Related Events

Bhutan
Lecture on Bhutanese Traditions:
Kunzang Choden
Meyer Auditorium,The Freer Gallery of Art
June 25, 7 p.m.
A leading authority on Bhutanese culture shares her personal experiences from growing up in the Himalayas. Kunzang Choden's books include Folktales of Bhutan and Bhutan Tales of the Yeti. Her 2005 novel Circle of Karma follows a feisty young girl who leaves her family and travels far from home, much as the author did on horseback at age twelve. Kunzang Choden reads from her books and offers insights into Bhutanese life and society, including its unusual matriarchal system.

Bhutanese Music and Masked Dances Lecture-Demonstrations
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Pavilion
Music from Bhutan
June 27, June 28, July 3, and July 6, 12 p.m.
Join Bhutanese singers and instrumentalists to learn about music from the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Discover how traditional music plays a role in daily life in Bhutan.

Masked Dances of Bhutan
June 27, June 28, July 3, and July 6, 3 p.m.
Learn more about the symbolic elements of Bhutanese masked dances, expressed by the dancers, their costumes, and their instruments. This is a rare opportunity for close-up interactions with monks and other traditional dancers from the remote Himalayan mountain kingdom.

Recent Films from Bhutan
Meyer Auditorium, The Freer Gallery of Art

Travellers and Magicians
June 26, 2 p.m. and July 2, 7 p.m.
This is a cinematic fable by Khyentse Norbu, Bhutan's most famous director and one of Himalayan Buddhism's most revered lamas. "To watch this movie," wrote Desson Thomson in the Washington Post, "is to be moved not only by an affecting, warmly spirited yarn, but also by the wisdom that seems to waft to us directly from those snow-capped peaks." 2003. 108 min. in Dzongkha with English subtitles. Special guests: Tshewang Dendup, the film's star, and Sonam Dorji, performer on the film's soundtrack

July 2 and July 3
Recent Bhutanese films will be screened throughout the afternoon.

Smithsonian Associates All-Day Seminar
S. Dillon Ripley Center
Bhutan—Exploring the Last Himalayan Kingdom
July 12, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Largely isolated from the outside world until three decades ago, the spectacularly beautiful Kingdom of Bhutan is tucked in the massive mountains and subtropical forests between China and India. This tiny Buddhist nation is striving to retain the best of its traditional values amidst rapidly changing internal and external environments. Television and the Internet only became available there in 1999, and in March of this year, Bhutan held its first democratic popular election for parliament. In this illustrated seminar, officials and experts from Bhutan introduce travelers to their fascinating country.
For more information, visit
www.residentassociates.org.

The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan
Rubin Museum of Art, New York City
September 19, 2008–January 5, 2009
In an historic gesture, the Royal Government of Bhutan is releasing the masterpieces of its kingdom for exhibition in The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan. Organized by the Honolulu Academy of Arts, The Dragon's Gift is a groundbreaking display of national treasures, highlighting the religious arts of Bhutan and exploring the historical, philosophical, spiritual, and artistic perspectives of its culture. For more information, visit www.rmanyc.org.

Kennedy Center
Millennium Stage Concert
Participants in the Bhutan program will perform on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on Saturday, July 5, from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium.

NASA
Films at Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History will present the following feature-length films, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Friday, June 27
In the Shadow of the Moon

Saturday, June 28
Apollo 13

Sunday, June 29
2001: A Space Odyssey

Exhibitions at the National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum has several exhibitions on display that relate to the NASA program. Space: A Journey to Our Future highlights current projects in space exploration and some possibilities for future human space travel. NASA Art: Fifty Years of Exploration presents works of art that capture the wonder of NASA's endeavors. How Things Fly teaches the principles of flight. Visit www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions for more information about these and other exhibitions on aeronautics and space.

Space Symphony Orchestra
National Museum of the American Indian
Wednesday, June 25, 6 p.m.
The Space Symphony Orchestra under Emil de Cou will perform a free concert of space-related music while projections of NASA images enliven the Potomac atrium of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Texas
Kennedy Center
Millennium Stage
Participants in the Texas program will perform on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on the following evenings, from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium.

Wednesday, June 25
Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys

Sunday, June 29
Los Texmaniacs

Wednesday, July 2
The Quebe Sisters Band

Thursday, July 3
Tutu Jones and the Soul Crew

Friday, July 4
Mark Halata and Texavia

Sunday, July 6
James Hand