Calgary Stampede Powwow returns with a bang
CBC
The Calgary Stampede Powwow is back and it's bigger and better than before, organizers say.
The event is being held at the Scotiabank Saddledome for the second year in a row and includes a plethora of performances from Indigenous participants.
Expect energetic competitive dancing coupled with singing and drumming at the two-day event that will involve more than 1,000 performers competing for cash prizes and the coveted top spot in various categories.
Organizing the powwow on such a grand scale is a dream come true for Cheryl Crowchief, the Stampede's powwow co-ordinator.
"The culture that I come from being First Nation is so rich, so vibrant, so informative and so rooted in history. We keep our culture alive through powwow, through storytelling, through our kids," Crowchief said.
"It's a contest, a friendly contest, but it's still a contest. Everybody loves a good contest."
This event has long been an aspiration for Crowchief, who wanted to fundraise and organize a similar event nearly 10 years ago with her husband.
"[We wanted to] create a powwow of this magnitude and the Stampede just was on the same page as us and said this is what we want to do," she said.
"I want people to come and visit our territory, to visit our people, to visit our tribes and see how welcoming, inviting [the event is] and honestly, come to the greatest outdoor show on earth."
This year's powwow has participants from Canada and the U.S., including states as far-flung as New Mexico and Arizona.
The event has been planned on a much grander scale this year and includes better production, more lighting and drones, according to Colleen Caron, operations production manager for the Stampede Powwow.
"Currently, right now we're in production for two days, six hours a day. We have an opportunity to make it a three- or four- or five-day event depending on the interest of the competitors," she said. "Due to its popularity, I can see it growing in the future, for sure."
Many participants at the powwow are highly experienced and have been dancing for years.
For instance, one of the competitors, Ralph Large, from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, gravitated toward dancing as a child.
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