Location: Mitchell Community College Continuing Education Center; 701 West Front Street, Statesville, NC 28677
Dates: Friday, January 20th to Sunday, January 22nd, 2017
Size Limit: The College has set the limit to 400 participants. Register now to guarantee your space!
Deadline: Registration must be postmarked by January 10th , 2017. Registrations will be taken on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please use the registration forms supplied with this mailing and provide all requested information. Registrations and payments should be mailed to the address shown on the form. Registrations after this date may not be guaranteed a meal ticket.
Event Pricing:
Participant | $38 Fee includes meals, classes, Friday and Saturday powwows, information booklet, space for sleeping, and event patch.
Saturday Day | $22 Fee includes classes, Saturday powwow, and event patch (no meals provided)
Saturday Day (w/Lunch) | $28 Fee includes classes, Saturday powwow, event patch, and lunch.
Powwows Only | $5 Fee provides access to campus after 5:00 pm for non-registered dancers and spectators. Children 5 and under are free but should still register.
This event is open to everyone with a desire to learn. Bring your scout or church group or make it a family weekend. Registration starts Friday at 5:00pm – follow the signs. Uniforms are not required but appropriate attire is requested.
The weekend begins with a Powwow on Friday night at 8:30pm. All dancers are welcome. When the MC calls for everybody to dance, you may enter the dance arena in your street clothes. It is preferable for you to wear long pants instead of shorts. This is a great opportunity to learn Powwow protocol. There are normally a number of exhibition dances on Friday night. If you haven’t determined the style of dance you want to pursue, this would be an excellent opportunity to see the different outfits and dance styles. Please bring a camping type chair to sit in if you are not dancing.
Rooms are provided in the college for sleeping. There are designated classrooms for Females and Males as well as an open area in the gym. Bring your cot and/or sleeping bag. Restrooms are available in each hall. There are a number of local hotels if you prefer to stay off-campus.
On Saturday, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided. You will receive a wristband to tell you which meal time to attend. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase between meals. Most people staying offsite eat breakfast at the hotel and old friends have supper at a restaurant. We are trying to keep from increasing the event fee. One way to do this is to reduce the amount of food we throw away by having an accurate count for meals. Please indicate the meals you plan to eat on your registration form. Please note that we have lost the use of the cafeteria this year due to facility upgrades. We will no longer have plated meals.
On Saturday, you will have the opportunity to attend as many as 5 classes starting at 9:00 am. A few classes may have a charge associated with them. An example would be an all-day class where you complete a pair of leather moccasins. Most classes, however, provide all of the materials you need free of charge. There are approximately 125 classes available on Saturday. Everyone can find classes that suit their interests and skill level. The classes offered include outfit construction (including beading, weaving, leatherwork, feather work, quill work, etc.), Powwow etiquette, dance styles and instruction, drumming, flute making, and basketry to name a few. The instructors travel from all over the United States to teach. They are extremely knowledgeable and always happy to answer your questions. There will be vendors available Friday through Saturday to purchase outfit materials if you just can’t wait to get started on your new outfit!
The Saturday night Powwow, starting at 8:15pm, is an excellent time to show off some of the skills you acquired during the Saturday classes. We often have in excess of 200 dancers on the floor on Saturday night representing a large variety of dance styles. This is a learning Powwow. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to help you with your dancing or to help you better understand Powwow protocol. Most of the young men and women you see dancing started at CIS in years past and love to show off their skills.
Please plan to leave the campus by 9:30 or 10:00am on Sunday morning.
CIS is a wonderful place to learn new skills and make lifelong friends. If you like the seminar weekend, the AICA committee, who hosts this Powwow, holds a local dance Memorial Day weekend where you can rejoin your new friends and dance all weekend. The Cabarrus Powwow Association holds a Powwow in September where you can reunite once again. In addition to these local dances, your new friends would love for you to attend the Powwows in their communities.
