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Each morning of the Festival, Around the Mall will publish a list of events to help you navigate the National Mall and get the most out of your visit. This year’s event features three programs: Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150, Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River. Come celebrate summer with ten days of food, music, dancing, storytelling, culture and more.

Each morning of the Festival, Around the Mall will publish a list of events to help you navigate the National Mall and get the most out of your visit. This year’s event features three programs: Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150, Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River. Come celebrate summer with ten days of food, music, dancing, storytelling, culture and more.

Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150

Morrill Performing Arts Center

11:00 AM—12:00 PM            Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole

12:00 PM—1:00 PM            University of Texas–Pan American Mariachi Aztlán

1:00 PM—2:00 PM            University of Hawai’i Ensemble

2:00 PM—3:00 PM            West Virginia University Steel Band

3:00 PM—4:00 PM            Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole

4:00 PM—5:00 PM            University of Hawai’i's Hula Halau Unukupukupu
5:00 PM—5:30 PM            University of Texas–Pan American Mariachi Aztl

Commons Discussion

11:00 AM—11:45 AM            The Next 150 Years: Expanding Community Engagement in the Future

11:45 AM—12:30 PM            Reinventing Agriculture: Sustainable Crops of the Future

12:30 PM—1:15 PM            Opening Doors: Civil Rights Struggles

1:15 PM—2:00 PM    Lifelong Learning: Mississippi Hills Cultural Tourism

2:00 PM—2:45 PM    The Land-grant Tradition: LGUs as Smithsonian Affiliates

2:45 PM—3:30 PM            Research Into Action: SIMA Program

3:30 PM—4:15 PM            Transforming Communities: Forging Partnerships Through Music

4:15 PM—5:00 PM            Building on Tradition: Folklore Programs at Universities

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            Sustainable Solutions: Feed the World, Power the Planet

Smithsonian U

11:00 AM—11:30 AM           Ongoing activities

11:30 AM—12:00 PM       What Really Bugs Us: Pests in the Garden and Integrated Pest Management

12:00 PM—12:30 PM        The Legacy of Grant Wood’s Murals at Iowa State University

12:30 PM—1:00 PM            Engaging Immigrant Communities through Leadership

1:00 PM—1:30 PM             Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project: Revitalizing Northwest Native Food Culture

1:30 PM—2:00 PM            Art Science Fusion

2:00 PM—2:30 PM            Design and Extension

2:30 PM—3:00 PM            How Songs Find Their Meanings: Que Sera, Sera

3:00 PM—3:30 PM            21st Century Workforce Development: From Infancy to Innovation

3:30 PM—4:00 PM            Disability, Creativity and Student Life

4:00 PM—4:30 PM            What Really Bugs Us: Pests in the Garden and Integrated Pest Management

4:30 PM—5:00 PM            Americanization of Surimi

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            Sustainable Biofuels

Test Kitchen

11:00 AM—11:45 PM                    Native American Northwest Cooking

12:00 PM—12:45 PM            Vermont Maple Syrup

1:00 PM—1:45 PM            Traditional Hawaiian Cooking

2:00 PM—2:45 PM            Traditional Indiana Cooking

3:00 PM—3:45 PM              Specialty Crop Cooking: Asparagus Soup

4:00 PM—5:30 PM            Dairy Doings: Goat’s Milk Ice Cream and Cheese

Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt

Red Hot Stage

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Rock Creek Singers

11:45 PM—12:30 PM            The NAMES Performers

12:30 PM—1:15 PM            The NAMES Performers

1:15 PM—2:00 PM                        The NAMES Performers

2:00 PM—2:45 PM                        Spoken Word

2:45 PM—3:30 PM                        The NAMES Performers

3:30 PM—4:15 PM                        The NAMES Performers

4:15 PM—5:00 PM            Spoken Word

5:00 PM—5:30 PM                        The NAMES Performers

Giving Voice Stage

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        HIV/AIDS Through Spoken Word

11:45 PM—12:30 PM            The Quilt on Tour: The First Displays

12:30 PM—1:15 PM               Art as Medicine

1:15 PM—2:00 PM                        Quilt Rituals

2:00 PM—2:45 PM                        Material Culture in a Digital Age

2:45 PM—3:30 PM                        Community Responses to AIDS

3:30 PM—4:15 PM                        Market Street Stories

4:15 PM—5:00 PM                  Science and Public Health

5:00 PM—5:30 PM                        The Quilt Volunteer Experience

Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River

Panorama Room

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                Hip Hop: Christylez Bacon

11:45 PM—12:30 PM            Rap: AB the Pro

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            Gospel: Galilee Baptist Church Choir

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Da’ Originalz

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        Gospel: Chosen

3:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Latino Music and Dance: Metro Mambo

Good Hope and Naylor Corner

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Gospel: Chosen

11:45 PM—12:30 PM                  Da’ Originalz

12:30 PM—1:30 PM                   Storytelling: Master-Griot Storyteller Baba-C

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Hip-Hop Workshop: Head Roc

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        Murals in the Community: Albus Cavus and Others

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        Storytelling: Master-Griot Storyteller Baba-C and Christylez Bacon

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Gospel Singing: Galilee Baptist Church Choir

Douglass Hall

11:00 AM—12:30 PM                        Ongoing activities

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            Tattoo Workshop: Coco Bayron

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Quilting: Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        Tattoo Workshop: Coco Bayron

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        Quilting: Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Ongoing activities

 

Evening Concerts

Morrill Performing Arts Center

6:00 PM—8:00 PM            Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert: Celebrating Worth Long’s Legacy

Panorama Room

6:00 PM—7:30 PM            An Evening of Song with Rock Creek Singers and In Process . . .

Each morning of the Festival, Around the Mall will publish a list of events to help you navigate the National Mall and get the most out of your visit. This year’s event features three programs: Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150, Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River. Come celebrate summer with ten days of food, music, dancing, storytelling, culture and more.

 

Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150

Morrill Performing Arts Center

11:00 AM—12:00 PM            West Virginia University Steel Band

12:00 PM—1:00 PM           University of Hawai’i's Hula Halau Unukupukupu

1:00 PM—2:00 PM            University of Texas–Pan American Mariachi Aztlán

2:00 PM—3:00 PM            Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole

3:00 PM—4:00 PM            West Virginia University Steel Band

4:00 PM—5:30 PM            University of Hawai’i's Hula Halau Unukupukupu and Tuahine Troupe

Commons Discussion

11:00 AM—11:45 AM            Research Into Action: Public Universities at Work

11:45 AM—12:30 PM            Reinventing Agriculture: Old Roots, New Shoots

12:30 PM—1:15 PM            The Land-grant Tradition: Campus Traditions

1:15 PM—2:00 PM    Building on Tradition: Musical Traditions at Universities

2:00 PM—2:45 PM            The Next 150 Years: 4-H and Extension in the Future

2:45 PM—3:30 PM            Opening Doors: Diversity

3:30 PM—4:15 PM            Sustainable Solutions: Waste Not, Want Not!

4:15 PM—5:00 PM            Lifelong Learning: Mississippi Hills Cultural Tourism

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            Transforming Communities: Technology and Accessibility 

Smithsonian U

11:00 AM—11:30 AM            Sustainable Biofuels

11:30 AM—12:00 PM    One Hundred Years of Food Safety

12:00 PM—12:30 PM    Living Light Solar House: Powered by the Sun

12:30 PM—1:00 PM            Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project: Revitalizing Northwest Native Food Culture

1:00 PM—1:30 PM    21st Century Workforce Development: From Infancy to Innovation

1:30 PM—2:00 PM            Forty Years of Land Grant Food Safety Education

2:00 PM—2:30 PM            History of Morrill Act, Land Grant Universities, Smith Lever Act and Hatch Act

2:30 PM—3:00 PM            How Songs Find Their Meanings: Que Sera, Sera

3:00 PM—3:30 PM            What Really Bugs Us: Pests in the Garden and Integrated Pest Management

3:30 PM—4:00 PM            Disability, Creativity and Student Life

4:00 PM—4:30 PM            Art Science Fusion

4:30 PM—5:00 PM            The Story of New France, the Other Colonial America

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            What Really Bugs Us: Pests in the Garden and Integrated Pest Management

Test Kitchen

11:00 AM—11:45 PM            Food Explorations: Homemade Wonton with Dipping Sauce

12:00 PM—12:45 PM            Olive Oil Presentation

1:00 PM—1:45 PM            Food Explorations: Homemade Wonton with Dipping Sauce

2:00 PM—2:45 PM            Vermont Maple Syrup

3:00 PM—3:45 PM              Cooking with Goat Meat: Goat Stew

4:00 PM—5:30 PM            From the Farmer’s Market

Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt

Red Hot Stage

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        The NAMES Performers

11:45 PM—12:30 PM            The NAMES Performers

12:30 PM—1:15 PM            The NAMES Performers

1:15 PM—2:00 PM                        Spoken Word

2:00 PM—2:45 PM                        The NAMES Performers

2:45 PM —3:30 PM                        The NAMES Performers

3:30 PM—4:15 PM                        The NAMES Performers

4:15 PM—5:00 PM                          Spoken Word

5:00 PM—5:30 PM                        A Conversation about Arts and Advocacy

Giving Voice Stage

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        HIV/AIDS Through Spoken Word

11:45 PM— 12:30 PM                Call My Name

12:30 PM —1:15 PM                    Normal Heart Conversation

1:15 PM —2:00 PM                        Art as Advocacy, Art as Medicine

2:00 PM—2:45 PM                        Seeing HIV/AIDS Through Photography

2:45 PM—3:30 PM                        Positive Living

3:30 PM —4:15 PM                        Global Voices

4:15 PM —5:00 PM             Science, Health, and Art

5:00 PM—5:30 PM                        Reflections on The Quilt Display

Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River

Panorama Room

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Rap: AB the Pro

11:45 PM—12:30 PM            Line Dance & Workshop: Iverson Mall Line Dancers

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Beat Ya Feet Dance: Da Originalz

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Beat Ya Feet Dance: Da Originalz

Good Hope and Naylor Corner

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Women of the Cloth & Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

11:45 PM—12:30 PM            What is Soul & Funk: Faycez U Know

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            Hip Hop and Rap: Christylez Bacon & AB the Pro

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Dance in the Community: Iverson Mall Line Dancers

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        Rap: AB the Pro

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        Hip Hop: Christylez Bacon

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Murals in the Community: Jay Coleman & muralists

Douglass Hall

11:00 AM—12:30 PM                        Ongoing activities

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            Quilting: Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Art Workshop: Jay Coleman

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        Ongoing activities

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        Quilting: Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Ongoing activities

 

Evening Concerts

Morrill Performing Arts Center

6:00 PM—8:00 PM            Quetzal and La Sardina de Naiguatá

Panorama Room

6:00 PM—8:00 PM            The Music of Monticello and the Blue Ridge

Each morning of the Festival, Around the Mall will publish a list of events to help you navigate the National Mall and get the most out of your visit. This year’s event features three programs: Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150, Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River. Come celebrate summer with ten days of food, music, dancing, storytelling, culture and more on June 27-July 1 and July 4-8.

Campus and Community: Public and Land-grant Universities and the USDA at 150

Morrill Performing Arts Center

11:00 AM—12:00 PM         University of Texas–Pan American Mariachi Aztlán

12:00 PM—1:00 PM           University of Hawai’i's Hula Halau Unukupukupu

1:00 PM—2:00 PM            Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole

2:00 PM—3:00 PM            University of Hawai’i Ensemble

3:00 PM—4:00 PM            West Virginia University Steel Band

4:00 PM—5:00 PM            University of Texas–Pan American Mariachi Aztlán

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            University of Hawai’i Ensemble

 

Commons Discussion

11:00 AM—11:45 AM            Opening Doors: Mississippi Hills Cultural Tourism

11:45 AM—12:30 PM            Reinventing Agriculture: Gardens and Healthy Communities

12:30 PM—1:15 PM            The Next 150 Years: Students and Classrooms of the Future

1:15 PM—2:00 PM             Lifelong Learning: From the Margins to the Center: Blending Disability Studies and Access to Education

2:00 PM—2:45 PM            Sustainable Solutions: Rural and Urban

2:45 PM—3:30 PM            Building on Tradition: Indiana Quilters “Bed Turning”

3:30 PM—4:15 PM            The Land Grant Tradition: Sports and Tradition

4:15 PM—5:00 PM            Transforming Communities: Water Resources

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            Research into Action: Science and Art Join Forces

 

Smithsonian U

11:00 AM—11:30 AM            Sustainable Biofuels

11:30 AM—12:00 PM         The Father of USDA and America’s Land Grant Colleges: The Life and Times of Senator Justin Smith Morrill

12:00 PM—12:30 PM            Imagi*Nation

12:30 PM—1:00 PM            The Forest Service’s Role Transforming Communities and 1890 Schools

1:00 PM—1:30 PM    The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project: Revitalizing Northwest Native Food Culture

1:30 PM—2:00 PM            The Mission and History of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service

2:00 PM—2:30 PM            History of Morrill Act, Land Grant Universities, Smith Lever Act and Hatch Act

2:30 PM—3:00 PM            How Songs Find Their Meanings: Que Sera, Sera

3:00 PM—3:30 PM            Art Science Fusion

3:30 PM—4:00 PM            The DEFs of Access to Education

4:00 PM—4:30 PM            What Really Bugs Us: Pests in the Garden and Integrated Pest Management

4:30 PM—5:00 PM            Moving Food along the Value Chain: Innovations in Regional Food Distribution

5:00 PM—5:30 PM            A Brief History of the University of Illinois Rehabilitation Education Program

Test Kitchen

11:00 AM—11:45 PM            Missouri Regional Cooking

12:00 PM—12:45 PM            Specialty Crop Cooking: Kale Salad

1:00 PM—1:45 PM            Vermont Maple Syrup

2:00 PM—2:45 PM            Food Explorations: Whole Wheat Meyer Lemon Pancakes

3:00 PM—3:45 PM            Food and Medicine: Juice Therapy

4:00 PM—5:30 PM            Healthy and Sustainable Eating

 

Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt

 

Red Hot Stage

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        The NAMES Performers

11:45 PM           — 12:30 PM            The NAMES Performers

12:30 PM         —1:15 PM                The NAMES Performers

1:15 PM            —2:00 PM               Spoken Word

2:00 PM            —2:45 PM              The NAMES Performers

2:45 PM            —3:30 PM             The NAMES Performers

3:30 PM            —4:15 PM             Spoken Word

4:15 PM—5:00 PM                         The NAMES Performers

5:00 PM—5:30 PM                        A Conversation about Arts and Advocacy

 

Giving Voice Stage

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Quilt Rituals

11:45 PM—            12:30 PM            HIV/AIDS Through Spoken Word

12:30 PM—1:15 PM                          The Quilt Volunteer Experience

1:15 PM            —2:00 PM                Material Culture in a Digital Age

2:00 PM            —2:45 PM              Healing Arts and Care Giving

2:45 PM            —3:30 PM             Art as Advocacy, Art as Medicine

3:30 PM            —4:15 PM              The Quilt on Tour: The First Displays

4:15 PM—5:00 PM                         Market Street Stories

5:00 PM—5:30 PM                        Stories from The Quilt

 

Citified: Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River

 

Panorama Room

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Hand Dancing: Smooth & Eazy

11:45 PM—            12:30 PM            Hip-Hop: Head Roc

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            African Heritage Dancers & Drummers

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Hand Dancing: Smooth & Eazy

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        Hip Hop: Christylez Bacon

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        African Heritage Dancers & Drummers

Good Hope and Naylor Corner

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Hip Hop: Christylez Bacon

11:45 PM—            12:30 PM            Storytelling: Master-Griot Storyteller Baba-C

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        Hip-Hop Workshop: Head Roc

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        African Heritage Dancers & Drummers

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        Storytelling: Master-Griot Storyteller Baba-C

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        The Power of Quilting

 

Douglass Hall

11:00 AM—11:45 AM                        Art Workshop: Jay Coleman

11:45 PM—            12:30 PM            Quilting: Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

12:30 PM—1:30 PM            Art Workshop: Jay Coleman

1:30 PM—2:30 PM                        DC Street Style AJ ‘N Company

2:30 PM—3:30 PM                        Quilting: Daughters of Dorcas & Sons

3:30 PM—4:30 PM                        DC Street Style AJ ‘N Company

4:30 PM—5:30 PM                        Art Workshop: Jay Coleman

 

Evening Concert

 

Morrill Performing Arts Center

6:00 PM—7:30 PM            Azerbaijani Mugham Music featuring Imamyar Hasanov and Pezhham Akhavass

For generations, every aboriginal infant born in southeastern Australia was swaddled in a possum skin pelt covered in symbols explaining their family ties, their lands, and their place in the larger community. The cloak, worn every day and slept in every night, grew with the child; over the years, more possum pelts, loaded with descriptions of new stories and new relationships, were attached to that first panel. And when the person died, the cloak became a burial shroud, depicting a full life story.

This vital tradition disappeared in the late 19th century, as British colonization of Australia led to the demise of aboriginal culture. Only five original cloaks have been preserved—including one stored in the Natural History Museum.

But in the past decade, modern aboriginal Australians have been pushing a cultural revival. The possum skin cloak, with its thorough mapping of different aboriginal groups’ languages, clans, terrain, spirituality and history, has come to symbolize the movement.

When the Sydney-based photographer, Sarah Rhodes, first stumbled on an online image of a modern possum skin cloak while working at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, the cloak seized her imagination.

“I went home that night and had a dream that I was photographing this opera singer backstage at the Sydney Opera House,” Rhodes recalls. “She was wearing this cloak in this very theatrical way. And when I woke up the next morning, I thought it was a sign that I needed to do something.”

A year later, she quit her job at the museum and became a full-time photographer, chasing the story of the cloak all over the continent. Rhodes met Vicki Couzens, a leader in the aboriginal pride movement. In 2006, she organized an aboriginal heritage event that took place at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in which tribal elders wore newly crafted possum skin cloaks. Since the games, cloak-making workshops and ceremonies have popped up in many communities. In an essay about her first encounter with an original cloak, Couzens describes its visceral power:

“It seemed, in that moment, that the Old People were standing there beside and around us. I felt as if the illusionary veils of time, space and place had thinned, dissipated and I could reach through and feel them, touch and see the Old People.”

With Couzens’ help, Rhodes embarked on a photographic series, “Home/On Country,” portraits of elders wrapped in possum skin cloaks much like the “Old People” of the past. At first, she photographed the elders in their houses. But she soon realized the incongruity of the cloak in a modern home. She started photographing the elders out in the wilderness, where the cloak seemed fully in its element. She notes the difference in the face of one elder, Esther Kirby, in each setting (see above). “Look at her face, she’s so calm [outside]. But in this room she looks so tense,” she says. “These pictures made me realize how difficult it is to negotiate two cultures.”

Rhodes traveled to Washington last week after visiting a possum skin cloak workshop in Newcastle, New South Wales, the region where the Smithsonian cloak was first discovered. The Newcastle workshop is creating a replica, but has no detailed images of the original designs. So Rhodes photographed the  cloak at the Natural History Museum in all its intricacy. Soon, she’ll return to Newcastle to document the labor-intensive process of recreating the cloak. Though the craft of the cloak interests her, at heart Rhodes wants to show what the project means for the community.

“It’s not really about the cloak. It’s a vehicle for the whole of knowledge reclamation,” Rhodes explains.

Indeed, the artifact is more than just a garment; it’s a pictographic dictionary, a geographical map, an autobiography, and, crucially, an education tool. The workshops, according to Rhodes, are packed with children learning about their history. After centuries of stigma, the younger generations will grow up immersed in their culture and see it as a source of pride.

As an example, Rhodes offers Vicki Couzens’ own family story. Couzens’ father was raised in a European mission, which discouraged his native culture. Couzens herself faced racism growing up and was made to feel ashamed of her heritage. When she started the possum skin cloak revival project, she taught her daughter everything.

Now, her daughter has made a possum skin cloak for her newborn son. Rhodes marvels, “And now her son will grow up like his great-great-grandfather did.”