NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, July 15.
LA PUSH — For three days this weekend, the Quileute tribe will offer Quileute Days, a celebration of its cultural heritage and modern identity with traditional games, food and dancing, along with contemporary entertainment.
The festival in La Push — which is free and open to the public — will begin with traditional canoe races at noon today at First Beach.
The festival will continue until 1 p.m. Sunday with the final canoe races.
Quileute Days is conducted mostly on the main street of La Push, which is about 12 miles west of Forks on state Highway 110, located on the Pacific Coast at the mouth of the Quillayute River.
Dances, scavenger hunt
Popular events introduced in the past few years will return, including two street dances and a scavenger hunt, said Russell Brooks, events coordinator for the tribe.
Returning this year to the lineup will be youth softball and poker, he said.
No additional information on the scavenger hunt will be released until just before the hunt, at which time participants will receive additional instructions.
The Main Street dance party will be held on two nights — tonight and Saturday — at the stage on Main Street.
At 8 p.m. Saturday, rock bands Scatter Their Own and Daisy Chain will play during a free concert on Main Street. The concert is sponsored by the tribe.
“One of the biggest things is we have a renowned band of international acclaim, Scatter Their Own,” Brooks said.
“They’ve traveled coast to coast and up into Canada.”
The band was a nominee for best rock album for the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards in Manitoba, Canada, last year.
Saturday’s activities
Saturday’s activities will be full of variety, including softball, a parade down Main Street, canoe races, salmon baked in the traditional way and horseshoes.
As usual, the tribe will host a fireworks show at 10 p.m. Saturday at First Beach.
Fireworks will be shot over the water, while visitors will be seated on the beach.
“We’ve got one of the best fireworks shows on the entire [North Olympic] Peninsula,” Brooks said.
Canoe journey stop
On Saturday, canoe families on the annual Paddle to Nisqually will stop in La Push.
A canoe family from the Quileute tribe will join them on their journey Sunday.
“If people are in La Push, they’ll also be able to watch the canoes come in from Hoh River and Quinault,” Brooks said.
“If they are around Sunday, they can see them all leave together.”
On Sunday, the weekend will be capped with a fun run, more softball, stick games and canoe races.
For more information, visit www.quileutenation.org or phone 360-374-5091.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
