View Full Version : Red Earth 2008



metro
06-05-2008, 07:16 AM
Okay I did a search and the only thread I found was Red Earth for 2007. Here ya go for 2008...


Red Earth Festival begins Friday in downtown OKC
Journal Record
June 5, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – Many exciting events take place each year during the Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival when nearly 2,000 American Indian artists and dancers from throughout North America gather in Oklahoma City.

This year’s festival, Friday through Sunday at the Cox Convention Center, promises to be every bit as thrilling. Tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.com or at the door. For additional information, call Red Earth Inc. at (405) 427-5228 or visit Homepage - Red Earth Museum (http://www.redearth.org).

A grand parade, unlike any other parade in the world, opens the annual festival Friday at 10:30 a.m. Starting in downtown Oklahoma City at E.K. Gaylord Boulevard, it goes across Sheridan Avenue to Broadway Avenue, north to Robert S. Kerr Avenue, across to Robinson Avenue and down to the Cox Convention Center. The colorful parade will feature representatives of more than 100 tribes, all in full tribal regalia. That’s a sight to behold.

The Art Market of Red Earth opens at noon Friday, and the first Grand Entry of the dance competitors, with the goal of winning some of the $68,000 in prize money. The dancers will compete at noon and 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at noon on Sunday. The color and excitement of the dance competition is outstanding. Not often are the fancy tribal attires on view to the general public as they are in the competitions here, on men, women and children. The beating of the drums is almost hypnotizing, as are the jingles of the dancers’ bells.

A Red Earth Run – 5k run and two-mile fun walk – will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday on Regatta Park River Trails along the Oklahoma River downtown. The run is open to people of all ages and abilities.

Through the years, Red Earth has matured into one of the most respected visual and performing arts events of its type, setting the standard for many of today’s Indian art shows in other parts of the country. At Red Earth, visitors will be able to sample the works of some of the nation’s most celebrated Native American artists, with opportunities to purchase contemporary and traditional examples of beadwork, basketry, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, paintings, graphics and fashion attire during the juried art show and market.

Last year’s festival drew 4,342 participants, including artists, dancers, vendors, performers, volunteers, media, etc.Eric Oesch, deputy director of Red Earth Inc., said the Red Earth Festival, named a Top 100 Event in North America by the American Bus Association, also has been named Oklahoma’s Outstanding Event by the Oklahoma Tourism Department. He said the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau has estimated that the economic impact of the visitors from the Red Earth Cultural Festival equals $7,464,305. Red Earth Inc. is a nonprofit 501©(3) organization.

http://journalrecord.com/_images/articles/t_labsFancyDancer-highestRes-JP.jpg
A fancy dancer in full tribal regalia participates in a dance competition June 2, 2006, during the 20th Red Earth Festival at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. American Indians and others from around the country traveled to Oklahoma to witness and represent more than 100 tribes. (Photo by Jennifer Pitts)