Church on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival was held from June 23rd through July 4th on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Along with Romania, South Africa and the state of New Hampshire were represented. The festival, which is held every year, is very popular and receives more than a million visitors - over half a million on July 4th alone!

Maramures was very well represented, with the traditional church dominating the entire festival. Along with traditional crafts, food is served and music can be heard all day long.

I was in Washington on a business trip and did not know the festival included Romania. It was quite a shock to see this church against the backdrop of the Washington Monument when I went for a walk on the evening before the opening of the festival. The church builders were working into the evening trying to get it finished before the opening at noon on the June 24th. The church was prefabricated in Romania and shipped, along with all of the materials to finish it, to Washington. After the festival, it will be dismantled and shipped to Chicago, where it will become an active church in the Romanian community there.

Some very good information about the festival can be found at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage www.si.edu/folklife, and at Romanian web site www.romanian-folklife.ro/Eng/ROatSFF.htm. The Romanian site is very nice.