Festival of Arts planned for May long weekend

Denise Bluebird, curriculum development co-ordinator for the Seven Generations Education Institute here, is looking forward to bringing the arts to local aboriginal youth during the May long weekend.
Festival of Arts will run May 17-21.
“The festival has been designed for aboriginal youth from the age of 14 to 21,” Bluebird said Tuesday.
“We are going to have 13 workshops where artists from all over will share their experiences with the youth and teach them how to use art in their everyday lives.”
The first festival of its kind in the district, it will give aboriginal youth the chance to learn firsthand how to have a career in the arts.
“We are going to have a wide selection of artists come to the festival,” Bluebird noted. “We will have Jason Tuesday there who will teach the youth about classical guitar.
“We will also have a musician talk to the children about healthy lifestyles and being a role model.
“Probably one of the highlights of the festival will be a star quilt demonstration,” added Bluebird. “Each participant will make a block and then the quilt will be sewn together.
“Eventually we will have a draw for the quilt and the money raised for it will go toward our scholarship program.”
At a cost of $50 for the four-day festival, youth will have the chance to participate in a fashion show, as well as theatrical and musical performances.
“This type of festival is very important because it gives the youth some role models to look up to,” Bluebird remarked. “Aboriginal youth have very few role models who are happy where they are in life.
“There are very few representatives from the arts community that these youth can relate to.”
Creativity is very important to the aboriginal life, Bluebird stressed.
“It connects directly to spirituality in that they are really one in the same. The arts, whether that is music, drama, or painting, is an expression of identity, beliefs, and values.
“For the youth today, that has been lost and has been defined in Western terms,” she noted. “Through this festival, we are hoping to change the youths’ perspective and hopefully give them some insight into themselves.”
In addition to the workshops, those on hand also will have the chance to enjoy a good meal and maybe even bump into one of the many celebrities who will be attending.
“We have quite a few well-known aboriginal celebrities coming out for the festival,” Bluebird said. “Dakota House from ‘North of Sixty’ will be there and so will David Wolfman from the cooking show, ‘Cooking with the Wolfman.’
“I am very excited about the whole thing,” Bluebird enthused. “The public is welcome to come and participate in the events. Even though it is geared toward youth, we will not turn away anyone who is interested.”
For more information on the festival, call Bluebird at 274-2796.