Pow Wow in the Park

How convenient to have the park that holds the annual Pow Wow and Mother Earth celebration about a mile and a half away from Mom's house. I walked over there this morning, and enjoyed myself so much, I ended up staying almost 4 hours! I've never been to a Pow Wow before and it was interesting watching and listening to all the different exhibitions. I was relieved that they were trying to incorporate history and education for not only the Native American tribes and culture, but also for preserving our environment.

There were displays about nature, and they brought out baby alligators, snakes, a skunk, and a tortoise. All were rescued and the speaker really drove home the point not to have these animals as pets (or at least be aware of what happens when these animals and reptiles grow up!).











There was a young bison, and a demonstration about wolves. All the wolves in this show have been rescued and one was even 15 years old. More interesting information was told to the crowd about the Alpha Male, Female, and pack instinct.





Several spectacular horses were on sight, and they were quite photogenic and patient with children wanting to pet them. At least one of these horses had Spanish ancestors. This is coincidental since the wild horses of Abaco are called Spanish Barbs.





My favorite part of the day was the dancing exhibition.







The outfit colors were beautiful and the music beat was infectious. They held tribal dances where the audience was welcome to join, and this elderly man was so excited to be a part of the action, complete with headdress and face paint.



The hoop dancer has been doing this since he was a young boy, starting with one hoop. He can now handle 19 hoops all together and not get caught up in any of them.



The costumes and dancing actually reminded me a bit of the Bahamas Junkanoo. It certainly shows that many nationalities have similar ways to celebrate their heritage and environment.