The 36th annual Fourth of July Powwow at Three Rivers Lodge in Manteca enters its second day today with the grand entry starting at 1 p.m. If you miss today’s colorful parade of dancers, the spirited rhythmic Native American drummers, or the traditional food and arts and crafts, you can catch up on all the festivities Sunday. The last day of this summer gathering of different tribes from all over California and about a dozen other states including Oklahoma, New Mexico and Wisconsin will run from noon until 7 p.m.“Our event is on their calendar, so we get (visitors) every year from across the country,” said Ramona Valadez, executive director of Three Rivers Lodge which has been playing host to this traditional cultural celebration for nearly four decades.Last year, attendance during the first two days of the powwow was more than 2,000, Valadez said.Among the powwow participants who came all the way from Southern California were Anna Jacome and her four children. Her husband stayed at home this time because of his job, she said.“This is the first powwow where I drove by myself without my husband,” said the stay-at-home Jacome who brought along sons Dakota, 8, and Jay, 10; and daughters, Cheyenne, 17, and Monica, 18, who will be a freshman at the University of San Diego this fall.
THREE RIVERS LODGE
Powwow continues today, Sunday