Southwest Indian Arts Festival comes to Smoki this weekend

Native American art and entertainers will fill the Grace Sparkes Activity Center for the ninth annual Smoki Museum Southwest Indian Arts Festival this Saturday and Sunday.

Highlights will include the Granite Mountain Gourd Society's Spring Gourd Dance at 10 a.m. Saturday. Afternoon performances will feature the Largo Family Dancers and members of the Prescott Pow Wow, who will also perform at noon on Sunday, followed the Apache Crown Dancers.

Alongside this entertainment will be more than 40 Indian artists who will exhibit a wide variety of arts and crafts, including Bruce Hodgins, Jesse Hummingbird, Al Bahe, Weaver Selina, Curt Lomawaima, Jerry Whadago and more. In addition, children will have a craft area set up just for them.

The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Admission is $5; children under 12 and native peoples are free. The Grace Sparkes Activity Center is located at 824 E. Gurley St., just south of Smoki Museum.

For more information, call the Smoki Museum at 445-1230 or visit www.smokimuseum.org.