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Marvin Cole, a Western Carolina University graduate famous for his impersonations of Mark Twain, will entertain at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin’s Summer Coffee House.

Compelling performances by Cole as Twain have been lauded across the country and on major riverboats like the Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and the American Queen. Tharon Giddens’ review of Cole in the Atlanta Journal Constitution says, “With the perfect timing of a stand up comedian and the flair and fervor of an evangelist, Cole entertains an audience with recitations of Twain’s tall tales and short anecdotes.”

Suggested donation of $15.

828.524.6777, 828.524.3161, or buy at the door of 89 Sierra Drive.

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Middle school students in the area will have an opportunity to learn about Cherokee heritage during a “Mini-Camp for Middle Schoolers” offered by Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.

Designed for rising sixth-and seventh-graders, the camp will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon beginning Tuesday, July 20, and continuing through Friday, July 23. The cost is $35 per child.

With a theme of Cherokee heritage, the camp will allow participants to explore the history and contributions of the Cherokee people, past and present. Youth attending the camp will spend time with a Cherokee crafter, examine artifacts of historic value and visit significant Cherokee sites in the region.

For info, 828.227.7129. To register, 828.227.7397 or visit www.wcu.edu/13177.asp.

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Craft artists are invited to submit digital images of their work by July 19 to be considered for inclusion in The Bascom’s juried exhibition “American Craft Today.” This national competition and exhibition will feature original works in all craft media: ceramics, metal, wood, glass, fiber, book arts, etc. Cash awards will be made for various categories including best in show.

The exhibition will take place from October 2 to December 18 in The Bascom’s main gallery in Highlands.

Carol Sauvion will select 40-50 works. Sauvion is executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated “Craft in America” PBS television series.

www.thebascom.org/exhibitions or 828.526.4949.

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Regional artists are encouraged to take part in ColorFest, Art of the Mountains, an official event of the Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary Celebration.

The art festival will be held on Saturday, October 23, on the streets of downtown Sylva, where festival-goers can watch artists at work. All month, downtown Sylva shops will spotlight the work of regional Western North Carolina artists.

Catch the Spirit of Appalachia is partnering with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce & TTA and Jackson County’s Visual Arts Association to present ColorFest. Interested artists should visit www.spiritofappalachia.org or call 828.293.2239. Applications are due July 31.

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Witness the arresting culture of Apache, Totonac, Aztec, Crow, Navajo and Cherokee through ancient wisdom, song, dance, legend, arts and regalia all in one place. Indigenous tribes will gather for the 6th Annual Festival of Native Peoples on Friday, July 16, and Saturday, July 17, at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds in Cherokee.

Gates to the festival will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. with performances throughout the day. The Art Market Preview will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 16.

Considered the finest showcase of native dance, song and art in the Southeast, the event honors the collective history, customs and wisdom of some of the oldest documented tribes from across the Americas, including the 11,000-year-old Cherokee civilization which hosts the weekend’s revelry.

“The tribes are so different, and when we come together to celebrate our collective native heritage, we gain a better understanding of our own history and customs,” said Mary Jane Ferguson, director of marketing for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Daily admission is $10 per person; children six and under free. 800.438.1601 or visit www.cherokee-nc.com.

 

The Hoop Dance

 

Four-time world champion Hoop Dancer Tony Duncan will create many designs and images from “The Circle of Life.” By weaving these hoops through his body the dancer creates designs such as, the eagle, a butterfly, the sun, the moon, a snake, and Mother Earth.


Laguna

The Laguna Youth Group dancers share various traditional dances that are both a means of prayer and personification of the animals the Pueblo people hold sacred.

 

White Mountain Apache

 

Centuries ago, the Apache believed that there were mountain spirits living in the highest mountains near a cliff or a cave. If sickness came among the people, the mountain spirits’ medicine man had to call these spirits down from the mountain to dance during the night hours of darkness for the people, in order to bless them and keep evil spirits away. Today, there are but a few Crown Dance medicine men among the younger generation, who know the Crown Dance songs and prayers.

 

Totonac

The spectacular Totonac dancers, known as the pole flyers, will hurl themselves from the top of a 90-foot pole in a spectacle of swirling color in honor of the sun and the Totonac calendar.

The Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers) represent 57 tribes in Mexico. This sacred ceremony is dedicated to the sun and is similar in intent to the sun dance of the Plains Indians of the United States.

 

Yurapik

 

The Yurapik Dance Group of Alazka performs two common styles of Eskimo dancing, Yuraq and Yurapik, a prayer dance and an inherited dance that has been passed down from generation to generation.

 

Navajo

The Pollen Trail Navajo Dancers have been the featured dance group in the Grand Canyon area for more than eight years. They will perform: the Navajo Basket Dance, in the spirit of Hozho “Blessing Way;” Bow and Arrow Dance; The Dancing Ye’iis; and The Weaving Dance.

 

Aztec

The Tezcatlipoca Aztec Dancers from Mexico City will perform colorful dances representing the sun, the eagle the earth ad other symbols from their land.

 

Estun-Bah

 

The band Estun-Bah combines the traditional melodies of the Native American flute with the contemporary sound of the acoustic guitar, creating a musical journey of traditional and contemporary songs.

 

Cherokee

New to the festival is one of Cherokee youngest dance groups, the Dora Reed Child Care Center Traditional Dancers. See this energetic group of dancers, ages 3 to 5, doing renditions of Cherokee dances such as Friendship, Quail, Bear, Buffalo, and Eagle. Performer Paula Nelson will share contemporary songs written in the Cherokee language.

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