Weekend: Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2015 Celebrates Peru

This year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival is underway, celebrating the culture of Peru. The festival is located at Third and Fourth streets, just north of the National Museum of the American Indian. There is no admission charge.

See the full schedule for the festival here. The festival will feature Peruvian food, including anticuchos, pollo a la brasa, alfajores, Chicha Morada, Inca Kola and Pisco Sours. For a list of all foods and food vendors go here. There will also be a marketplace selling Peruvian crafts.

The festival started Wednesday and continues Friday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and again next Wednesday through Sunday, July 5. Evening concerts are scheduled most nights at 7 p.m. Plan ahead and check out the festival map here. See more information here for evening concerts.

Parking around the Mall is extremely limited, so visitors are advised to use public transportation. Federal Center is the closest Metro station to the new Festival site. L’Enfant Plaza and National Archives stations are within a half-mile. For general Smithsonian visitor information, call 202.633.1000 (voice).

First Aid

A first aid station will be located on the National Mall near the intersection of Third Street and Madison Drive.

Thunderstorms

In case of a severe rainstorm, visitors should go inside a museum during visiting hours. Summer rainstorms are usually brief, and often the Festival resumes operations within an hour or two. In the event of a thunderstorm, the Festival must close. Do not remain under a tent or a tree!

Lost and Found/Lost People

Lost items or family members should be brought to or picked up from the Volunteer tent near the intersection of Third Street and Madison Drive.