Native American Festival draws thousands

ALBANY — Thousands of revelers gathered under pristine spring skies Saturday to celebrate the diverse dance, art and culture of native tribes at the annual Native American Festival at Albany’s Chehaw Park.

Now a fixture in the Good Life City for the past three decades, the Native American Festival has built a reputation as one of the best events of its kind and a signature event for many Southwest Georgia families who flock to the wild animal park and nature preserve on Philema Road each year.

And this year was no different.

After having what Chehaw Executive Director Don Meeks called an “amazing” opening day during Friday’s kids day, Saturday saw even more patrons flood into the park to enjoy the day.

“We expect a record-breaking weekend,” said Chehaw Park Director of Community Engagement Morgan Burnette just before noon Saturday. “Friday was already amazing, and today has been even better.”

With a steady breeze, no rain in sight and high temperatures for the day in the mid-70s, Burnette credited the near perfect weather for such a strong turnout.

“It’s the first weekend in a while that we haven’t had rain at least one day,” Burnette said. “It’s really nice because, with this great weather, people feel like they can come out and enjoy themselves and not have to battle the elements.”

While the excellent weather certainly made for an enjoyable atmosphere, guests who attended the festival on Saturday said they were enjoying all the different Native American demonstrations, which included arts and crafts, music and especially dancing.

“I really like watching the dancers the most,” said Moultrie’s Traci Clayton, a Chehaw Park yearly member who came for the day with her family. “I grew up coming to this. I used to come when I was little.”

Clayton also got to relive a moment from her youth and share it with her son, Nathan, as the two took part in a ceremonial dance with Diamond Brown’s Touch the Earth dancers.

“That felt really good,” Clayton said after the dance. “It was an experience I’ll never forget. It really brought me back to my childhood, because I did that when I was young.”

Like Clayton, a large portion of the attendees were also return visitors, but the crowd boasted plenty of first-timers, too, including Richard Byrd from Leesburg, who came at the behest of his wife.

“This is the first time I’ve come,” said Byrd, who owns a landscaping and lawn maintenance business. “I’m usually so busy this time of the year, but my wife told me ‘you’re coming this year,’ so here I am.”

Although it was his wife who provided the initial motivation to attend the festival, Byrd said he was glad he listened to her because he was really enjoying the sights and learning about Native American culture from the demonstrators and vendors.

“It’s very informative,” Byrd said. “The vendors have been very nice and are very informative. You learn a lot. I’m glad I came. And I’ll be back again next year.”

Patrons like Byrd weren’t the only ones who were pleased with the day’s events, as several vendors and demonstrators said this weekend’s festival was one of the best they had been to in recent years.

“The vendors and performers are super pleased,” said Burnette. “This is one of their favorite festivals to come to every year, so when it works out like this, with great weather and great crowds, they’re happy.”

“This weekend’s going great,” said Chris Adams, a demonstrator from Coffee County, who was showing guests how native people used fire and primitive tools to make canoes and other wooden implements. “I’m very pleased this year. I have a passion for history, and this is a place where history comes alive.”

Indeed, history was coming to life throughout the day as different tribes performed dances, played music and even played a game of Muscogee stickball in the center arena. Meanwhile, demonstrators like Adams lined the perimeter, teaching visitors about primitive pottery and tool-making and how to weave pine needle baskets, among other crafts.

That variety of activities definitely resonated with those who spent their day at the festival, learning about the lives of Native American tribes.

“I love the culture and everything you learn just walking around,” said Clayton. “I like going to the exhibits, listening to the stories, listening to their history, and how they did things long ago. It’s really fun.”

Both Meeks and Burnette expect the fun to continue today as well.

“Today has been great, and we expect tomorrow to be great, too,” said Burnette. “It’s been really nice, and we couldn’t be any happier.”

The Native American Festival continues today from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $12.85 per adult, $8.35 for children 4-12, and $5 for members. Guests can expect to see the full compliment of vendors and demonstrations, including dancing from the Touch the Earth dancers, Muscogee stickball and performances from musician Arvel Bird.