The Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States, will feature the Republic of Haiti at the 2004 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Now in its 38th year, this annual free event attracts more than one million visitors.

Visitors will learn about the rich diverse cultural heritage that belongs to modern Haiti. The Festival takes place on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by the museums of the Smithsonian. The Festival highlights community-based cultural traditions and has featured more than seventy nations and many of the states and territories of the United States.

In 1804, Haiti became the second nation in the Americas - the first after the United States - to achieve independence from colonial rule as a republic. The struggle for freedom was motivated by a desire to overturn brutal enslavement and was inspired by the ideas of the French and American revolutions that had preceded it. The Festival celebrates this achievement and the continual effort by the Haitian people over the past two centuries to realize their dreams of freedom through their remarkable cultural creativity while overcoming tremendous obstacles.

A number of events are planned to highlight this achievement including the Festival exhibitions, books, symposia, film series and lectures in Haiti, the United States, and other nations.