In its sheer size and scope, the spectacular United States Bicentennial Folk Festival in 1976 ranks as one of the largest cultural events ever hosted in Washington, D.C. More than 1.2 million people attended the festival for the Fourth of July celebration alone, and millions more came to the event during its 12-week run. It also proved to be the largest demonstration of Shure sound reinforcement systems, microphones, and circuitry products up to that time. On each of the 12 stages, Shure products were used for this international summer-long event.
The festival was staged on the 50-acre mall, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, as an open-air exposition of the finest folk traditions, arts, and skills. More than 5,000 performers from 33 countries, 55 unions and organizations, 116 Native American Tribal groups, and participants representing every region of the United States contributed to the program. In addition, more than 20,000 children from 32 schools, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, clubs, and recreation centers took part. In all, more than 600 different performers entertained and enlightened the audiences.
The focal point of the large-scale presentations was the main stage, which also served as a coordination center for the festival sound facilities. From this center, Bob Goodman, of Associated Sound, Annandale, Virginia, supervised the many separate Shure sound systems.
“One of the main considerations in providing sound facilities for the festival was that we faced a 12-week-long schedule of entertainment to be held outdoors, with minimal protection from the weather for the equipment,” Mr. Goodman said.
The main stage and smaller stages were equipped with Shure SR Sound Reinforcement Systems and Shure Vocal Master Systems, respectively. All systems were fed predominantly with Shure SM58 Microphones.
According to Mr. Goodman: “Sound systems [on the small stages] were operated by nontechnical members of the festival staff. By standardizing on Shure Vocal Master Systems and SM58s, we made sound control a simple, easy-to-learn assignment. It also allowed operators to move from one stage to another without retraining.”
The most challenging day of the festival was the Fourth of July, when the sound crew not only managed sound for all the stages but also provided a sound feed to the network television pool. With Shure equipment in the sound trailer, the crew was able to deliver sound for the daylong national television coverage and, also, for a radio feed used by the worldwide Voice of America broadcasting network.
The Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual event that began in 1912, when President William Howard Taft planted the first Japanese Cherry Tree in Washington.
