Hebron powwow is early: Fifth annual event moves from Sept. to this weekend

With just days to go until the annual First Light Drum and Vermont Turtle Clan Intertribal Gathering, organizer Sally Reed isn’t sure quite what to expect, but she’s got a feeling the fifth year of the Hebron powwow could be bigger than any of those in the past.

“We decided to move it from late September to late August, because we got tired of freezing out there, and we are definitely getting more phone calls and more interested from traders,” said Reed, a member of the Turtle Clan, and is co-organizing the event with Robin Howland of First Light.

The free event, which has a family focus, will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25, and Sunday, Aug. 26, at 230 Blossom Road in Hebron.

“We’re hoping for a couple of hundred people there,” said Reed, who notes there have been years when the event has been focused closely on the 50 or so members of the two clans, but added that spectators are welcome at the event.

“We like to explain what we are doing, both for the spectators and for our own children.”

Reed said there will be drumming circles, singing and dancing. There will be a grand entrance each day at noon, and there is a potluck supper Saturday night.

To get to the powwow site from Granville, drive south on Route 22 toward Salem, take a left onto Tiplady Road in Hebron, then a right onto Blossom Road.

For further information on the event, please call 802-989-5845 or 802-465-8054.