Pow Wow 2013
What...A...Day! So every year my family goes to our local Pow Wow at Long Hunter State Park. It is the most wonderful event and it happens every year in October. People come from all around and have things to sell and the most wonderful food to eat. There are costumes and dancing and the best part of all of it is that it is located in the woods. You park off in the grass and walk through this screen of trees into a small alcove. There are tents set up everywhere! We always start to the right and make a complete circle.
It is cold almost every year, but this year it was sooooo chilly and windy, and it even sprinkled a bit of rain on us when we first arrived. The rain was short lived, but the good times were not. I went with 2 of my brothers and my mother. The majority of the time we were there, we were laughing. We went back to mom's house and did shots of this horrid tequila and then went out to dinner, which was also hysterical. We are always laughing at any and everything. Its a part of our family that helps us overcome trying times. My brothers and mother are hysterical, and it's that twisted sense of humor that has made us a close family. <3 Scattered here and there are the food tents, which are Uh-Mazingly delicious. Usually we have fry bread, which is the most delicious stuff ever on a cold day. It's some sort of bread dough stuff that they deep fry and serve plain or with toppings. Their most delicious version of fry bread that I usually get is the 'indian taco' which consists of tomatoes, onions and cheese on top of fresh fry bread. You can eat it with only sugar on top if you would prefer a sweeter fry bread. This year we saw fry bread mix so you can make it at home! Naturally, Mom and I brought some. I want the husband to try it, but I also want to wrap hot dog pieces in it and deep fry it. Holy crap that sounds so good right now... I also got some loose leaf tea, but I do not have a loose leaf tea steeper thingy. I got a mango tea and a raspberry tea. I cannot wait to try them! The one thing we did not see this year was the weapons tent. There is usually one tent with a shit ton of weapons in it, whereas most of the other tents house your usual arrows, arrowheads, a few spears, knives and the occasional knife made of bone. But there were weapons scattered here and there among the awesome jewelry, of which mom and I usually get at least one thing. Some of their jewelry is soooo beautiful, but soooo expensive. Mom and I prefer silver over gold, and there is no short supply at this pow wow.
There is no short supply of weird here, either. You can get anything from a wolf's tooth to a deer dew claw. They occasionally have random parts of other animals, like a rabbit's foot or turtle head. There are also rows and rows of skins, which are all lovely. Most are just the plain skins, but here and there are the occasional skunk or raccoon hat. We saw rabbit, fox, otter, skunk, raccoon, beaver, and a number of other critters. They are all so soft and lovely. I know it might upset people to see them, but they were a major part of trade back in the day, let alone a means of staying warm whilst cooking the rest of the animal. They didn't let a lot of anything go to waste, using anything they could for practicality sake. Bones were used for weapons, jewelry and medicinal purposes, as I'm sure the organs were, like today's bear gall bladder or bird's nest soup. And believe me, on a cold day like it was, nothing sounded better than wrapping in a mink skin to battle that howling wind.
That brings me to one of my other purchases: leather scraps! There were a few sizable bags of scraps for $2.50 a piece. I don't know what I will use them for just yet, but its handy to have them. Most of the scraps are in a soft buttery tan color, but there are a couple of pieces in black and a dark red. I am excited to see what they become.
There is always music playing somewhere, too! If you don't hear the ceremonial singing that accompanies the dancing competitions taking place in the middle of the whole enclosure, then you might hear one of the many cds for sale being sampled in a tent, or a gentleman with a small wooden flute playing traditional native american music. And I can't forget the constant sounds of the dancer's outfits as they make their way to the competition. Their outfits are very colorful and greatly adorned with brightly colored feathers and loads of silver bells. It truly is a beautiful sight, watching them dance.
You can buy clothing, too, if thats your fancy. They have the most beautiful leather coats and woven jackets. They have sweatshirts galore, as well as moccasins and hats. If you need a papoose, you're in luck! If you're more into paper goods, they have loads of stuff for you! There are maps of all kinds; hand drawn, printed, tribal boundary lines, war zones, etc. There are books everywhere! These are books stuffed with history. If you want to know about a specific tribe or place, I'm sure it's in there somewhere. And mom and I saw a photo album that was not for sale, but it had sooooo many old pictures of Indians and places. It was hauntingly beautiful. If it had been for sale, I would have broken out the credit card.
All in all, we had a great time... again. We will definitely be back next year!
It is cold almost every year, but this year it was sooooo chilly and windy, and it even sprinkled a bit of rain on us when we first arrived. The rain was short lived, but the good times were not. I went with 2 of my brothers and my mother. The majority of the time we were there, we were laughing. We went back to mom's house and did shots of this horrid tequila and then went out to dinner, which was also hysterical. We are always laughing at any and everything. Its a part of our family that helps us overcome trying times. My brothers and mother are hysterical, and it's that twisted sense of humor that has made us a close family. <3 Scattered here and there are the food tents, which are Uh-Mazingly delicious. Usually we have fry bread, which is the most delicious stuff ever on a cold day. It's some sort of bread dough stuff that they deep fry and serve plain or with toppings. Their most delicious version of fry bread that I usually get is the 'indian taco' which consists of tomatoes, onions and cheese on top of fresh fry bread. You can eat it with only sugar on top if you would prefer a sweeter fry bread. This year we saw fry bread mix so you can make it at home! Naturally, Mom and I brought some. I want the husband to try it, but I also want to wrap hot dog pieces in it and deep fry it. Holy crap that sounds so good right now... I also got some loose leaf tea, but I do not have a loose leaf tea steeper thingy. I got a mango tea and a raspberry tea. I cannot wait to try them! The one thing we did not see this year was the weapons tent. There is usually one tent with a shit ton of weapons in it, whereas most of the other tents house your usual arrows, arrowheads, a few spears, knives and the occasional knife made of bone. But there were weapons scattered here and there among the awesome jewelry, of which mom and I usually get at least one thing. Some of their jewelry is soooo beautiful, but soooo expensive. Mom and I prefer silver over gold, and there is no short supply at this pow wow.
There is no short supply of weird here, either. You can get anything from a wolf's tooth to a deer dew claw. They occasionally have random parts of other animals, like a rabbit's foot or turtle head. There are also rows and rows of skins, which are all lovely. Most are just the plain skins, but here and there are the occasional skunk or raccoon hat. We saw rabbit, fox, otter, skunk, raccoon, beaver, and a number of other critters. They are all so soft and lovely. I know it might upset people to see them, but they were a major part of trade back in the day, let alone a means of staying warm whilst cooking the rest of the animal. They didn't let a lot of anything go to waste, using anything they could for practicality sake. Bones were used for weapons, jewelry and medicinal purposes, as I'm sure the organs were, like today's bear gall bladder or bird's nest soup. And believe me, on a cold day like it was, nothing sounded better than wrapping in a mink skin to battle that howling wind.
That brings me to one of my other purchases: leather scraps! There were a few sizable bags of scraps for $2.50 a piece. I don't know what I will use them for just yet, but its handy to have them. Most of the scraps are in a soft buttery tan color, but there are a couple of pieces in black and a dark red. I am excited to see what they become.
There is always music playing somewhere, too! If you don't hear the ceremonial singing that accompanies the dancing competitions taking place in the middle of the whole enclosure, then you might hear one of the many cds for sale being sampled in a tent, or a gentleman with a small wooden flute playing traditional native american music. And I can't forget the constant sounds of the dancer's outfits as they make their way to the competition. Their outfits are very colorful and greatly adorned with brightly colored feathers and loads of silver bells. It truly is a beautiful sight, watching them dance.
You can buy clothing, too, if thats your fancy. They have the most beautiful leather coats and woven jackets. They have sweatshirts galore, as well as moccasins and hats. If you need a papoose, you're in luck! If you're more into paper goods, they have loads of stuff for you! There are maps of all kinds; hand drawn, printed, tribal boundary lines, war zones, etc. There are books everywhere! These are books stuffed with history. If you want to know about a specific tribe or place, I'm sure it's in there somewhere. And mom and I saw a photo album that was not for sale, but it had sooooo many old pictures of Indians and places. It was hauntingly beautiful. If it had been for sale, I would have broken out the credit card.
All in all, we had a great time... again. We will definitely be back next year!
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