Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Elite '08

315

322

Bucky K.

San Francisco, CA

Whaddya mean that I may learn something at a festival?? Aren't you just supposed to eat your way through fairs and festivals?? And really bad-for-you-food at that, like deep friend Twinkies and such?

If you've even bothered to read the title, you will see the word Smithsonian attached to it which brings a certain amount of pedigree. Which you can expect from this festival as well. It is held on the National Mall for a few weeks each summer. They take the Mall and divide it up into three areas, each area representing a different part of the World. Each year sees a rotation in representation. This year, the three areas were as follows: Northern Ireland, Mekong, and the Roots of Virginia.

Granted, I DID eat my way through this festival but instead of Elephant Ears or Deep Fried Snickers, I sampled Smoked Salmon Salad, Ginger Chicken with rice, Ham and chutney on a buttermilk biscuit, Strawberry Shortcake, Limeade, etc. I had to make sure each area was represented in my belly.

The food and drink areas bisect the festival grounds down the center with the cultural and heritage booths/tents on the periphery. You could meander through and catch any of the demonstrations or you could stick to a schedule of performances such as folk singers from Ireland, or dragon dancers from Vietnam, etc. And if your not careful, you will learn something new by the end of the day.

Throughout the whole festival, I only had two complaints. One being they need more tables at the food and drink areas. There were always people jockeying/hovering over a soon to be empty seat. The other complaint was the Bushmill's Whiskey tent in Northern Ireland. Who brings a whiskey tent to a festival and then doesn't give out samples? That's just wrong on so many levels!

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