2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

June 29, 2005 – Washington D.C. – The Fiddlin’ Foresters, along with nearly 100 other Forest Service employees, are participating in the 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, June 23-July 4, www.folklife.si.edu, taking place on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The 39 th annual festival includes the Forest Service, Culture, and Community.

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival brings together exemplary practitioners of diverse traditions, both old and new, from communities across the United States and around the world. The goal of the festival is to strengthen and preserve these traditions by presenting them on the National Mall, so that tradition-bearers and the public can connect with and learn from one another, and understand cultural differences in a respectful way.

Forest Service, Culture, and Community showcases the occupational traditions of the USDA Forest Service on the occasion of its 100 th anniversary. It is one of four major themes included at the festival which also features Food Culture USA, Nuestra Musica: Music in Latino Culture, and Oman: Desert, Oasis and Sea.

Forest Service participants represent the wide range of skills, experiences, and traditions of our 37,000 workers and the communities they serve. Tree pathologists and wildlife biologists, botanists and bird banders, archeologists, silviculturists, soil scientists, hydrologists, historians and environmental engineers join with firefighters and smokejumpers, recreation specialists and backcountry rangers to engage visitors in educational activities, crafts demonstrations, and discussions that will increase their understanding and appreciation of our nation’s natural resources and those who care for them.

In addition to the Fiddlin’ Foresters, several other musicians perform on the Sounds of the Forest stage, providing artistic interpretation of natural resources and the Forest Service community. They include Keith Bear, a storyteller, singer, dancer, flute player, and flute maker from the Mandan-Hidatsa tribes of the high plains of North Dakota; Rita Cantu, a singer, songwriter, and performer who works with the Conservation and the Arts program in Prescott, Arizona; Cindy Carpenter, a singer and guitar player who is Education and Interpretation Program Manager at the Cradle of Forestry in Brevard, North Carolina; Patrick Michael Karnahan, a painter, singer, songwriter and performer from the Stanislaus National Forest in Sonora, California; Pat York, a recreation program manager on the Shawnee National Forest who is a songwriter, performer and conductor of the Shawnee Forest New Century Children’s Choir; Chuck Milner and family, a range specialist on the Black Kettle National Grasslands and cowboy singer, poet and storyteller who uses performance to connect the Forest Service and the Oklahoma ranching community; and Riders in the Dirt, a lively all-woman bluegrass quartet from the Ochoco and Deschutes National Forests (Judy Haigler, Jo Boozer, Gayle Hunt and Anne Alford) who use their professional Forest Service careers as a basis for their natural resource messages.

“There has been no other single event in the 100-year history of the Forest Service that has reached so many people with conservation messages and Forest Service culture,” said Linda Feldman, director of the New Century of Service effort. “The Forest Service and Smithsonian Institution have been planning this for five years. It has taken strong support from our leaders, and it is exciting to see so many people learning about their national forests.” More than one million people visited the 10-day Folklife Festival.

“I have gained so much respect for the quality of the presentations of my coworkers,” said Gayle Hunt from the Riders in the Dirt. “I am proud to invite people to see the depth, quality and commitment of the people that care for their national forests. It is hard to explain what a stirring experience this has been.”

In addition to the 12 programs that the Fiddlin’ Foresters presented on the Sounds of the Forest stage during the festival, they played a performance on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center on June 27. The performance can be viewed at the archived Millennium Stage Kennedy Center web site. . Look under achieved performances, June 27, 2005. Performances by Riders in the Dirt (June 25), Cindy Carpenter and The Shawnee Forest New Century Children’s Choir (June 30), Chuck Milner and Patrick Karnahan (July 2) and Keith Bear and Rita Cantú (July 3) can also be viewed there.

“I never dreamed that the Fiddlin’ Foresters would play on the stage of the Kennedy Center,” said Lynn Young. “We were enthusiastically received by the audience and we were able to communicate meaningful messages, both live and through the Internet web site. The Folklife Festival and the Kennedy Center are major highlights of the Fiddlin’ Foresters’ eleven-year career.”

“Many people made significant comments that help capture the importance of the festival,” said Young.

“Your inspirational music opened my heart to hear and remember your messages,” Elizabeth, Washington D.C

“I have a new and different opinion of the Forest Service,” Marsha, Berkley, CA

“I can’t believe how passionate and dedicated Forest Service people are. I can tell you really care about your jobs and our national forests,” Greg, Atlanta, GA.

“Your conservation messages give great meaning to your entertaining program,” Janette, Bowie, Md.

“The Forest Service and the Fiddlin’ Foresters are the hit of the festival,” Tom, Virginia