Pow-What?

For anyone that knows where Sopchoppy, FL is, you can understand that it isn't usually a weekend destination. Even if you don't know where it is, you can probably guess that it isn't exactly a thriving metropolis. No, it's one of those places that people from Tallahassee might recollect that it's "somewhere between here and the beach." For us, however, it was a place to go on this hot Friday morning.

We went to a Pow-wow. You heard me. I said pow-wow. My husband gave me a raised eyebrow "huh?" when I told him what our plans were for the day. It seemed normal enough to me--like going to the county fair or the zoo. Growing up, we attended many pow-wows in an attempt to explore our family history of Creek and Cherokee and find entertainment.

Basically, it's a bunch of people from one tribe or another who gather together (with campers and tents and such) to sell crafts and jewelry in booths and promote their culture through music, dancing, storytelling, etc.

Apparently, Friday mornings are not the best time to go, because there was a very small turnout. The vendors seemed to be just setting up when we got there. Others seemed to be just waking up and stretching in front of their campers.

We still managed to have a good time. Noodle, Tabitha, and Hopers all got drums (thanks Amie) and proceded to stir things up a bit. We realized that there weren't going to be any dances until the evening and mentioned our regrets to one of the vendors. In moments, there was a small flurry of activity and suddenly we had our own private dancing lesson, complete with a full group of drummers/singers/chanters and 4-5 dancers. In the photo, you can see one of the dressed-up dancers showing Hopers, Tabitha and Amie the proper steps. Noodle and I also danced. It was fun and left us laughing and sweating.

So even though Sopchoppy wouldn't normally be my first choice in entertainment recommendations, I do recommend attending a pow-wow sometime. It can be educational and fun. Noodle got to experience a different kind of music and dance than she'd ever known. Hopers really got into it and bobbed her head and body up and down to the rhythm. Seth even stopped raising his eyebrow after a while.