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This summer, the
Smithsonian Institution brings the traditional culture of Scotland to the
Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The 37th annual Folklife Festival runs from
June 25-29 and July 2-6. Admission is free.
From the Highlands and
Islands in the north to Ayrshire in the south, from Glasgow Green to
Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, and from the textile mills of the Borders to the
oil fields of Aberdeen, Scotland’s heritage, regional cultures and
occupations will be highlighted. Through dynamic performances,
demonstrations and educational programs, "Scotland at the Smithsonian"
will feature more than 100 of Scotland’s finest musicians, storytellers,
cooks, craftspeople, dancers and scholars who will explain and celebrate
the living traditions that make and sustain Scotland’s distinctive
culture.
"This program provides the
Folklife Festival with an unique opportunity to showcase and highlight the
complexity of Scottish culture," says Nancy Groce, the curator of the
Festival’s Scotland program. "It will enable people to look beyond the
stereotypes and see the regional diversity and vitality present in the
traditional culture of contemporary Scotland."
Visitors will attend
performances by many of Scotland’s leading traditional artists. Featured
performers include the Battlefield Band, Phil and Johnny Cunningham, Brian
McNeill, the Wrigley Sisters from Orkney, Fiddlers’ Bid from Shetland, the
Edinburgh-based "ceilidh" band The Occasionals, and the famed children’s
ensemble the Singing Kettle. The Festival will also present a series of
pantomime workshops and discussions. This distinctive form of folk theater,
known as "panto," is performed during the Christmas season and based on
popular fairy tales. It features songs, slapstick and silliness and lots
of audience participation.
Master craftsmen from
Heritage Golf at St. Andrews will demonstrate how historic and
contemporary golf clubs and hand-sewn/hand-molded golf balls are made. A
nearby putting green will allow visitors to try out this handmade
equipment. Also on hand will be curling stone makers from Kay of Scotland.
These master crafters will explain how they obtain granite from Ailsa
Craig, an island off the southwestern coast of Scotland, and then
transform it with skill and care into the finished product. Ian Best, from
Fair Isle, the most remote inhabited island in Great Britain, will
demonstrate how Ness Yoals are constructed. These traditional 24-foot
wooden boats are made in clinker fashion, with overlapping planks, and can
be either rowed, sailed or motored. At one time, yoals played a prominent
role in the Shetland Islands’ fishing industry.
Craft lovers will enjoy
watching as a master weaver from the Outer Hebrides, a group of islands
off the western coast of Scotland, demonstrates the production of Harris
Tweed. By law, Harris Tweed must be made of pure virgin wool and handwoven
in the islanders’ homes. Tartan weavers from Lochcarron of Scotland, a
mill in Galashiels in the Borders region, will be featured at the
Festival. The weavers will demonstrate tartan designing, manufacturing and
finishing, and will discuss the history and traditions associated with
these distinctive plaid cloths. A Smithsonian tartan, created exclusively
for the Folklife Festival by Lochcarron of Scotland, will be introduced.
Kiltmakers from the Keith Kilt School will be on hand to demonstrate how
tartan is transformed into a kilt. This traditional Scottish men’s garment
is crafted from one 8-yard piece of cloth. It takes almost 70 hours to
create a single kilt.
Other program highlights
include an interactive heritage area where visitors can trace their
Scottish ancestry and learn more about performing genealogical research
with the help of staff from
www.ancestralscotland.com, the National Archives of Scotland and the
General Register Office for Scotland. Also featured will be the Court of
the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, which grants coats of arms in Scotland and
makes certain that they are used lawfully. Members of the Lyon Court’s
staff will explain its history, current work, relationship to the Scottish
Justice system and its ceremonial responsibilities.
Representatives from some
of Scotland’s newer occupational cultures will also be at the Festival. Of
particular interest will be workers from the offshore oil industries that
have transformed Northeast Scotland and the port city of Aberdeen over the
past three decades. Coming from all over the world, and drawing heavily on
Scotland’s historic leadership in technological innovations, oil-workers
have met the challenge of the harsh North Sea to establish one of the
largest and most lucrative oil fields in the world. In addition to their
huge impact on international oil-field technology and the Scottish
economy, they have established a unique culture of their own in Northeast
Scotland.
Scottish culture also will
be represented through its food. In the demonstration kitchen, Scottish
cooks will show visitors how to make such delicacies as shortbreads,
salmon, soups and "stovies" (meat and potato pies). There will be a
display of the malt whisky manufacturing and distilling process by William
Grant and Sons. This presentation will include a 10-foot-high copper
still, a malting floor, a whisky safe and barrel-making demonstrations.
Distillery workers from Glennfiddich and Balvenie will be on hand to talk
about and demonstrate their skills as well as explain the history and
importance of whisky making in Scotland.
"Scotland at the
Smithsonian" is produced in partnership with the Scottish Executive, with
the collaboration of and a donation from the Scottish Arts Council, a
donation from VisitScotland, contributions from William Grant and Sons,
and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and support from Shetland Island
Council, Shetland Island Enterprise and the Shetland Arts Trust.
Additional cooperative efforts come from Edinburgh Crystal Inc.,
University of Aberdeen, Lochcarron Mills, the Gaelic Arts Agency, the
General Register Office for Scotland and the National Archives of
Scotland. Major in-kind support is provided by William Grant and Sons and
Lochcarron Mills.
Since 1967, the Smithsonian
Folklife Festival has celebrated traditional cultures from across the
United States and around the world. In addition to Scotland, the 2003
Festival will also feature "Mali: From Timbuktu to Washington" and
"Appalachia: Harmony and Heritage." The Festival is produced by the
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and co-sponsored by
the National Park Service. To learn more about the Smithsonian Folklife
Festival, visit
www.folklife.si.edu. |
