[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3802-S3803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 19--COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
                   THE SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL

  Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. Perdue, and Mr. Leahy) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Rules and Administration:

                            S. Con. Res. 19

       Whereas the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, founded by the 
     Smithsonian Institution on July 1, 1967, is commemorating 50 
     years of cultural exploration, exchange, and engagement on 
     the National Mall of the United States this year;
       Whereas the purposes of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 
     are to collaborate with individuals and communities 
     throughout the United States and around the world to present 
     diverse, community-based traditions in an engaging, 
     accessible, and culturally appropriate way, to show the 
     connections between traditional and emerging practices, 
     skills, and knowledge through research, performance, 
     demonstration, conversation, and documentation, and to 
     support the efforts of

[[Page S3803]]

     individuals and communities working to promote the 
     resilience, integrity, vitality, and sustainability of the 
     cultural heritage of those individuals and communities;
       Whereas the Smithsonian Folklife Festival continues to 
     collaborate with the American Folklife Center of the Library 
     of Congress, the Folk and Traditional Arts Program of the 
     National Endowment for the Arts, the National Park Service, 
     scholarly societies, and State and local arts agencies to 
     deepen and advance public curiosity and appreciation of rich 
     folk and traditional arts and practices as vital and integral 
     to the social fabric of families, communities, and other 
     countries;
       Whereas the Smithsonian Folklife Festival has inspired 
     similar cultural exhibitions and festivals across the United 
     States and around the world;
       Whereas the Smithsonian Folklife Festival has generated 
     educational curricula, scholarly publications, documentary 
     films, and nongovernmental organizations committed to the 
     documentation and presentation of folk and traditional arts;
       Whereas the Smithsonian Folklife Festival fosters 
     intercultural dialogue, cross-generational learning, and 
     cultural equity;
       Whereas the Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrates the 
     diversity of artistic expression and the dignity, delight, 
     and innovation found in the creative process; and
       Whereas the week of June 26, 2017 through June 30, 2017 is 
     an appropriate week to designate as ``Folk and Traditional 
     Arts and Culture Week'' in honor of the 50th anniversary of 
     the Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress recognizes ``Folk and Traditional 
     Arts and Culture Week'' in honor of the 50th anniversary of 
     the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, to--
       (1) recognize practitioners of folk and traditional 
     culture, and the institutions and organizations that support 
     them;
       (2) explore the creativity found within the families and 
     communities of these practitioners; and
       (3) congratulate the Smithsonian Folklife Festival for 50 
     years of outstanding efforts to champion creativity, cultural 
     diversity and sustainability, cross-generational engagement, 
     and intercultural communication through community-based 
     research, public presentation, and archival documentation 
     during the week.

                          ____________________