Shuck an Oyster, Smoke a Bluefish, Sail a Skipjack, Call a Duck, Haul a Net

March 27, 2006 12:50 PM

Wade in the WaterIn 2004, Smithsonian Folklife Festival featured the maritime cultures of the Mid-Atlantic region, from Long Island to North Carolina. Now, this site gives a home on the web to the cultural documentation gathered for the festival -- music, recipes, stories and oral history, an interactive map, the occupational folklore and natural history of regional fisheries, photos, video, and more. The material, ably compiled by folklorists and educators, creates a lasting and very accessible archive of festival highlights as well as an excellent overview of the distinct coastal culture of the Mid-Atlantic. Don't miss the great menhaden net-hauling chantey Help Me to Raise 'Em (links to mp3).
posted by Miko (7 comments total)

By the way -- that festival has to be one of the single best uses of U.S. taxpayer dollars ever conceived.
posted by Miko at 12:51 PM on March 27, 2006

Thanks, miko. I've had a hankering for smoked bluefish lately.

(not to nitpick, but their archives are rather lacking in photos and recipes. One washed out photo of Smith Island doesn't really do it justice. Still, as a mid-atlantic raised kid, I would have like to have attended this festival)
posted by shoepal at 1:31 PM on March 27, 2006

Excellent post!
posted by OmieWise at 1:40 PM on March 27, 2006

(I got a girl in Georgia, boys!)
posted by OmieWise at 1:41 PM on March 27, 2006

Agreed. Excellent post.
posted by JeremyT at 1:45 PM on March 27, 2006

I agree, shoepal: I wish there was more. In the "About this site" section they discuss the site design in such a way as to imply that there may have been financial or time limitations which kept it from being comprehensive. Still thought it was nice, though.
posted by Miko at 1:51 PM on March 27, 2006

Enjoy it while you can -- if this previous post is any guide, this culture may well vanish in the next century.
posted by QuestionableSwami at 1:52 PM on March 27, 2006