Being invited to be guest nation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2009 affords
Wales a key opportunity to forge and celebrate links and partnerships between Wales
and Washington DC across all sectors. Wales Smithsonian Cymru comprises Wales'
presence at the Festival together with a broad ranging programme of activity across
Washington DC during 2009 and beyond.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an annual, cultural festival run by the
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, a research and educational unit
of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Festival takes place outdoors on what is known as the National Mall in
Washington DC, an area of open parkland that is flanked by Capitol Hill, the
Washington Monument and many of the Smithsonian’s national museums. The Festival
attracts over a million visitors during the course of ten days and is scheduled to
coincide with 4 July national holidays. In summer 2009 the Festival will run from 24 –
28 June and 1 – 5 July.

The Festival offers a significant opportunity from which to raise the profile and
awareness of Wales with a largely U.S. audience. The programme for the Festival will
draw on the diversity of Wales’ cultural life, from the strength of deep-rooted
traditions through to innovative new technologies. Over one hundred individual
practitioners, performers and presenters from Wales will participate in the Festival.

Smithsonian Weblink HERE
Flag of Wales
The national flag of Wales is
Y Ddraig Goch (English: The
Red Dragon), consisting of a
red dragon passant on a green
and white field.
43rd Annual Smithsonian Folklife
Festival on the National Mall
June 24-June 28 and
July 1-5, 2009
Open daily 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Evening events 6 p.m.
Wales Smithsonian Cymru 2009
Alabama Welsh Association