Opening and Screening
Thursday, Feb. 20
The annual Mother Tongue Film Festival, presented by the Smithsonian’s Recovering Voices program, celebrates the United Nations’ International Mother Language Day by showcasing recently produced feature and short-length films about the cultural richness of Indigenous and endangered languages. Recovering Voices, a collaboration of the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, partners with communities around the world to revitalize and sustain endangered languages and knowledge. Full schedule will be available https://mothertongue.si.edu/
Friday, Feb. 21, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Potomac Atrium
Visitors can explore the foods found in communities that live along the Inka Road of South America. Freddie Bitsoie (Diné), executive chef of the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe, and other guest chefs will share the stories and food traditions that sustained and continue to support the diverse peoples of the intricate road system. Visitors can enjoy Andean music between tastings and take part in Cultural Interpreters’ tours of the museum’s “The Great Inka Road” exhibition.
Presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru. The Inka Road Food Fiesta is free, but tickets are required. See the museum’s website for details.
FRONTIERS
THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY TRIBUTE BAND
Friday, February 21, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $20–$35
Frontiers secured their place as the world’s number one tribute to Journey thanks to their unparalleled attention to detail. Powerhouse lead vocalist Elaine Tuttle channels Steve Perry with stunning accuracy and she’s backed by a world-class band of New York musicians. Journey fans will be transported back to the ’80s as Frontiers takes on hit after hit, including, “Open Arms,” “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” “Anyway You Want It,” and more.
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Saturdays: Feb. 15, 22, and 29, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do stereotypes of American Indians, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the museum’s Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; first-come, first-served seating. No registration is required.
Guatemalan National Day of Marimba
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m.
The marimba is recognized by the Organization of American States as part of the Cultural Heritage of the Americas. Celebrate Guatemala’s National Day of Marimba with performances by local marimba groups.
Presented in collaboration with the Consulate of Guatemala.
Multimedia play: Hear Me Say My Name
Saturdays: Feb. 15, 22, and 29, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
“I am not your mascot, and I don’t live in a tipi. See me for who I am, hear me say my name.” How do stereotypes of American Indians, prejudice, and identity shape the discussion of what it means to be a young person in our country today? This original multimedia play, created in collaboration with Smithsonian Associates Discovery Theater, tackles America’s assumptions about American Indians and starts a conversation with audiences reclaiming rich history, challenges, hopes, and dreams. After the play, the audience is invited to explore the museum’s Americans exhibition to learn more.
This program is generously supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Free; first-come, first-served seating. No registration is required.
BRUCE HORNSBY & yMUSIC
Friday, March 6, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $38-$88
Innovators and recent collaborators Bruce Hornsby and yMusic obliterate barriers, crossing and combining genres in wildly imaginative ways. Hornsby mines his vast catalog performing beloved songs like “The Way It Is” and “The Valley Road” alongside tracks from Absolute Zero, his new album recorded with the Brooklyn-based chamber ensemble. yMusic (featuring string trio, flute, clarinet, and trumpet) have attracted many high-profile collaborators before—from Paul Simon to Ben Folds. Tonight, Hornsby and yMusic share the stage, performing both solo and joint sets. These are artists who are ever-evolving, and as pioneers on the scene they offer a glimpse into the future of music.
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Women Artists of Latin America
Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
NMWA hosts its 7th annual Art+Feminism edit-a-
Dance Performance: The Mush Hole: Truth, Acknowledgement, Resilience
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre
Santee Smith, Artistic Director
Saturday, March 14, 2 p.m.
Rasmuson Theater
The Mush Hole is a heartbreaking dance theater piece that moves through Canada’s residential school history with hope and empathy. The performance by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, created, directed, produced by Santee Smith, reflects the realities of the Mohawk Institute Residential School experience and offers a compelling way to open dialogue and to heal. Created in collaboration with Mohawk Institute Residential School survivors and including school documentation in recounting its history, The Mush Hole is about survival and intergenerational resilience.
The Mohawk Institute, also known as the Mush Hole, is Canada’s oldest residential school, after which all other residential schools were modeled. Operating in Brantford, Ontario, from 1828 to 1970, the Mohawk Institute served as a boarding school for First Nations children from Six Nations and other communities in Ontario and Quebec. It was a key tool in the effort to assimilate First Nations children into European Christian society and sever the continuity of First Nations culture from parent to child, leaving a legacy of trauma.
TONY BENNETT
THE I LEFT MY HEART TOUR
WITH SPECIAL GUEST ANTONIA BENNETT
Sunday, March 15, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $76-$156
A cornerstone of the Great American Songbook, beloved crooner Tony Bennett is a living legend. As a Kennedy Center Honoree, NEA Jazz Master, and the winner of 19 Grammy Awards and 2 Emmy Awards, Bennett’s career as the pre-eminent singer of the 20th and 21st centuries is unprecedented. During this special evening, Bennett will sing his timeless hits like “Rags to Riches,” “I Got Rhythm,” and of course “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Fans marvel at the resilience of his trademark vocals which New York Magazine raves, “is still a technical marvel. . . and no one else on Earth can make a lyric written eight decades ago sound as natural as a conversation at a coffee shop.” His daughter and jazz singer Antonia Bennett will open the night with her angelic and powerful voice.