FLF-2002_image1

Crowds on the National Mall during the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which featured the Silk Road. The annual Folklife Festival highlights grassroots cultures across the nation and around the world through performances and demonstrations of living traditions. The Festival, which began in 1967, occurs for two weeks every summer on the National Mall and attracts more than 1 million visitors. (Jeff Tinsley, Smithsonian Institution)

Crowds on the National Mall during the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which featured the Silk Road. The annual Folklife Festival highlights grassroots cultures across the nation and around the world through performances and demonstrations of living traditions. The Festival, which began in 1967, occurs for two weeks every summer on the National Mall and attracts more than 1 million visitors. (Jeff Tinsley, Smithsonian Institution)