Featured as a “must-attend festival” in Patricia Schultz's best-seller, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the 11th annual Indian Arts and Culture Festival takes place from May 27 to June 5 in southwest Colorado’s Mesa Verde Country®.The celebration begins on Memorial Day Weekend with events in Mesa Verde National Park. An authentic juried Indian art market features world-renowned Pueblo, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, Ute and Apache artists; all representing tribes who claim a cultural affiliation with Mesa Verde National Park. This year’s festival featured artist is the exceptional Hopi potter, Valerie Namoki.
The festival, recognized as one of the “Top 100 Events in North America” by the American Bus Association, also features a Navajo rug seminar and auction, a Native American concert, Native American dancers, traditional foods, and cultural programs. The Anasazi Heritage Center will feature a special exhibit, Sacred Images: A Vision of Native American Rock Art. This photographic exhibit joins the talents of three wilderness photographers with the storytelling skills of indigenous peoples to present the visionary power of Utah’s rock art.
Guides from Ute Mountain Tribal Park will offer special archaeological tours during the festival, including a Porcupine House and Ute Petroglyph Tour and an Anasazi Sun Calendars and Petroglyphs Tour in Mancos Canyon.
Mesa Verde Country® is the southwest Colorado travel destination surrounding Mesa Verde National Park. The towns of Cortez, Dolores, Mancos and Towaoc, and the entire Mesa Verde Country® area, comprise the archaeological center of America.
For more information about top events in Colorado take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Colorado.
For a full schedule of festival events, visit: www.mesaverdecountry.com/tourism/festivals/iacf/iacfschedule.html