WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania barbecue vendor says the scaled-back festivities surrounding America’s 250th anniversary have left businesses and visitors missing what could have been a major cultural celebration on the National Mall.
Chef Joe Gera, owner of Keystone Cue in Pennsylvania, said he was selected in 2024 to participate in a monthlong Smithsonian Folklife Festival planned as part of the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration. The festival, he said, would have showcased food and culture from across the United States while coinciding with an expected influx of international visitors.
“You could go to this festival for two days and eat everything from everywhere across the country and have a good representation,” Gera said…