Festival of the Americas

Pow-wow Style Activities, Music & Dance, Workshops, 40 Artisans, Food

Celebrating the early cultures of the Americas through music, dance, fine art and regalia

ARTISTS: 24 Navajo • 11 Pueblo • 4 Hispanic • 2 Hopi • 1 Paiute

BOOTHS: Pottery • Weaving • Metalwork • Jewelry • Wood – Painting • Sculpture • Fiber/bags/hats • Rugs • Beading • Carving • Moccasins • Native Foods

DEMONSTRATIONS: Mata Ortiz Pottery • Water Drums •

Basket Making • Indigenous Food • Mural Painting

PERFORMANCES: Friendship Dance • Flute Playing • Hoop Dance • Round Dance • Storytelling • Traditional Medicine • Youth Hoop Dance • Jingle Dance • Drumming • Latino Youth Dancers • Latino Roots Dance Company

The Kayenta Arts Foundation (KAF) is honored to present the premiere Festival of the Americas May 28 – 30, 2021. This first annual event is a multi-cultural outdoor festival that showcase the cultures of the first peoples of the Americas, all while raising money to support Native American Scholarships. Promoting secondary education for Native American students will create life-long success for indigenous persons. The family-friendly festival will celebrate the depth and beauty of early American cultures through artisan booths, educational workshops, demonstrations and performances that feature music, dance, fine art, unique customs, drum circles and more!

Much of this year’s festival will focus on Native American art and culture and takes place in the outdoor setting of Kayenta Art Village and the Center for the Arts at Kayenta, once the ancestral home of Paiute, with surroundings that showcase the stunning natural beauty of our area. The Festival of the Americas will be unique to Utah.

The event will promote collaboration between diverse cultural groups in the region. With more than 40 artisans to present their work and engage with visitors about the connection of their own work to their cultural heritage. In addition, the festival will create a celebratory community hub for the understanding and appreciation of the history and cultural fabric of our shared ancient American story and the land we now live on.

The earliest habitation of Native Americans in Utah dates to 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Against the Ivins City backdrop of ancient red rock landscape, these exquisite and advanced cultures have been preserved through music, dance, fine art, storytelling and sacred customs.

This three-day festival will feature an array of cultural arts forms and customs (painting, pottery, weaving, silversmithing, storytelling, dance, drumming and flute). In addition, the weekend event will feature pow-wow style activities such as drumming circles, friendship dances, storytelling and native food, weaving, and pottery workshops and demonstrations.

As a nonprofit organization, KAF is committed to offering visitors and residents of all ages an outdoor arts festival program that provides a safe, healthy experience for people of all ages. This event will draw together distinct tribal communities for the greater good of preserving of sharing these ancient cultures with local residents and visitors to the region.

SPECIAL SESSIONS

Blessing of the Grounds Opening Ceremony Closing Celebration

Event Details

It is with the generous support of our sponsors that KAF is able to bring such high-quality experiences to southern Utah. Our gratitude to: Yvonne Curley, Dixie State University Institute for Continued Learning (ICL) and Global Engagement, Webrand West, M&S Turquoise, Ivins City, Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office, Washington County Recreation, Arts & Parks, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, National Endowment for the Arts and the Center for the Arts at Kayenta, and Xetava Restaurant.

About Kayenta Arts Foundation and The Center for the Arts at Kayenta
Kayenta Arts Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and create an environment where diverse artistic endeavors can flourish. The Center for the Arts at Kayenta (CFAK) is the actual place where people in the greater southern Utah area come to learn, express, appreciate and celebrate art in all forms.