About Pow Wow

About Pow Wow

The Pow Wow is a three-day event of Traditional Native American live music and dance that is both a celebration and cultural competition with participants vying for prizes and honoring enduring Native traditions. The first day begins around sundown, with an elder blessing the grounds and offering a prayer for good spirit and honoring our Native People carrying on our customs and traditions. This is traditionally followed by an exhibition of bird singing and dancing.

Two grand entries highlight Saturday’s schedule: one in the afternoon; the other in the evening. Exhibitions of gourd singing and dancing precede our local Southern California Tribal bird singers and dancers opening the afternoon session.

Bird singing and dancing will also take place to open the evening’s grand entry.

Both Grand Entries are followed by more dancing (contest, exhibition and intertribal).

Sunday features one Grand Entry in the afternoon, which again will exhibit the Southern California bird singers and dancers to open the session.

Then, it’s time for the climactic round of contest dancing. It’s the last opportunity for all of the competitors to impress the judges. Once that is over, the judges’ votes are tabulated, the winners announced, and prizes awarded.

Unlike the other two days, however, there is a more formal, spiritual closing ceremony that marks the official end of the Pow Wow.