Texas Folklife Festival

It’s been said that travel inspires people. When we get out of our usual surroundings, we often become motivated to try new things, and we can also return from a trip with a new appreciation of home. In 1968 that’s just what happened to a group of Texans who participated in the Smithsonian Institute’s first Folklife Festival in Washington D.C.

O.T. Baker, the founder of the Institute of Texan Cultures, attended along with a Texas delegation and came home inspired to create a similar event for Texas. It took a few years to turn big plans into the big event that’s now hosting the 45th annual Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio June 10-12. Under the guidance of Baker, the first festival in 1972 drew participants from all over the state and represented surprisingly diverse ethnic heritages. One of those participants was Jo Ann Andera, who’d had been serving as a volunteer tour guide at the Institute of Texan Cultures and performed as a belly dancer with the Lebanese Folklife Dancers. She later became a staff member before being named festival director in 1981, a post she’s held since.

“We bring together Texans from every walk of life to celebrate their heritage and culture — their food, music, crafts and dance,” Andera says. “It’s a celebration of us as Texans!”

The festival attracts about 40,000 visitors and showcases storytelling, music, food, art and the traditional skills of about 40 cultures now found in Texas.