Music is Major Part of Cherokee National Holiday Celebration

Native News Network Staff in Entertainment. Discussion »

Cherokee National Youth Choir

TEHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Music will fill the air at several free concerts during the 59th Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Friday, September 2, through Sunday, September 4.

There will be three days of inspirational gospel singing, a toe-tapping fiddlers' contest, and the award-winning Cherokee National Youth Choir will perform at events throughout the Holiday celebration.

An exciting live gospel sing is happening west of the main Cherokee Nation tribal complex, on the south side of Highway 62 on Friday, September 2. Gospel singers can take part in an open mike night starting Friday at 6 pm. On Saturday at the same location, featured gospel groups will perform, and other groups are welcome to sign up to participate, beginning at 2 pm. Those attending are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. On Sunday, the gospel performances move to the Sequoyah Schools chapel. A morning worship service will also be offered, beginning at 10 am.

On Saturday, September 3, beginning at 1 pm, spectators can see fiddlers compete for cash prizes at the Talking Leaves Job Corps gymnasium located at 5700 Bald Hill Road in Tahlequah. Admission is free and door prizes will be awarded. This is an air-conditioned venue with concessions available.

Visitors will also have lots of opportunities to catch performances by the Cherokee National Youth Choir on Saturday at various Holiday events, performing both new and classic material. The choir will be downtown at the Cherokee Holiday parade and on the courthouse square for the State of the Nation ceremony in the morning and will appear at the Holiday art show in the armory early in the afternoon.

The Cherokee National Youth Choir will then make appearances at the Cherokee Heritage Center, the Holiday softball tournament and the Holiday veterans' reception, which is being held at Sequoyah Schools' Place Where They Play event center. In the evening, the choir's music can be enjoyed at the gospel sing near the main Cherokee Nation tribal complex and the Cherokee Holiday inter-tribal powwow, held at the tribe's cultural grounds.

The Cherokee National Holiday, held annually over Labor Day weekend since 1953, commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the 1839 Cherokee Nation Constitution. With its exciting array of entertainment, cultural and athletic events, it has grown into one of the largest festivals in Oklahoma, attracting more than 90,000 visitors from across the world. The 59th Cherokee National Holiday is a smoke-free event.

It is sponsored by the Cherokee Nation, a modern tribe of more than 300,000 citizens with its capital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

This year's Holiday theme is "Jobs, Language and Community," reflecting the Cherokee Nation's emphasis on cultural and economic initiatives.

posted August 22, 2011 6:30 am edt