This event will take place at the Florida Folk Festival. In addition to classroom instruction, participants will hear live performances and meet musicians. They will also have the opportunity to learn folk dances and attend an evening concert.

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Folklife Discovery Trail

The Folklife Discovery Trail will help teachers to guide their students to areas of the festival where traditional arts are being demonstrated or discussed. As students explore five locations along the trail, they will encounter musicians, dancers, storytellers, and other traditional bearers who are sharing arts, customs, and material culture that represent Florida’s diverse population and heritage. Activities in several areas will focus on this year’s folklife theme, "2002: Eastern Mediterranean Traditions in Florida." Kid-friendly programs will be offered at Discovery Trail sites on Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

How should we explore the trail?

There is no single path that links the sites along the Folklife Discovery Trail. However, locations featuring traditional activities on Friday will have a colored flag near the stage or central area. Sites along the trail also are noted on the enclosed map.

Flag Colors:

• Folk Arts Tent – Red

• Folklife Stage – Green

• Heritage & Dance Floor Stage – Purple

• Seminole Family Camp – Yellow

• Azalea Stage – Pink

What will we see along the trail?

Folk Arts Tent
Demonstrations at the Folk Arts Tent, located north of the Tower, will introduce students to traditional arts associated with Eastern Mediterranean Communities that now make Florida home. From the sponge divers of Tarpon Springs to Saphardic Jews in Orlando, these communities are part of the Mosaic of Florida Folklife.

Folklife Area Stage
Students will learn about Florida’s cultural traditions as they listen to conversations and watch performances by traditional artists at the Folklife Narative Stage, adjacent to the Folk Arts Tent. By spending a short while in this area, students will hear firsthand accounts about lifeways and lifestyles, and they also will see how interviews are conducted as a means of preserving folk culture.

Heritage & Dance Floor Stage
In this venue, students not only can watch and listen as traditional folk music and dances are performed and skills are demonstrated, but they also can learn them. Throughout the day, a range of music, dances, and skills will be taught at this stage, which is located on the north side of the Tower.

Azalea Stage
Songs, tunes, folklife and humor will be featured at the Azalea Stage. Students will enjoy a potpourri of performances that exemplifies the diversity of musical and narrative traditions that exist in the state. The Azalea Stage is located on the south side of the Tower.

Seminole Family Camp and Stage
Che-han-tah-mo? (How are you?)

Each year, Seminole people come to the festival to share their traditions and interpret their crafts, arts, and foodways. On the Ee-toh-lit-kee (Seminole family camp) Music Stage, performances are given.

Ancestors of the Seminole people, predominately of Creek Indian origin, entered Florida in the mid to late 18^th century from modern-day Georgia and Alabama. Many scholars believe that the name "Seminole" derives from the Spanish word cimmarron, which means "wild," but the term also referred to runaways and pioneers. By the 19^th century, the name was used to describe all of Florida’s native peoples. Today, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has about 2,200 members, and the closely related Miccosukee Tribe of Florida has about 500 members. Many individuals still practice traditional customs that are reflected in their clothing, observance of the Green Corn Dance; crafts such as patchwork sewing, beadwork, doll making basket making, roping and foodways; storytelling, and traditional medicine; and the use of Chickees. Adapted to the Florida environment, chickees are pole-and-thatch structures that provide shelter from harsh weather and take maximum advantage of breezes. Each chickee functions as a separate room, for cooking, working, socializing, sleeping or storing household goods.

The Seminoles and Miccosukees are among the most successful native tribes in the United States. They use income from their various tribal enterprises to provide social services and education for their people. In the changing environment of south Florida, they have prospered while keeping many aspects of their heritage alive. Be sure to visit the Seminole Family Camp to learn more about their traditions and to enjoy free samples of frybread, sofkee, and beef jerky.

For more information on Florida folklife, visit our Folklife Area page.

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