#752 See an Indian Pow Wow

A couple of weeks ago, I got a random text from Stacy asking if I was interested in going to a pow-wow. I asked when it was and in the mean time I found what she was referring to on Facebook... The Winter Pow-Wow at State Fair Park the weekend I was going to be down in Milwaukee. We decided that's what we would do when we met up for the afternoon.

The Winter Pow Wow is an annual festival that takes place the 2nd weekend in March at State Fair Park. It is put on by Indian Summer Festival Inc. There is a marketplace and traditional foods not mention dancing and drums. On Sunday there is a prayer service. All events are open to the public.

When mentioning that we were going to the Pow-Wow to the hubby, he looked at me and asked if I have ever been to a Pow-Wow. I said no. He was like not even at the Packer game? I guess if the pre-game entertainment at Family Night is considered a Pow-Wow, then yes I guess I've been to a Pow-Wow. To me, it is pregame festivities.

The Winter Pow-Wow was not what I expected. Honestly I was disappointed. It was in an expo building with a concrete floor. There was a small area for the dancing and drums with very little seating. The acoustics weren't very good. The marketplace was set up around that. Unless you were lucky to get a seat, it was hard to see. We got there during the grand entrance and I could barely see what was going on. We wandered around a little bit after the grand entrance and found a better spot by the camera people.  It seemed to me that they were just dancing the same thing over and over and any one that wanted to dance could. Maybe that is what it is all about but to me it seemed disorganized.

The traditional dress was cool. Stacy made the comment about the neon colors of some of the girls' dresses. We found the brightness a bit odd but I do know that there Mexican dancers there which could be wearing the bright colors. I do not know much about Native Dress and am not one to ask so I could be off the mark. Whatever the reason for the bright colors, they were still very beautiful.

I may have found this disorganized but I have limited knowledge to base it on. I would love to see another Pow-Wow to see how it compares. It is important to broaden my horizons and partake in these cultural experiences because it is part of our history just like seeing Civil War Reenactments and visiting historical sites.