Bermuda people and culture could go on exhibit in Washington D.C. in 2001.

Bermuda could be one of the three countries chosen to be featured by Smithsonian Institute in the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

Held for ten days at the end of June and beginning of July every summer, the festival attracts more than a million people.

A team of three from The Smithsonian's Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage left the Island yesterday after preliminary meetings and a presentation to Cabinet. Diana Parker, a festival director said interest and discussions would only come after they hear back from the Bermuda Government.

But the directors were originally approached by the Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs who inquired about the possibility of Bermuda being featured and who subsequently invited them to the Island to make the presentation.

Bermuda would have to foot much of the cost of preparing for the festival.

"It would be a joint partnership between the Bermuda Government, the Smithsonian Institute and private sources,'' Ms Parker said.

If the project goes ahead, it will bring a host of opportunities to locals in many disciplines.

As many as 30 people could be hired to research different people and aspects of local culture.

"We would want to find out about the Bermuda dinghy,'' said Ms Parker, "and would work with scholars on what sort of architectural structures we would want on the Mall to anchor the programme.'' Photographers, historians, chefs, craftsmen, and artists could all be called on to participate in the project.

"The Festival does generate a lot of publicity,'' Ms Parker pointed out, "and is really a collaborative effort including music, dance, crafts, workshops, architecture and food.

"There are almost iconic statements. Last year the Romanians built a 70-foot traditional wooden church right on the Mall and a covered bridge was built to help set up the context of New Hampshire.'' Participants in the exhibit normally number from 80 to 100 people. But Ms Parker noted "as many as three to four times that number have usually contributed''.

"That archive of research documentation will stay here in the Island and a copy will be kept at the Smithsonian Institute,'' she said.

"Those files we have found to be very useful and are often used to produce other projects and products.'' Impressive packages containing school education kits, video presentations, manuals on how to develop archives, listings of various interest groups, guides for seniors and resource directories, have been compiled for the Bahamas, Iowa and scores of other places featured in the Folklife programmes.

The team of three met with a cross section of Bermudians at the Stonington Beach yesterday to attempt to gauge what should be covered in the exhibit.

Joyce Hall, Bruce Barritt, Calvin Smith, Johnny Barnes, Ed Harris, Jim Zuill, Ron Lightbourne, Joe Gibbons and Fred Ming were some of those invited to offer their input.