Alberta goes to Washington

Alberta at the Smithsonian will mark the first time in history a Canadian province will be featured at the 40th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.

The event will take place from June 30 to July 11 with more than 150 of Alberta's musicians, storytellers, cooks, craftspeople, occupational specialists and cultural experts showcasing Alberta's diversity and culture, covering an area of five blocks.

From June 27 to July 1, Alberta representatives will promote the province's energy, technology, agriculture, tourism and advanced education divisions to U.S. policy sectors and industry leaders through a series of forums. These forums will lead up to the Friday's opening ceremonies at the Smithsonian at 11 a.m.

Concerts and theatre performances will take place in the heart of Washington between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument.

The free 10-day outdoor festival will attract more than a million people to various demonstrations put on by Alberta participants in the areas of work life, performing arts and cultural heritage.
Every festival participant will be on site every day from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from July 4 to July 11. For example, Aboriginal artist Margaret Louise Cardinal is making a tipi and also a trapper's-style tent for her festival display. She plans to stock the tent with toys, miniatures and games visitors can play.

"The games we used to play as kids." The games might not be familiar to many. They include Cree hand games, counting games and one called stick and pole. Cardinal also expects to be sharing stories about her life.

Similarly Native artists Laura McLaughlin, Ben Moses, Melissa Moses, Eli Snow and Teresa Snow will be on site working on their crafts. They will have their own display areas and discussion panels.

Al Chapman, community development project manager, was brought in by the Alberta government to lead this festival project from this side of the border. He co-ordinates the Alberta effort with Dr. Nancy Groce, the curator at the Smithsonian Institute, to organize the festival.
Through many meetings with representatives from the Smithsonian and through talking with his colleagues, Chapman said that they were able find a balance that will equally showcase Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants in the areas of agriculture and ranching, arts and crafts, energy, food, forestry, ice sports, high tech/research, oral history, paleontology, outdoor/mountain culture, radio, RCMP, urban Alberta and performing arts in the areas of music, dance and theatre.

Not only will this festival bring people together to learn first-hand about Alberta's history and heritage, but it will also serve as an opportunity for cultural and educational exchanges between Alberta and the U.S.

"This is the first time as part of the festival, and not part of an opening of a museum, that Canada or a region as in Alberta has been featured, so we are quite fortunate that way," Chapman said.
Initiated in 1967, The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has attracted national and international visitors to celebrate and participate in various cultural traditions. For more specific information, visit the Alberta at the Smithsonian Web site at www.albertaindc.com. Bios of the participants are available on the site, and calendar updates will be made regularly.