This Saturday, Dallas County Conservation invites people of all backgrounds and cultures to attend their 21st annual Prairie Awakening Celebration, where they can immerse themselves in the rich Native American history of central Iowa.

The theme for this year is “Much Can be Learned While Watching Children at Play,” which Conservation Outreach Coordinator Ken Keffer says should be an interesting juxtaposition from the focus on elders at last year’s event. The Meskwaki Nation will be featured at this year’s festivities, including a youth drum circle and a contingency of youth dancers. The program will once again be led by local champion hoop dancer Dallas Chief Eagle, who will share messages through a dance presentation and bonfire.

Keffer says there will be a wide assortment of activities throughout the celebration, which will run from 3-9 p.m. on September 7th. He encourages the public to attend the free event, especially if they’ve never seen Prairie Awakening before. “It really is just a great, wonderful event, you know, a lot of community building happens there. You get the tribal drumming, it’s kind of interactive where you can step out and be a part of the program as well. And it’s, you know, a lovely fall day at Kuehn Conservation Area, so it’s just kind of a great annual event. We invite everyone to attend, especially bring the kids out this year!”

To learn more about this year’s Prairie Awakening Celebration, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com. You can also click the link below to visit the official informational page.

https://www.dallascountyiowa.gov/services/conservation-and-recreation/conservation/upcoming-events