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  1. Production & Strategy
  2. Programming & Entertainment

Folklife Festival Kicks Off With Tribute to Colombia

D. Channing Muller
July 8, 2011

The 46th Smithsonian Folklife Festival kicked off on June 29 with a private party for 450 hosted by the Embassy of Colombia, this year’s featured country, at the Smithsonian Castle. Each year, the Smithsonian Folklife and Cultural Heritage committee selects a different country to highlight during its 10-day run on the National Mall.

“The opening reception serves to honor the participants traveling from Colombia to represent us [at the festival] and to invite people in the U.S. and policy makers to know more about Colombian culture,” said Denisse Yanovich, culture and education attaché for the embassy.

André Wells of Events by André Wells designed and produced the affair, which highlighted different aspects of Colombian culture across its four event spaces at the castle. Wells worked with A Vista Events to decorate the main hall and a tent in the garden with a bright palette of green, yellow, orange, purple, and blue. Colombian artists who traveled to Washington for the event set up an arts market in the venue’s Schermer Hall, showcasing basket weaving, pottery, and other works commonly produced in the country. Music took the spotlight in the commons, with singers, dancers, and musicians from Colombia performing throughout the night.

Guests' cultural immersion continued with the food and cocktails, with Windows Catering Company serving traditional Colombian dishes, beginning with passed hors d’oeuvres including arepas con queso (mini cornmeal pancakes topped with cheese), yucca fries with guacamole, and coconut shrimp with a ginger dipping sauce. The main dinner buffet station held heartier fare like beef empanadas and three kinds of ceviche. A dessert table of arroz con leche, flan cups, and other small bites opened simultaneously outside in garden tent. The four decorative bars served signature cocktails like a mango martini and a Colombian beer cocktail mixed with soda, and fresh mango, pineapple, and passion fruit juices.

Speakers during the night's educational program included Gabriel Silva Luján, ambassador of Colombia, Minister of Culture of Colombia Mariana Garcés Córdoba, and a video presentation about the various elements that make up the country's culture.

E20964standalone
Photo: Neshan Naltchayan for BizBash
Highboys and small tables lined the two sides of the main hall, with the dinner buffet in the center and presentation at the far end.
Highboys and small tables lined the two sides of the main hall, with the dinner buffet in the center and presentation at the far end.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
Wells designed the event using a vibrant palette of orange, green, yellow, blue, and purple.
Wells designed the event using a vibrant palette of orange, green, yellow, blue, and purple.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
A centerpiece of birds of paradise topped the main buffet table.
A centerpiece of birds of paradise topped the main buffet table.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
Frost Lighting used orange and green uplights to accentuate the main hall's columns and complement the decor.
Frost Lighting used orange and green uplights to accentuate the main hall's columns and complement the decor.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
Sugarplum Tents erected a rectangular tent housing additional seating, bars, the dessert buffet, and a salsa band in the back garden of the castle.
Sugarplum Tents erected a rectangular tent housing additional seating, bars, the dessert buffet, and a salsa band in the back garden of the castle.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
Tufted ceiling treatments adorned with ribbons decorated the top of the tent in the garden.
Tufted ceiling treatments adorned with ribbons decorated the top of the tent in the garden.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
DC Rental provided two small lounge areas for additional seating in the tent.
DC Rental provided two small lounge areas for additional seating in the tent.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
A Vista Events set up a small stage with simple drape background for the music and dance performances in the commons.
A Vista Events set up a small stage with simple drape background for the music and dance performances in the commons.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
Different styles of glasses matching the night's palette topped each of the bars.
Different styles of glasses matching the night's palette topped each of the bars.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
Coconut shrimp with a ginger dipping sauce was among the passed hors d'oeuvres.
Coconut shrimp with a ginger dipping sauce was among the passed hors d'oeuvres.
Photo: Neshan Naltchayan for BizBash
Colombian musicians traveled to Washington for the event and entertained guest during their dinner, as well as onstage in the commons later in the evening.
Colombian musicians traveled to Washington for the event and entertained guest during their dinner, as well as onstage in the commons later in the evening.
Photo: Neshan Naltchayan for BizBash
Band El Pueblo Canta, from the Andean highlands in Colombia, traveled to Washington to perform at the festival and on the main stage at the kickoff.
Band El Pueblo Canta, from the Andean highlands in Colombia, traveled to Washington to perform at the festival and on the main stage at the kickoff.
Photo: Neshan Naltchayan for BizBash
The dessert buffet had two kinds of flan cups topped with blackberries and dulce de leche.
The dessert buffet had two kinds of flan cups topped with blackberries and dulce de leche.
Photo: Neshan Naltchayan for BizBash
The party continued into the evening with salsa dancing in the tent in the garden behind the castle.
The party continued into the evening with salsa dancing in the tent in the garden behind the castle.
Photo: Neshan Naltchayan for BizBash
The night provided local government and academics the opportunity to mingle with the heads of Colombian cultural and government organizations, as well as local residents.
The night provided local government and academics the opportunity to mingle with the heads of Colombian cultural and government organizations, as well as local residents.
Photo: ©2011 Eli Turner Studios
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