Salt Lake City hosted its 40th annual Living Traditions Festival, a free celebration of cultures, traditions and communities at the Civic Center last weekend.
Organizers collaborated with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, as well as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, to bring national artists, special food demonstrations and other unique programs for this year’s festival. Their goal is to facilitate understanding and belonging amongst communities through traditional music, dance, crafts and food.
“It’s been 40 years of celebrating all of the cultures and people that call Utah home,” said Dawn Borchardt, the Performing Arts Program Manager for the Salt Lake City Arts Council, who oversaw the preparation for this festival. “Celebrating and learning these folklife traditions is how we learn about our own history and our neighbors.”
Performances
Traditional performances of dance and music took place on two stages, an amphitheater and a lawn. National headliners performed in the evenings and local groups performed during the day. These included traditional dances from Native American tribes, China, Greece, Tibet, Mexico and other heritages. A performance group, Pamyua, that preserves Inuit traditions, traveled from Alaska to perform on Friday night. Another group, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, traveled from New Orleans to perform on Saturday night…