In July, a number of Boise State faculty and staff traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an annual two-week international exposition of living cultural heritage produced on the National Mall by the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. This year’s theme was “Basque Innovation by Culture.”
University Advancement’s Argia Beristain and history professor John Bieter participated in the festivities.
In addition, Vice President of University Advancement Laura C. Simic, School of Public Service Dean Corey Cook, and Honors College Dean Andrew Finstuen attended the festival and met with representatives from the province of Bizkaia and the city of Donosti (also known as San Sebastian) to explore academic, cultural and commercial opportunities for Boise State.
Boise’s Biotzetik Choir, whose members include Simic and Communications and Marketing’s Kathleen Tuck, also performed on the National Mall and at the Kennedy Center. John Ysursa, who is currently teaching in the Basque Country for Boise State, sat on the festival’s planning committee.
Free to the public, like other Smithsonian museums, each festival typically draws hundreds of thousands of visitors.
BY: CIENNA MADRID PUBLISHED 2:52 PM / JULY 29, 2016