The Painted Hand Casino Pow Wow has entered its 14th year, and Charles Ryder, General Manager of the Painted Hand Casino, says that this year has been another great year for the event.
Ryder says that the event is part of an overall growth of Pow Wows in the province, and that the overall trend is seeing a higher caliber of dancers and drummers at each event. Ryder says that the more dancing and drumming he sees over the weekend, the more impressed he is by the level they are at.
Ryder adds, the casino hosts the event to give back to the community, and to keep culture alive and relevant, especially for the youth. That is reflected in the theme of the 2014 event, "Honouring our Youth," and Ryder says that the youth was the focus of the programming overall. Ryder says that it's the youth that keep a culture going.
The Pow Wow exists as one of the ways the Painted Hand gives back, Ryder explains, and it takes a significant percentage of the casino staff to hold the event and keep it running. He says that they will continue because of the need to support culture in the community.
"Why we do it is to host and honour our culture to the community, to the surrounding communities, to visitors, First Nations and non-First Nations. Give back to them because they also support us, so we support them with our culture and showing them our culture and celebrations. Also having people meet is a good time for us."
