In 2023, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrates diverse American cultures through two programs: Creative Encounters: Living Religions in the U.S. and The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region. As always, the Festival invites visitors to participate in music and dance performances, hands-on activities, craft workshops, conversations, and cooking and gardening demonstrations.

Hours are generally 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with evening concerts and special presentations starting at 6 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. Evening concerts plus a selection of daytime programs will be livestreamed on YouTube.

ASL interpretation and real-time captioning will be provided for all evening events, both in person and virtually, and for select daytime events. Additional accessibility services may be provided by request.