Powwow Shopping - Southwestern gems and contemporary glass

The Children of Many Colors Powwow comes to Moorpark College July 19-21, under perfectly lovely weather and with a cacophony of sensory stimulation - singing, dancing, food, fine art, folk art and jewelry.

California Native Glass will be among the vendors exhibiting, with their wonderful, tradition-inspired, completely contemporary one of a kind glass creations.

They will likely be nestled in between vendors selling traditional, hand-wrought silver and turquoise jewelry, or beads and crafting supplies.

The powwow brings together a mixture of local charities, vendors representing the arts and crafts of the indigenous western hemisphere, and a hand full of vendors with everything in-between. It's a meeting place, a market place, a cultural celebration.

A powwow is a gathering that mingles tradition, ceremony and spirituality with an open air market, singing, dancing, friendship and laughter. The canopies of indigenous families surround the dance arena, where children and elders dance side by side in contemporary and old-school styles, a cacophony of sound complimented by color and motion. In dance regalia richly adorned with hand-beaded symbols of personal significance, native people celebrate their heritage, their resilience, and their community; one which is strengthened and solidified by the powwow itself.

Visitors can experience the feeling of the arena during songs called intertribals. The intertribal is a song where all dancers come into the arena and dance their styles, which are gender-specific. There are northern and southern style dances for men and different northern and southern style dances for women. In recent decades, an increasing number of California tribal people have begun participating in the powwow, bringing their own dance styles into the arena.

On Sunday morning at 11 AM, a special ceremony is held to honor Veterans. All Veterans are welcome to participate. You do not have to have a tribal affiliation to take part.

Arts and craft vendors are an important part of the gathering. A number of Redbird's vendors are coming from Arizona and New Mexico this year, bringing with them traditional and contemporary jewelry, pottery, weaving and beadwork. Blending traditional designs with contemporary artistic methods, Pauli Carroll (Yurok, Hupa, Cherokee) and her daughter Karina King will be attending with their unique and stunning "California Native Glass." They have perfected the infusion process to produce multi-dimensional pieces of both function and artistic merit. Cultural demonstrators and storytellers as well as other non profit groups can also be found beneath their shade canopies, forming a second, broader circle around the dance arena.

Redbird's Children of Many Colors Powwow is free to attend. A $2.00 donation per vehicle is suggested to help offset the cost of hosting the gathering.

Where: Moorpark College lower athletic field, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA, (Ventura County)

When: Friday night 6 PM - 10 PM, Open Flute Circle, Vendor Preview

(All wind instruments and their players are welcome, regardless of tribal heritage or skill level)

Saturday 11 AM - 10 PM - Powwow

Sunday 11 AM - 6 PM - Powwow

What: Native American singing, dancing, drumming, arts, crafts, jewelry, fine art, food

Who: Hosted by Redbird, a 501(c)(3) Native American and environmental non profit association. For more information email redbirds_vision@hotmail.com or visit the website at www.RedbirdsVision.org