Mission San Luis Hosts Two-Day Southeastern Native American Festival This Weekend

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –

Mission San Luis invites the public to enjoy two days of Southeastern Native American music, tribal dances, craft vendors, storytelling, cultural demonstrations and activities at its Winter Solstice Celebration on Saturday, December 15, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, December 16, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"The Winter Solstice Celebration is a great opportunity to explore the Native American heritage of Mission San Luis by experiencing it first-hand," said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. "Enjoy award-winning musicians and dancers, and learn about the tribal culture and heritage of Indian groups from a variety of southeastern states."

Craft vendors will be selling a variety of jewelry, gourd art, dance regalia, traditional instruments, shell art, wood carvings, clothing, native plants and more.

Performances and activities during Winter Solstice Celebration include:

 Dance (both performance & participatory):

 Warriors of AniKituhwa - Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

 Mississippi Band of Choctaw Social Dancers

 Lyndon Alec, hoop dancer from the Alabama-Couchette Tribe

Music:

 Rita Youngman - Seminole Indian folk musician

 Painted Raven - Contemporary Native American flute and world music by Annette Abbondanza (Painted Raven) of Cherokee and Sioux heritage and Holly Harris (Red Feather) of Cherokee heritage.

Cultural Demonstrations and Activities:

 Apalachee Indian craft & cultural demos

 Canoe carving demonstration - Pedro Zepeda, Seminole Indian Tribe

 Cherokee blow dart demo - Warriors of AniKituhwa

 Mississippi Choctaw crafts, cooking and stickball demonstrations

 Archery and atlatl (spear throwing) activities

 Children's crafts

 Mission San Luis Living History cooking, candlemaking & blacksmithing demonstrations

 Sunscope viewing - Tallahassee Astronomical Society (Saturday 12/15)

 Drum circles (Saturday 12/15)

Food vendors will be on site. Parking is available at Mission San Luis and at the FSU Spirit Way/Stadium Drive Parking Garage where a shuttle will be running every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Admission to the festival is included with regular-priced admission to Mission San Luis. Adults are $5, seniors 65 and up are $3, children ages six to 12 are $2 and admission is free for Mission San Luis members, children under six and active duty military.

For more information, including performance schedules and ticket purchase, visit missionsanluis.org or visit our Facebook event page.

Grant funding is provided by Leon County Division of Tourism Development/Visit Tallahassee. The event is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, as well as the Friends of Florida History, and First Commerce Credit Union. 

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About Mission San Luis

Mission San Luis, Florida's Apalachee-Spanish Living History Museum, was the western capital of Spanish Florida from 1656 to 1704. The Mission, now a National Historic Landmark, brings the early 1700s to life with living history interpreters in period dress, reconstructed period buildings, exhibits, and archaeological research. The site is managed by the Florida Department of State, and support is provided by the Friends of Florida History, Inc. Mission San Luis is located at 2100 West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee, Florida, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 850.245.6406 or visit missionsanluis.org.