Cherokee Fall Fair: Anadagonvtisgv

This week the Cherokee Fall Fair comes to life with traditional food, art show, stickball games, entertainment, rides, and more.  For more than a hundred years, Cherokee people have gathered at this time to share their culture and their harvest with their community and with outsiders.  “The word for Fair means, where they compete,” said Jerry Wolfe, Beloved Man of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, “Anadagonvdisgv.”  Tribal members will be competing for ribbons and cash prizes for hundreds of categories of arts and crafts.  Communities like Paint Town and Bird Town compete for the best booth.  Teams compete in the famous Cherokee stickball game, anetsodi, the “Little Brother of War.”  Young Cherokee women vie for the titles of Miss Cherokee, Teen Miss Cherokee, Junior Miss Cherokee, and Little Miss Cherokee.  They introduce themselves in Cherokee language and demonstrate their talent in a cultural area, like a song in Cherokee language, a traditional dance, or demonstration of a traditional craft.  Today, judges have gathered in the Museum’s Art Studio to evaluate the pies, cakes, preserved food, and other entries in food categories.
The Cherokee Indian 104th Fall Fair opens Tuesday at 10 am and closes Saturday evening at 10 pm with fireworks.  Come experience bean bread, chestnut bread, or other traditional food, ride the ferris wheel, see the stickball games, hear some music, and enjoy!

See video of the fair here.