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Keeping tradition alive

Annual Lil’Wat Celebrations Powwow revisits traditional drumming, dance and song
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Best Dressed A dancer competes, decked out in full regalia, during the 2005 Lillooet Lake Rodeo. Photo by Maureen Provencal

What: Lil’Wat Celebrations Powwow

When: Friday, June 13 to Sunday, June 15

Where: Powwow Arbor, near Lillooet Lake Rodeo ground

Tickets: $5

The sound of the big drum will be echoing throughout the Mount Currie area this weekend, as traditional singers, dancers and drummers gather near the old rodeo grounds.

They are coming to the area to join in the sixth annual Lil’Wat Celebrations Powwow.

The event, which is open to everyone, is not unique — rather it is a traditional event held in First Nations communities throughout the country, intended to unite people through song and dance, and to allow them to forge new friendships and rekindle old ones while preserving their rich heritage.

Elizabeth Andrew is just one of the people handling the behind the scenes organization of the upcoming powwow in Mount Currie.

“It started off just to honour my brother, six years ago, and it just blew up from there,” Andrew explained. “…People just enjoy watching the different kind of dances.”

While the turnout varies a bit from year to year, depending on variables like weather and other powwows that may or may not be taking place elsewhere, Andrew said they usually get a good crowd.

And participants aren’t just local. Andrew said that they get attendees from all over North America.

“People come from everywhere — Alberta, Saskatchewan, the States,” she said.

The powwow is also a bit different than the annual Lillooet Lake Rodeo; it focuses strictly on dancing, singing and drumming.

“It’s a full-competition powwow, it’s a singing competition,” Andrew explained. “So far, we have nine placements ranging from $350 to $1,500.”

The women will compete in dance categories of traditional, fancy and jingle, while men compete in categories of traditional, fancy, grass and chicken.

This year, they’re also hosting a special dance event in memory of a local elder, a traditional Lil’Wat buckskin dancer, who passed away a few years ago — the Adeline Joseph Women’s Buckskin.

While the performance aspect of each dance is certainly important, a large part of the event is also the incorporation of regalia into each style.

For traditional dance, competitors wear regalia adorned with eagle feathers and beads, while for the fancy dance they wear a double bustle made out of brightly coloured feathers. Grass outfits are made out of either wool or ribbon, and chicken, or prairie dance, involves a smaller bustle.

Andrew refers to the styles of dance as “prairie dancing,” adding that they don’t hold a lot of significance for Lil’Wat culture, but rather, powwow culture.

“With the Lil’Wat culture, we do our own dances,” she added.

There will also be people playing the big drums — the traditional powwow drums — rather than the hand drums that are more frequently played in ceremony.

The powwow also helps bring together members of the community. Organizers are busy fundraising for the powwow all year long, hosting events like bingos, auctions and raffles to collect enough money for the big event in June. The entire weekend is run with the help of volunteers.

“We’re non-profit — everyone you see running around the powwow grounds working are all volunteers, so we don’t get paid to do this,” Andrew said.

Events are to be held over the entire weekend, starting Friday evening and running until Sunday, at the Powwow Arbor by the Lillooet Lake Rodeo grounds.

The powwow is open to anyone, and the entrance fee is $5 per day. Grand Entries begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, and noon on Sunday, June 15.

Brief to run on same page

A stitch in time

The Whistler Valley Quilter’s Guild is getting ready for their fifth annual quilt show this weekend, entitled “Quilts in the Mountains.”

The show will feature over 100 projects completed by guild members, ranging from “grandma”-styled quilts, to more daring artistic projects.

Also on display at the show will be challenge projects that were put to quilters, which encourage members to learn new techniques.

There are around 40 members of the guild who work on a number of community-based projects throughout the year, including quilts that are given to people who are suffering from illnesses, injuries or personal issues, and ice bags for the Whistler Health Care Centre.

One quilt, “Autumn Salsa,” will be raffled off at the show to benefit the Howe Sound Women’s Centre, which supports women in crisis in the Sea to Sky corridor.

The guild meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month from September until May, and welcomes new members.

The show runs Saturday and Sunday at the Blackcomb Administration Building. Admission is $5, and raffle tickets will be sold for $3.