NEAH BAY — Canoe races, traditional dances, slahal games, fireworks, a parade and vendors of native crafts will mark the three-day celebration of Makah culture that begins today.
The 87th annual Makah Days begins at noon today and runs through 2 p.m. Sunday.
Traditional cultural dances and modern dances tonight and Saturday will be in the new full-sized gym, which was built to accommodate youth activities during the 2010 Canoe Journey gathering in July, when tribes from all over the Northwest gathered for a week at Neah Bay.
“We are so much more prepared because we had the canoe journey here this year,” said Rose Jimmicum, who is organizing the event.
“We have so much parking cleared and are expecting more people to come this year for Makah Days.”
Forty-two vendors from throughout the Northwest will sell their goods in the street fair on Bayview Avenue all three days.
“I believe [Makah Days is] kind of a combination of celebrating our citizenship and the survival of Makah culture,” said Janine Bowechop, executive director of the Makah Cultural and Research Center.
“So every year we do the big parade, the dances, traditional foods.”
Salmon bakes are planned at noon on both Saturday and Sunday.
Masters of ceremonies
The theme of this year’s celebration is in memory of two former masters of ceremonies of the festival.
Ed Claplanhoo and Ron Markishtum Sr., who faithfully attended the event for the past four decades before they died earlier this year, are the subjects of this year’s theme of “Honoring our Past MCs,” Jimmicum said.
Thelma Claplanhoo, Ed’s Claplanhoo’s widow, and Lina Markishtum, Ron Markishtum’s widow, will be the grand marshals of the parade, planned at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Claplanhoo died of a heart attack at the age of 81 on March 14 of a heart attack. Nearly 1,000 mourned him in a memorial service in Neah Bay the following Saturday.
Markishtum died after a car wreck April 15 at the age of 71.
“Ed only missed one time of being a master of ceremonies in his whole life,” Jimmicum said.
“Ron was also here to support us throughout all the years.”
Makah royalty will be crowned during the coronation at 7 tonight.
Fireworks will soar above the bay beginning at 10 tonight — when slahal games also begin.
A tournament of the traditional gambling game will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Most Makah Days events are free. Parking is free unless a visitor intends to explore beyond the Makah Day events.
Visiting Shi Shi Beach, Cape Flattery or hiking other trails requires a $10 recreational pass.
The passes are available at Washburn’s General Merchandise, 1 Bayview Ave., and at the Makah Cultural & Research Center, which is on the left from state Highway 112 upon entering Neah Bay.
Neah Bay is at the west end of state Highway 112, at the most northwestern tip of the contiguous United States. The state highway becomes Bayview Avenue, the main roadway through Neah Bay.
__________
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
