The 2009 Saratoga Native American festival continues the mission of the
2006 and 2007 Saratoga Native American festivals to educate the public
on the history and cultures of New York State's indigenous peoples.
The festival returns to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Saturday October 3 and Sunday October 4. This family-friendly event will feature authentic American Indian drumming and dancing, storytelling, food, dozens of demonstrators and vendors showcasing the best in the native crafts of the Northeast and a large Children's Activity Tent.
Admission fees have been lowered from previous years. They are $5 for children 12 and younger (children younger than 5 are free), $7 for senior citizens and $10 for adults.
The 2006 and 2007 Saratoga Native American festivals were attended by over 10,000 people and provided over 200 Native American elders, historians, dancers, vendors, and demonstrators with the opportunity to continue culturally vital traditions at a historically important venue. The two festivals were the largest gatherings of Native Americans in the Saratoga Springs area in the last 200 years.
The two-day event will celebrate Native American history, culture and craftsmanship. The Festival strives to educate by entertaining people of all ages and backgrounds.
Attendees will have the opportunity witness exhibition dancing, basket weaving, pottery, fire making, bow construction, drum making, wood carving, flint-knapping, leather and bead work, eat traditional native foods and purchase native crafts from the artisans who made them, both in the Main and in an instructive children's tent, which is partially funded by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and Stewarts.
Mohawk elder and founder of the Tree of Peace Society Jake Tekaronianeken Swamp is being honored by this year's festival for his lifetime of service to Native people and the cause of world peace.
This year's other honoree, Jeanne Brink (Abenaki), is being recognized for her outstanding work as a basket maker and in teaching those skills to others and for her continuing efforts to preserve the Abenaki language.
The two drum groups featured at the festival are Iron River Singers from Massachusetts and Rez Dogs from the Penobscot Reservation in Old Town, Maine.
New features at this year's festival are an 18th century Marquee tent, the Wampum Chronicles tent and a special Education area - a series of tents at the entrance to the festival where the public can obtain information about Native American communities and organizations.
Detailed information and more photos of previous festivals can be found at
www.saratoganativefestival.org
Admission fees have been lowered from previous years. They are $5 for children 12 and younger (children younger than 5 are free), $7 for senior citizens and $10 for adults.
The 2006 and 2007 Saratoga Native American festivals were attended by over 10,000 people and provided over 200 Native American elders, historians, dancers, vendors, and demonstrators with the opportunity to continue culturally vital traditions at a historically important venue. The two festivals were the largest gatherings of Native Americans in the Saratoga Springs area in the last 200 years.
The two-day event will celebrate Native American history, culture and craftsmanship. The Festival strives to educate by entertaining people of all ages and backgrounds.
Attendees will have the opportunity witness exhibition dancing, basket weaving, pottery, fire making, bow construction, drum making, wood carving, flint-knapping, leather and bead work, eat traditional native foods and purchase native crafts from the artisans who made them, both in the Main and in an instructive children's tent, which is partially funded by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and Stewarts.
Mohawk elder and founder of the Tree of Peace Society Jake Tekaronianeken Swamp is being honored by this year's festival for his lifetime of service to Native people and the cause of world peace.
This year's other honoree, Jeanne Brink (Abenaki), is being recognized for her outstanding work as a basket maker and in teaching those skills to others and for her continuing efforts to preserve the Abenaki language.
The two drum groups featured at the festival are Iron River Singers from Massachusetts and Rez Dogs from the Penobscot Reservation in Old Town, Maine.
New features at this year's festival are an 18th century Marquee tent, the Wampum Chronicles tent and a special Education area - a series of tents at the entrance to the festival where the public can obtain information about Native American communities and organizations.
Detailed information and more photos of previous festivals can be found at
www.saratoganativefestival.org
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