Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
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Blog posts
Published Date:
Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:05:00 GMT
Description:
<div class="image-gallery card"> <!--first slide visible, gallery icon--> <div class="center-box"> <div class="modal-trigger"> <img class="gallery-thumbnail" src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011476.jpg" title="Click to view slideshow" alt="Click to view slideshow" /> </div> <div class="icon-gallery"></div> </div> <!--gallery images--> <div class="gallery-list"> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011476.jpg" title="Slideshow" alt="Slideshow" /> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011464.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels" /> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011485.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels" /> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011480.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels" /> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011475.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels"/> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011468.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels"/> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011494.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels"/> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011470.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels"/> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011482.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels"/> </div> </div> <div class="gallery-image"> <div class="gallery-image-inner"> <img src="/images/galleries/2011/2011-recap-festival-participant-arrival/700_p1011497.jpg" title="labels" alt="labels" /> </div> </div> </div> <!--gallery captions--> <div class="gallery-list-captions"> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Peace Corps participant assistant Meredith Adhikari greets Issa Téssougué, a tailor from Sévaré, Mali.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Participant coordinator Laura Smith (center) and interns Alexa Silverman and Rachel Cohen await the participants at the hotel. </div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Smithsonian Folkways intern Jessie Vallejo and Colombia program intern Carolina Restrepo offer snacks to Colombian participants who arrived after 4 a.m.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Oumar Cissé (aka, Peace Corps Baba) of Farafina Tigne, an African bead museum in Mali.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Simbè Sankaré and Issa Téssougué, Peace Corps program participants from Sévaré, Mali.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Left to right: Returned Peace Corps volunteer Laura Lemunyete with Ngurunit Basket Weavers Group members Ngaharin Lebitileg, Lilian Nalilian Lekadaa, and Ntomulan Loibor. </div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Musicians from Grupo Cabrestero check in at the hotel.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Smithsonian Folklife Festival Director Stephen Kidd waits at the hotel to greet arriving participants at 11:30 p.m., while artists from the Kyrgyz Republic make their way to the check-in area.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">Eileen Wayner, assistant to the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, leads the Opika Performance Group from Ukraine.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> <div class="gallery-caption"> <div class="remodal-description">The Colombian participants get their first orientation to the Festival grounds.</div> <div class="remodal-credit">Photo by Diana Bossa Bastidas</div> </div> </div></div><p>The first week of the Festival was great! We have had two days off to catch our breath, and we are preparing to jump into week two.</p><p>The Festival Participant Staff is the tireless team working non-stop to bring the participants here to D.C.; making their travel arrangements, orienting them to their new surroundings, and assisting them with their schedules and in-town transit.</p><p>Last week, Colombia participant assistant Diana Bossa Bastidas documented participant arrivals from sixteen different countries. She finally had a moment to put together this gallery and send us snippets of the staff's sentiments on the long-awaited participant arrivals.</p><p>Meredith Adhikari, Peace Corps participant assistant: “I'm really relieved everyone got here safely. It was such a long journey for many of them. It's so satisfying to see everyone teaching and learning at this very special event."</p><p>Diana Bossa Bastidas, Colombia participant assistant: “The tiredness disappeared as soon as the peak hours of arrival began. The last group of participants arrived shortly after 4 a.m. and after waking up from a short nap, I was working on adrenaline.”</p><p>Anna Kaplan, R&B participant assistant: “It was exciting. I am able to finally put faces to the names and voices with whom I've been communicating for months. I'm laughing a lot, too, because the R&B participants are HILARIOUS!"</p><p>Jeannette Lara, hotel coordinator: "Months, weeks, days, finally coming together. When our first group arrived from Ghana it was surreal. Their upbeat nature showed that they were just as excited. Finally they were here!"</p><p>Laura Smith, participant coordinator: "The arrival of participants from their respective countries is one of the most poignant moments of the Festival. Participant staff members are frequently among the first individuals that participants meet when they get to Washington, D.C. It's truly an honor to welcome them to the Smithsonian."</p>
