Honoring Our Weavers - Rug Show 2014

by John Aldrich

The 2014 Rug Show of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program represented the 25th anniversary of this event that began so humbly as a very small affair at the Kimball Art Center in 1990. This year's show honored those weavers who have been coming to the show for years as well as those who have passed on since the inception of the event.

It was gratifying that the show this year spurred record sales and attendance.

In recent years our weavers have been given a theme around which they create special rugs for the show. This year the challenge was to weave a self-portrait of themselves at the loom. This wall contained those rugs.

 The show began with special programs for school children on Thursday and Friday.

Some of the classes sponsor Elders through our classroom Amasani program. Katie Furcap received a quilt from her class.

The purpose of these programs is to give the children a glimpse of Navajo culture. They have an opportunity to see a variety of skills and activities that are important in the daily life of Navajo people. Weaving is, of course, the most important of these.

And the girls who had longer hair also had an opportunity to have it fixed in a traditional hair bun.

The students attending the show must have marveled that Israel Whitehair was able to weave such a beautiful rug at age twelve.

A special dinner was held Thursday evening to honor Elders and volunteers. A special thanks must go to the rug show chairpeople who devoted countless hours throughout the year to make the event happen. Each received a specially woven rug by Gloria Hardy.

The show opened to the public with a gala event on Friday evening. The first sight inside the door was the popular fine jewelry table.

Nearby was the table featuring rugs woven from handspun wool.

The Christmas Ornament Program provides an opportunity for people to purchase a beautiful hand-crafted ornament. Each has a photo of an Elder and a choice of things such as firewood and food certificates to help that Elder through the winter.

Throughout the show, Gary Hansen provided beautiful flute music.

The Walk In Beauty program benefits children on the reservation who often have very worn or ill-fitting shoes. Melyssa Holbrook, director of WIB had a dramatic display of shoes - old and new- along with thank you notes from the children.

Coordinating  the 200 or so volunteers who help at the show is a huge job. It was ably done by Elinda McKenna assisted by Mary Owen.

Linda and her assistants worked hard throughout the five day period of the show.

The Friday night auction is the only event during the show that directly benefits ANE. Samantha Pyne and her team did a great job this year with the bidding bringing in a record amount.

Photo albums of pictures from food runs of years past were available for Elders to view. These Teesto Elders enjoyed reminiscing.

On Saturday morning the Shi Yazhi Pageant gave young Navajo girls a chance to display what that had learned about their culture. Our new princess, Delaina Becenti, has great poise and will serve well as a representative of ANE.

During the weaving demonstration on Saturday and Sunday, show visitors were able to watch weavers at work and hear stories about their rugs.

Marty Whitehair, one of a generation of younger weavers, holds one of her beautiful rugs.

The Navajo Grandma Idol contest on Saturday afternoon is a popular. Singers were divided into age groups and had to make up a song about a subject they had only a few minutes to think about. Here are the three winners from the different age categories.

The Veterans Ceremony on Sunday morning is another very popular event. Speakers this year included 2 representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs of the Navajo Nation.

The third speaker was the son of our own Howard and Beverly Benally. Ben Benally is a veteran of the Afghanistan war and recipient of the purple heart.

At lunch of Sunday Santa made an appearance in the form of Bruce Burnham and presented each Elder with a stocking.

The show ended Sunday afternoon with the popular Pow Wow conducted by Harry James. There was lots of color along with thrilling drumming and singing.

The Friendship Circle completed the Pow Wow and provided a fitting end to the show.

These photos only touch the surface of activities during the event. Additional pictures can be seen here. If you were lucky enough to be a part of this year's show you know what a wonderful event it was. If not, we hope to see you at next year's show.

Setting Up For The Rug Show

by John Aldrich

The excitement builds as we are on the verge of opening the show. Today was set-up time, and we had a good turnout of volunteers to help with this important job. The space within the Snow Park Lodge starts as a blank canvas and ends up transformed into a spectacular display of rugs, crafts and jewelry. Following is a selection of photos to illustrate this process. They are presented without comment and show a variety of activities that took place as well as some of the assortment of rugs, crafts, and jewelry that will be available at the show.

Please come and join us during the three days the show is open to the public. More details can be seen here about the schedule of events.

The Rug Show Is Coming Soon

by John Aldrich

In just three weeks our annual rug show and sale will begin. We're excited to be offering the 25th anniversary of this event and to use the occasion to honor those weavers who have made it all possible. Many of the Elders attending the show have a part of the event since its inception. At last year's show we took a photograph of all our weavers and have used this as the centerpiece for our poster this year.

The poster itself can be seen here.

For a special theme this year, weavers were given the opportunity to create a rug showing themselves at their loom weaving. Most found this to be quite a challenge. These special rugs will be offered for sale at the opening of the show on Friday evening November 7th.

During the live auction that evening two of these rugs will be offered. The first, woven by Rena Robertson, shows herself at her loom.

The second, also woven by Rena, honors her mother who was one of the original group of weavers who came to the show 25 years ago. It shows her standing by her loom on which is depicted her final rug which was uncompleted when she died. The rug was completed by another family member and will also be auctioned that night.

There will be many other enticing packages in the live auction as well. Richard O'Keefe will once more be our auctioneer, and he conducts a very entertaining and fast-paced event.

Many other special events will occur during the show which will include the annual Shi Yazhi Princess Pageant, weaving demonstrations, the popular Navajo Grandma Idol Contest, the moving Veterans Ceremony, and the closing Pow Wow featuring many Native dancers. A complete list of events and times can be found on the rug show page of our web site.

The Adopt-A-Native-Elder rug show is perhaps the largest event of its kind in the country. There will be hundreds of rugs available for purchase as well as a large selection of jewelry and other crafts. At the show you have the opportunity to meet with and purchase directly from the artists who create these beautiful objects. The Snow Park Lodge at Deer Valley is transformed during the event into a dazzling display of Navajo culture.

 A special logo was designed for this 25th year celebration by Rodger Williams.

This is available  embroidered on special edition tee shirts and hats which can be purchased through our web site.

All are cordially invited to attend the show which will take place from Friday evening November 7th through Sunday afternoon November 9th.

We also encourage anyone interested to consider volunteering at the show. This can be a very rewarding experience offering the opportunity to help our Elders as well as learn about Navajo culture. The rug show page of our site provides more information as well as the link to our simple online application process for becoming a volunteer.

Whether you come as a volunteer or spectator, we look forward to seeing you at the show!

Announcing New Rug Show T-Shirts and Hats

by John Aldrich

The 25th anniversary of our annual rug show in Park City will be a very special event, and we are doing everything possible to honor our weavers. As part of this celebration we are offering specially designed T-shirts and hats. Rodger Williams designed a beautiful logo which has been embroidered onto each of the shirts and hats.

The T-shirts come in two styles with two colors, red and black. The women's shirt has a vee-cut neckline and the men's a round neck. The hats come in black and are a one-size-fits-all design.

Pricing of the shirts and hats also fits with our 25th anniversary theme - $25 for each. The small profit we will make on each sale will help defray the cost of staging the show. So help to support the show and at the same time acquire a unique shirt and/or hat. You may purchase these items through the Trading Post section of our web site or in person at the warehouse.

The sizing of the shirts is a little small, so we recommend that you order the next larger size than you ordinarily would buy.