This Saturday marks the 26th iteration of the Kennedy Center‘s Annual Open House, a community and family-oriented event in which the Center opens the doors to all of its venues and spaces for an afternoon of free performances. As usual, the top level of the building will be home to a book fair tied into the theme of the overall event. This year, the Open House will also serve as the launch to Celebrate Mexico 2010, a festival running through October 1 that celebrates traditional and contemporary Mexican arts.

“The Open House is, as you might expect, a microcosm of the festival as a whole,” said Garth Ross, who heads the Kennedy Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone Initiative. “It is also meant to connect with the D.C. community, so it has more of a local connection.”

Ross, who curated both the Open House and Celebrate Mexico, explained why the Center decided on that particular country for a month long festival.

“Most importantly, 2010 is a bicentennial for Mexico and many Latin American countries, that’s what got the conversation going,” he said. “All told, it really has to do with us being able to paint a picture with Mexico that is both contemporary and traditional.”