Dramatic sights, sounds at Indian Summer Festival

Indian Summer Festival held Sept. 10-12 at Milwaukee’s lakefront Henry Maier Festival Park, this year includes a combined ceremony for both the first-ever Indian Summer Music Awards. (I.S.M.A.) and the second annual Indian Summer Film and Video Image Awards on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 7-10 p.m. at Indian Summer Festival. Organizers also have announced a Friday, Sept. 10 “Indian Summer Music Awards Showcase” at 7 p.m.

During the festival’s three-day run, festgoers will enjoy cultural demonstrators, five entertainment stages with a wide range of music, lacrosse games and demonstrations, fine arts area, marketplace, American Indian foods, herbal area, voyageurs encampment, and more.

The drama and pageantry of the festival’s competition pow-wow dazzles with its glorious mix of sights and sounds. Grand Entries are held at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, a spectacular fireworks display is kicked-off with a dramatic torch-lit canoe procession.

Entertainers at Indian Summer include Robert Mirabel, and exciting newcomer Derek Miller. Returning to the festival’s entertainment stages this year are Grammy winner Mary Youngblood, Joanne Shenandoah, Litefoot, Brule, and Aztec dancers.

Visitors to the festival can watch people from many different American Indian nations demonstrate traditional skills that were, in many cases, learned from parents or grandparents. The popular hands-on workshops for all ages will be offered again at The Gathering Place. For the first time, Olympic-style, amateur boxing will be part of the festival action. A Native American boxing invitational, sponsored by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican, will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

Indian Summer's villages, where traditional dwellings are recreated, bring to life time-honored traditions. The Circle of Fine Art Exhibition displays fine art with American Indian themes. The range of media represented by this elite group of artists truly makes this a “festival within a festival.”

The Indian Summer Marketplace is one of the most popular areas at the festival, where vendors offer an array of Native American-inspired crafts, artwork, books, music, pottery, blankets, jewelry, toys and beads. Traditional American Indian foods are available.

On Sunday, there is a non-denominational Prayer Ceremony at 9:30 a.m. in the festival’s pow-wow arena. Those attending the ceremony are admitted to the festival free of charge. Dylan's 5K Run & Walk for Autism again is a part of the festival on Sunday.

Regular festival hours are 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices are $9 (advance), $10 (gate) for adults; $4 (advance), $5 (gate) for children 6-12 and elders over 55; children under 6 are free. Advance tickets are available locally at various locations as listed on the Indian Summer Web site. The Indian Summer office is located at 10809 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite #101, West Allis, WI 53227. For more information, phone (414) 604-1000 or visit the Web site at www.indiansummer.org