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Texas Folklife Festival a Melting Pot of Cultures
June 10 to 12, 2011
The Lone Star State’s cultural landscape is ever-changing, and the components that continue to shape and influence life here come together each June in a veritable melting pot of food, music, crafts and stories.
Held on the grounds of the Institute of Texan Cultures, the Texas Folklife Festival brings more than 40 ethnic groups together in a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and smells that heighten your senses.
Saffron-hued saris gently ripple while silken kimonos swish softly as their wearers stroll from tent to tent as the intoxicating smells of grilled bratwurst, boudin-laden gumbo and Jin Duey (Chinese sesame balls) permeate the air. Breezes carry the melodies of everything from mariachis to bagpipes, from raucous Zydeco to impassioned gospel, from 10 stages.
The Texas Folklife Festival’s roots began more than 40 years ago when dedicated San Antonio residents decided to duplicate the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival. Native Americans, Spanish explorers, French colonists and Mexican ranchers weaved early threads in the state’s colorful tapestry, but additional textures came later from 19th century European settlers and more recent arrivals from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The festival’s mission is to honor them all and preserve their traditions, but this is no boring history lesson. Active participation is a must! You can learn how to shuck corn, clog dance or hula, and no one will care if your hips are shakier than the smooth moves of the indigenous Polynesians. Understanding the importance behind the accompanying chant or “mele” – and having fun in the process – is what really counts. And how are your spitting skills? The winner of the watermelon seed spitting contest is invited to attend the Luling Watermelon Thump later in June. You’ll gain a new appreciation of the hardscrabble life of pioneer ranchers (before the advent of motorized vehicles and Home Depot) through costumed intrepetors at the Fort Concho re-enactment. Thanks to volunteers of Phi Delta Kappa soriety, you can also catch a glimpse into an old-fashioned school room where students of yesteryear learned readin’, writin’ and ’rithmatic.
With so much to see and do here, you’re bound to work up an appetite – and more than 30 food tents are on tap to give your taste buds a workout. Buttery yam pies, crispy Native American fried bread tacos, huli huli chicken and Greek-inspired sundaes with vanilla ice cream plopped atop honey-drenched Baklava are just a few of the tempting treats on hand. New on the menu this year are kelaguen, lemony marinated meats served in coconut shells from Guam.
Crafting also preserves traditions, and you can watch items being made and even pick up souvenirs like scrimshaw (carved items), hooked rugs and Treenware (wooden utensils). You might not be able to travel the world, but San Antonio brings its vibrant cultures to you at the Texas Folklife Festival.
FAST FACTS: Texas Folklife Festival
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10 stages provide music, dance and comedy acts
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Storytellers bring Texas and its people to life
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All food tent profits benefit local ethnic communities
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