South Florida Folklife Center. Traditions: The South Florida Folklife Festival - 1986-1988

This series documents three folklife festivals celebrated in Miami’s Cultural Center Plaza between 1986 and 1988. The Historical Museum of Southern Florida (now HistoryMiami Museum), the Dade County Council of Arts and Sciences, and the Bureau of Florida Folklife Programs, and the Florida Arts Council staged the first festival—“The South Florida Folklife Festival”—was held on March 22-23, 1986. Showcasing more than 30 folk artists and representing a broad cross-section of ethnic groups in Dade County, the festival featured food, music, and craft demonstrations; a majority of these artists were later invited to participate in the 34th Annual Florida Folklife Festival near White Springs (HMF9003). The second festival—“Traditions: The South Florida Folklife Festival”—was held March 28-29, 1987 and featured foodways, crafts, a musical main stage, a workshop stage, and vendors. Between April and August of 1987, Tina Bucuvalas—then Folklife Curator for the Folklife Center of the Historical Association of Southern Florida—conducted fieldwork for the third festival, which focused on Latin American and Caribbean music in southeast Florida; Florida State University ethnomusicologist Dale Olsen assisted in field research, evaluated musical groups, and wrote a short essay on Latin American and Caribbean music for publication in the festival guide. Built on this research, the third festival—“Traditions: A Celebration of Latin and Caribbean Music”—took place on April 23-25, 1988, featuring Student Day outreach activities with local public schools. Materials include: copies of research field notes and information sheets on informants; photographic prints, as well as 35mm negatives, slides, and contact sheets; audiocassette tape recordings; and a videocassette recording of a WLRN television clip featuring festival artists.

Additional digital formats of audio, video, and image files available: Records were digitized 2015 – 2016. Users must contact staff ahead of visit for access.

Arranged into four series by format.

Digital materials available on Folklife Archive external drive.

Finding Aid Authors: Katherine L. Fleming, David Font, Vanessa Navarro, and Katharine Labuda 2014-2016.

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