Cape Coral will get its second taste of Native American culture next weekend, as the second annual Cape Coral Indian Festival returns to Sun Splash Family Waterpark.
Co-organizer Barbara Huntoon said people can expect all the things they loved last year, including hand-made gifts, Native American arts and crafts, jewelry, leather work, beadwork and food.
She said that public response to last year’s festival was simply overwhelming.
“Everyone asked us to come back, they were just so fascinated with the culture,” she said. “There’s a lot of Native American culture in Southwest Florida, and they came out of the woodwork, so to speak, when they heard of the festival.”
Huntoon and her husband Rex Begaye organizes the festival, along with a festival in Sarasota.
Begaye and Huntoon travel the country for seven months out of the year, every year, selling his Native American art, and teaching people about his culture.
“Presenting the culture properly is very important to Rex,” she said.
The festival will also feature a number of musical acts, which are completely different from last year’s performers, Huntoon said.
This performers include Little Bigmountain from the Comanche/Mohawk nation with his dance troupe, which will be performing traditional Native American drumming, singing and various styles of dance throughout the weekend.
Also scheduled to appear is Frank Standing Eagle of Cherokee ancestry, who is a talented flutist and flute maker. Standing Eagle, too, will perform throughout the weekend.
Huntoon said they are already looking to next year, hoping to make the festival one of the Cape’s newest traditions.
She added that the city has shown interest and wants to support their efforts.
“It’s a seedling we’ve planted and wanted to grow,” she added. “Our commitment is to share it with the Cape and to watch it grow.”