1985 SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL: SPECIAL EVENTS AUDIO LOG SHEETS

Audio documentation has played a crucial part in capturing the many stories, performances, exchanges, and demonstrations that have taken place on the National Mall as part of the Festival of American Folklife (now Smithsonian Folklife Festival). For each program, documentation volunteers generated detailed "class style" notes to accompany audio recordings which often include presenter and participant names, subject keywords, song titles, and brief descriptions of the events taking place in real time. These notes are often the richest (or only) source of information about who was present and provide key references for understanding and interpreting the recorded content. While the styles, formats, and spelling accuracy vary across logs, they nevertheless serve as fundamental link between what actually took place and what is documented in audio, photo, and, video formats. The 1985 Festival featured several special events, including some that drew upon participants from two or more areas of the Festival. Three dance bands performed polka, Cajun and blues music, accompanied by dancers from their communities, on the music stages in the three main Festival areas every evening, except July 4. Each Saturday, an evening concert was held at the Sylvan Theatre on the Washington Monument grounds. These concerts presented music from the programs featured at the Festival. An evening of Indian performance, climaxed by burning a statue of the legendary demon Ravana, took place on the Mela! site on Friday, July 5. More information about the program including participant names can be found here.