, and the Squid: A Preservation Mumming

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: Every year, in the week before Christmas, staff members of the American Folklife Center put our research and performance skills into play, bringing collections to life in a dramatic performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress.  Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance …

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

A Sampler of Luso-Hispanic American Music and Song

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

The collections of the American Folklife Center reflect a long history of ethnographic interest in Luso-Hispanic American music and song. Much of the early collecting work focused on peoples of the regions that formerly belonged to Spain. In this post I’ll provide a quick overview of the Hispanic-American music in AFC’s online collections. Spanish Songs …

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

The End of the Holidays….

Posted by: Stephen Winick

As the holiday season comes to a close, the staff of the American Folklife Center wishes you all the best for the coming year. In this picture, we pose by the Christmas Tree in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, with some of us still in the costumes we wore in the AFC …

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

St. George and the Data Dragon: A Digital Assets Mumming

Posted by: Stephen Winick

St. George and the Data Dragon: A Digital Assets Mumming Performed by American Folklife Center Staff with Guests Script drawn from multiple plays in the James Madison Carpenter Collection. Compiled by Stephen Winick, with additional material by Stephen Winick, Jennifer Cutting, Theadocia Austen, Hope O’Keeffe, and the company. Digital assets jargon courtesy of Bertram Lyons.  …