By ROBERT JUMPER
ONE FEATHER EDITOR
The Cherokee Indian Fair will take place Oct. 7-11 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. The Destination Marketing Department has prepared the lineup for this year’s event. The theme for this year’s Fair is Cherokee People: Our Legends and Tales. Each week, leading up to the Fair, the Cherokee One Feather will print a day schedule showing all the activities at the Fair.
The second day is traditionally known as “Children’s Day”. Each day of the Fair has its own unique theme. The day is geared to youth activities, including unlimited carnival rides for children up to the age of 17 years. Children must meet minimum height requirements for rides due to safety considerations, or an adult must accompany any child not meeting the requirements (adult will be required to purchase a ride ticket or band). Unlimited rides will begin at 3pm and continue until the carnival closes that night. Children will be able to get their unlimited ride bands when gates open on Wednesday and distribution will continue throughout the day.
Big Cove takes on Wolfetown in a youth stickball game at last year’s Cherokee Indian Fair. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather)
Children’s day is filled with storytelling, traditional games and activities. The baby crawling is a race to the finish line between infants that is great family fun. Longest hair is a contest that has boys and girls show off their long locks of hair for prizes. Bubblegum bubble blowing will pit top bubblegum bubble blowers against each other where the biggest bubble wins. Youth stickball is a popular attraction that features Cherokee youth in a traditional game that has been handed down through generations.
“What a great day to be a kid!” says Howard Wahnetah, Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds and Special Events supervisor. He expressed excitement for the variety of activities that will be offered up on Children’s Day. He said that they should be prepared for “a full day of fun and excitement”.
A returning performer for this day is Bill Grimsley with his magic show. Grimsley has performed around the world, won several awards and is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He has performed in Cherokee for years and various events, including several years at Children’s Day at the Fair.
The evening entertainment begins with the Little Miss Cherokee pageant. Local young ladies will compete in traditional pageant categories to vie for the title of Little Miss Cherokee.
At 8:30 pm, the band Hotel California will take the stage. To quote the band’s website, “By blending their extraordinary vocal and musical talents, Hotel California faithfully and accurately reproduces the sound of the Eagles studio recordings while recreating a classic sound which undeniably transcends the boundaries of Rock, R&B, and Country while delivering a modern, action packed performance that brings this timeless music into the new millennium” (https://www.hotelcal.com). The band recreates classic stage performs of hits like “Take it Easy”, “Heartache Tonight” and “Hotel California”. Hotel California performs up to 200 times a year across the country.
Faye Pheasant and Angela Hull are the organizers for Children’s Day and may be contacted via email at fayephea@nc-cherokee.com and angehull@nc-cherokee.com, respectively; phone at the Cherokee Welcome Center 554-6490. General questions about the Cherokee Indian Fair should be directed to Howard Wahnetah 554-64571,howawahn@nc-cherokee.com, or Frieda Huskey 554-6492, friehusk@nc-cherokee.com).
Children’s Day schedule
10:30am – Archery at Unity Fields
11am – Gates/Exhibit Hall opens
11:30am – Baby Crawling Contest
12pm – Greasy Pig and Cornhole sign-ups
1pm – Lunch, storytelling on stage
1:30pm – Bill Grimsley Magic Show on stage
2pm – Longest Hair, Teen Boy and Girl
2:30pm – Bubble Gum Contest
3pm – Youth Stickball, 11 and under
4pm – Longest Hair, Youth Boy and Girl
5pm – Youth Stickball, 12-15
6pm – Greasy Pig Contest
6:30pm – Bill Grimsley Game Show Mania
7pm – Little Miss Cherokee pageant
8:30pm – Hotel California
10pm – Gates close
