Arts & Entertainment Archives - Page 81 of 113

Montreal’s First Peoples’ Festival of Fun is Almost Here

Gale Courey Toensing

In a few short weeks, a 100-foot tall tipi will once again rise up at Place des Festivals, the main square smack in the middle of downtown Montreal, in preparation for the 23rd First Peoples’ Festival.

This year’s festival will take place July 30 through August 5 at Place des Festivals and various sites around the city, as well as across the St. Lawrence River on Mohawk territory at Kahnawake. The giant tipi anchors a state-of-the-art sound system and stage where concerts take place, films are screened, and dancers and other performers entertain and educate thousands of people who come to the festival.

André Dudemaine (Innu), the co-founder, president and artistic director of the First Peoples’ Festival, described this year’s program for the Présence autochtone—the French name for First Peoples’ Festival—in a media release.

“This is a cultural event that, as its name indicates, is a presence, and a constant one,” Dudemaine said. “Our festival’s 23rd edition flows from a far more ancient presence and constancy, the millennial cultures of the original peoples of this part of the planet. Despite many efforts to erase these peoples’ indelible mark or relegate them to invisibility, a festival in Montreal can still bear the name Présence autochtone, in dignity and pride.”

The hatchet, Dudemaine noted, has become a metaphor that hits hard and loud—artistically—in the films, poetry, paintings, sculpture and other visual arts, literature, music, legends, stories and history expressed and displayed during the weeklong indigenous celebration.

The First Peoples’ Festival began as a celebration of indigenous filmmaking, and that tradition continues to play a major role in the festival, with numerous screenings throughout the week. Indeed, the festival maintains perhaps the largest archives of indigenous films searchable at http://www.nativelynx.qc.ca/en/filmo.html.

This year’s festival will open with the world premiere of filmmaker Pierre Bastien’s Paroles amérikoises, the opening film, which will be shown on July 30 in the Grand Bibiliothèque auditorium. The film is about Innu poet Rita Mestokosho and the poets she has summoned to Ekuanitshit (“where things run aground”), an Innu community of just over 500 people who were transferred by the federal government to the remote reserve at the confluence of the Mingan River and the Gulf of Saint-Lawrence.

Mitchif (a world premiere) by André Gladu, celebrates the memory of the Métis heroes Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. Xingu is a Brazilian feature based on the lives of the Boas brothers, veritable South American Schindlers who saved many lives by creating the first officially recognized Indian territory in Brazil. Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, a sumptuous German production on contemporary Maya cosmovision facing off against the destruction of natural spaces and the hope of the new era that has just begun. Two other not-to-be-missed feature films are Polvo, a story of revenge and rough justice in post-civil-war Guatemala, and the Argentine film Belleza, a diabolical intrigue involving three women—the mother, the daughter and the young Indigenous housemaid.

Poet-singer-songwriter-film director Richard Desjardins will perform l’Existoire ultime (Ulimate Existence) in his last concert before taking an extended leave from performing. Inuit musician Beatrice Deer will open the concert on August 3 at Club Soda, a legendary Montreal music venue that hosts international performers. Two major free concerts are also on tap.

“Fiddle No More is a war cry to say out loud that the bullshit is over and that Amerindians are here to stay and that their presence will be felt with even more strength and determination,” Dudemaine said. The concert will feature rockers CerAmony and Digging Roosts on August 1. The next night Électrochoc zaps the crowd with vibrant music. On August 3, all traffic stops on St. Catherine Street, the main thoroughfare of downtown Montreal, as the Nuestramericana friendship parade takes place, with Indigenous Peoples from all over the western hemisphere marching and dancing to drums. (Related: Video: UNDRIP Parade at the Montreal First People’s Festival)

Other festival happenings include a discovery tour showcasing Aboriginal Montreal; a photo exhibition of the Long Walk of Innu women to Montreal for Earth Day 2012; Inuit sculptors at work on the plaza; a cinema space in a Longhouse where the people can discover works by young First Nations filmmakers; an indigenous food stand, and a fun introduction to archaeology for kids. Finally, the festival will close with the Canadian premiere of Winter in the Blood, an adaptation of the Blackfeet writer James Welch’s novel.

For more, see the full calendar of First Peoples’ Festival activities.

Free boating seminars teach the basics

Source: The Herald

Before you row, row, row your boat, start your engine or set sail, sign up for these free seminars by the Everett Sail and Power Squadron at Breakwater Marine Everett, 8407 Broadway.

The classes are held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, as follows:

July 13, knots, bends and hitches: Learn how to tie essential knots.

July 27, how to use a chart: Learn how to read charts and know your way around the waters.

Aug. 10, mastering the rules of the road: Learn rights of way, responsibilities, signals and more.

Aug. 24, boating on rivers and lakes: Learn special navigation rules, how to read currents, use locks systems, and communicate with lock masters and bridge tenders.

For more information or to register, email Jim West at phnx789@msn.com or see the squadron’s website, go to www.usps.org/localusps/everett/.

The power squadron also offers a series of six basic boating classes, America’s Boating Course, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays beginning July 15 at Cabela’s, 9810 Quil Ceda Blvd., Tulalip.

The classes are required to get a Washington State Boaters’ Education Card.

The series is $50 for the first family member and $17 for each additional person in the same household sharing materials.

Go to www.parks.wa.gov/boating/boatered/ for information about the classes and who is required to have the card.

Scrub-A-Mutt seeks vendors

Source: Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — Scrub-A-Mutt is holding its sixth annual fundraising dog wash on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The dog wash will be at Strawberry Fields Park, located at 6100 152nd St. NE, next to the Marysville Off Leash Dog Park.

Scrub-A-Mutt is now accepting applications for vendors and organizations that sell to or support dogs. Both for-profit and non-profit are welcome as long as their products are “doggy” related. Vendor booth spaces are $50 for businesses and $25 for non-profit and rescue groups. Interested vendors and organizations can download the complete application at www.scrub-a-mutt.org.

Scrub-A-Mutt raises money for local dog charities including Old Dog Haven, the Everett Animal Shelter and Northwest Organization for Animal Help. Additional donations are made to various rescue groups after completion of the event and depending on the amount of money raised. All of the event proceeds benefit pet rescue groups.

For additional information, contact Jennifer Ward at 360-659-9626.

Tulalip, From My Heart: An Autobiographical Account of a Reservation Community

This book can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com

In Tulalip, from My Heart, Harriette Shelton Dover describes her life on the Tulalip Reservation and recounts the myriad problems tribes faced after resettlement. Born in 1904, Dover grew up hearing the elders of her tribe tell of the hardships involved in moving from their villages to the reservation on Tulalip Bay: inadequate food and water, harsh economic conditions, and religious persecution outlawing potlatch houses and other ceremonial practices.

Dover herself spent ten traumatic months every year in an Indian boarding school, an experience that developed her political consciousness and keen sense of justice. The first Indian woman to serve on the Tulalip board of directors, Dover describes her story in a personal, often fierce style, revealing her tribe’s powerful ties and enduring loyalty to land now occupied by others.

Harriette Sheldon Dover, Author

Darleen Fitzpatrick, Editor

Wayne Williams, Foreword

Darleen Fitzpatrick is the author of We Are Cowlitz: Traditional and Emergent Ethnicity.

Waiting for Other Shoe to Drop: Exhibit Honors Missing, Murdered Women

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

“Walking With Our Sisters” is a commemorative art installation for the missing and murdered indigenous women of Canada and the United States.

Representing the unfinished lives of over 600 missing or murdered Indigenous women in Canada, the Walking With Our Sisters project contains only part of a moccasin, the vamp. The vamp, the top part of a moccasin, is most visible and is often beautifully decorated.

Walking With Our Sisters is a commemorative art installation to honor the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women from Canada and the United States. Organizations such as the Native Women’s Association of Canada have documented nearly 600 cases of murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada that have occurred over the past 20 years. Because of gaps in police and government reporting, the actual numbers may be much higher according to Amnesty International of Canada. Although similar data is not available in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, American Indian women are 2.5 times more likely than other races to be victims of sexual assault.

A large collaborative installation artwork, Walking With Our Sisters will be presented as a winding path of more than 300 feet of fabric on which the 600 vamps will be laid on the floor. Visitors will have to remove their shoes to walk along a fabric path next to the vamps.

Christi Belcourt, a painter living in Espanola, Ontario of the Otipemiswak/Michif or Métis Nation, came up with the idea while working on a series of paintings to honor women. She paints in acrylic on large canvases depicting floral designs on black background; the images resemble beadwork, she says.

While envisioning her new project, she began noticing the large number of Indigenous women reported missing by friends and family on Facebook. The lack of response from authorities bothered her as she considered that some of the missing girls were the same age as her 15-year-old daughter.

The idea of creating a work that would at once honor and provoke discussion about the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women emerged. “It just blended together,” she recalls.

At first she considered doing the project alone, but the idea of beading six hundred pairs of moccasin tops was daunting, so she began sending out Facebook messages asking for help. Within days she had commitments from more than 200 people who wanted to create vamps for the project. Soon, the project took on a life of its own; she got inquiries from other artists who wanted to get involved as well as people asking how the installation could be brought to their communities.

Belcourt envisions the installation this way: after cedar is laid down on the floor of the exhibition or gallery space, red cloth will be placed over the top. A gray fabric path will wind over the red cloth, its shape defined by the size and dimensions of the space. The vamps will then be placed on the gray path, allowing people to walk beside them. Tobacco will be available at the entrance to the pathway for those who wish to use it for prayer. People can place the tobacco in a vessel at the exit of the installation.

“The installation becomes a place for prayer,” she explains. “There is also sensory memory that people will take with them after leaving the exhibit. It’s not like walking into a space and just seeing work, you have to experience this.”

Before the exhibit is set up in its first venue—the Haida Gwaii Museum in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia for an August 23 opening—Walking With Our Sisters collective members will feast the vamps in ceremony. This sends a message that the artists are following traditional protocol and will encourage those hosting the installation to honor it with their own traditional ways, according to Belcourt.

Each pair of vamps represents the unfinished life of one woman. Belcourt and the creators of Walking With Our Sisters hope that the experience of walking next to the vamps will have a strong impact on participants and encourage people to begin speaking about the issue of missing and murdered women. “There has been an awful silence around this,” she observes. “There has been a silence by government, by police and by the dominant society; it’s as though Indigenous women’s lives aren’t considered important,” she says.

Belcourt’s hope is that visitors to the installation will be empowered to speak about this to other people and that concern will spread. She notes that there has been a call to the Canadian government for a national inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women. “So far, the government has resisted this call,” she says.

Belcourt and her fellow artists received funding by crowdsourcing via Rockethub, Twitter and Facebook. So far, they have raised about $5,000, which covers fabric and supplies. “No one is getting paid for this work, it is 100 percent volunteer,” she adds.

So far, the exhibit is booked to tour through 2018 in Canada and the U.S.

Belacourt says that if she receives more than 600 vamps, the “overage” will be incorporated into the project. “It is widely believed that there are more than 600 missing and murdered Indigenous women. The 600 number refers to the cases verified by the Native Women’s Association of Canada,” she notes.

The following description is listed on the Facebook Walking With Our Sisters page under the “about” tab, “This project is about these women, paying respect to their lives and existence on this earth. They are not forgotten. They are sisters, mothers, daughters, cousins, grandmothers. They have been cared for, they have been loved, and they are missing.”

To learn more about Walking With Our Sisters or to make donations, visit the Facebook group page or e-mail Christi Belcourt at WWOS@live.ca.

History Sails Full Circle as Tall Ships Escort Northwest Native Canoes

on Arel/Coastal ImagesLady Washington, left, and Hawaiian Chieftain will escort 100 canoes. — on Arel/Coastal Images
Lady Washington, left, and Hawaiian Chieftain will escort 100 canoes.

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

The first tall ships that visited Quinault territory were harbingers of European and American empirical designs. And not all of those visits ended well.

The first European visitors were, presumably, Spanish explorers, arriving off what is now Point Grenville in the schooner Sonora on July 11, 1775 to claim the land for Spain. That visit ended with a bloody battle between Quinault men and the Spanish crew. (Quinault Nation treasurer Lawrence Ralston has a uniform emblem found on the Lower Quinault River confirmed by Spain to be of Spanish origin, circa the 1700s.)

Next came the Americans, in 1788, to trade; then the British, in 1792, to flex their claim on the area and assign British place names. The U.S. inherited Spain and Britain’s claims in the Pacific Northwest through a series of treaties between 1819 and 1846—although nobody asked the Quinaults for their thoughts on the matter. Treaties with indigenous nations and attempts to force the assimilation of the first peoples followed.

The new landing site for cedar canoes hewn by a new generation of Native carvers (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission)

Next month, during the annual Canoe Journey, history will come full circle when the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain escort up to 100 canoes—from First Nations in Washington and British Columbia—as they travel along the open coast from Neah Bay in Makah Nation territory to Taholah at the Quinault Indian Nation, which hosts the journey, August 1 to 6.

The Canoe Journey has “made a tremendous contribution to public education about the heritage of Native people and tribes and First Nations of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia,” Quinault Indian Nation President Fawn Sharp says. “The events have also contributed mightily to the cultural reinvigoration of Native people and the connection between Indian and non-Indian governments and communities.

“By inviting the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain to participate in this event, protocols are being followed which were neglected by tall ships of the past. This could thus be viewed as an opportunity to help make some amends for some past transgressions. Moreover, the participation of these tall ships in this event also helps convey a message that tribal and nontribal communities choose to look forward to and work together on a collaborative basis toward common objectives.”

The Quinault Nation invited the tall ships to escort the canoes this year because 2013 is the 225th anniversary of first contact between the U.S. and the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. “We are very excited to be able to participate in this important cultural event,” says Les Bolton, executive director of the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, which owns the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain.

“2013 marks the 225th anniversary of the first contact between the newly independent United States and the rich coastal cultures of the Pacific Northwest,” says Bolton. “Since that first contact seven generations ago, our world has changed significantly. We want to encourage all people to consider where we began, where we are today, and give thought to the world we want our descendants, seven generations from now, to inherit.”

Launched in 1989 as part of the Washington State Centennial, the Lady Washington is a wooden replica of one of the first U.S.-flagged ships to visit the West Coast of North America. In 1788, the original Lady Washington arrived off the coast of what would later become Oregon to trade with the area’s Indigenous Peoples for furs, then sailed north past Quinault territory en route to Vancouver Island.

The modern Canoe Journey traces its roots to 1989, when educator Emmett Oliver of the Quinault Nation and Frank Brown of the Heiltsuk First Nation in British Columbia developed a canoe journey to be held in conjunction with the Washington State Centennial celebration. The resulting event—the Paddle to Seattle from indigenous lands in Washington and Canada—generated interest among other Northwest Coast Native peoples who wanted to revive the traditional form of travel on the ancestral marine highways. The Canoe Journey has been an annual event since 1993; the Quinault Nation last hosted in 2002.

During the journey, canoe families visit indigenous territories en route to the host destination and share their cultures. Each Canoe Journey is a logistical feat for host destinations, which provide meals and gifts to thousands of guests and host about 100 cultural presentations over a period of a week.

The journey is a feat of fitness for pullers. Pulling long distances in a canoe requires emotional, physical and spiritual fitness. Pledges to be alcohol-free, drug-free and, in many cases, smoke-free, are required. That’s had a tremendous impact on younger pullers.

Spanish emblem (circa 1700s) found in Lower Quinault River (Courtesy Lawrence Ralston)

Indigenous languages are spoken on the journey, particularly at the canoe landings when skippers ask hosts for permission for pullers to come ashore, and at evening ceremonies when traditional dances and songs are shared.

The journey features beautiful cedar canoes carved by a new generation of Native carvers. And the participation of Indigenous Peoples from around the world has grown each year. Among the participants in recent journeys: Ainu (an indigenous people in Japan), Native Hawaiians, Maori, Tlingit and Yupik. “Cedar canoes are deeply significant to our people,” Sharp explains. “Not only do they reflect a connection with the art and practicality of our past, they represent a statement of our commitment to sustain our values and legacies into the future. They are a living embodiment of Northwest tribal tradition, a powerful bond that strengthens our cultural, economic and environmental resolve. They are a reflection of our identity, as individuals and as nations.”

The Canoe Journey is empowering to young pullers. Courage and perseverance are learned on the water and from stories shared by elders. At the Canoe Journey skippers meeting February 23, George Adams, Nooksack, told of his grandmother’s residential school experience, how her mouth was taped shut because she refused to stop speaking her language. For his grandmother, the tape “was a badge of honor. She didn’t give up speaking her language. There are people who have stories on the journey. Listen to the stories, listen to the songs.”

The journey has done a lot to build bridges between Native and non-Native communities as well. Exposure to cultural activities associated with the journey has helped break down barriers and grow cultural understanding. “The Canoe Journey is an event that can help tell people throughout the country that the tribes are still here,” said Sharp, a lawyer and administrative law judge who is also president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re alive and well and we will be heard.”

There are other significant aspects of this Canoe Journey:

Restoring a Sacred Gathering Place
The landing will be at Point Grenville, Washington, where the Spanish landed in 1775 and which the British visited and named in 1792. “We want to acknowledge the historical significance of Point Grenville,” Sharp said. “Our Creator blessed our ancestors with ancient knowledge, a sacred and beautiful gathering place, a rich culture, economy, and heritage that were actively practiced at Point Grenville. After centuries of Quinault occupation, Spanish and foreign greed and a desire to lay claim to our lands led to bloodshed and war.”

In the 1930s, Quinault created a scenic park at Point Grenville. The site later became home to a U.S. Coast Guard LORAN Station. For the past three decades, Point Grenville has been vacant. For the Canoe Journey, Quinault has developed or is developing on Point Grenville beach access trails, lawns, a flag pavilion, and viewing areas. The nation is installing three carved-story poles that symbolize Quinault spirituality, sovereignty, and restoration. “This year, our generation [is] restoring the spiritual, cultural and economic significance of our sacred gathering places, starting at the most westerly point of our tribal homelands,” Sharp said. “This year, the entire world will celebrate this restoration and the beauty of our people, lands and ancestral inheritance.”

Monitoring Marine Health
Several canoes will again be outfitted with probes that collect information about water conditions: dissolved oxygen, pH levels, salinity, temperature, and turbidity. Data collected in each Canoe Journey since 2008 are being processed and mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey to help identify signs of climate change, impacts from development, and changes in the levels and types of nutrients and pollutants washing into the ocean.

It’s the melding of one of the oldest technologies on the sea—the carved cedar canoe—with some of the newest technology. Each stainless-steel probe is two feet long and two-and-a-half inches in diameter, and trails the canoe at a depth of six feet, according to the survey. On the trailing edge of the probe are sensors that collect water-quality data every 10 seconds. The data are transmitted to a data logger on board the canoe, and the latitude and longitude is automatically recorded via global positioning system. “When we are able to so capably use traditional tools to achieve such contemporary objectives, a special connection is made that underscores the significance of knowing and understanding tribal history,” Sharp says.

“That is a lesson I hope people will learn from the journey—that there are solutions to the challenges we face today in the annals of our history. Challenges, such as climate change, ocean acidification, water pollution and even social and economic challenges can all be far more easily resolved if we choose to learn from history. Even with today’s computer technology, so many answers to the challenges we all face today are in the wisdom of the ages.”

Honoring Those in Uniform
The theme of this year’s journey is Honoring Our Warriors, a tribute to Native men and women in uniform. “We feel it is important for people everywhere to know that tribal members have been first to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces,” Sharp said, and at a greater number per capita than any other ethnic group. “They deserve every honor we can bestow on them.”

For further information on the 2013 Canoe Journey, visit PaddleToQuinault.org.

Fourth of July events 2013

Rows and rows of colorful stands are stocked with the best fireworks greeting returning and first time customers. Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil — Rows and rows of colorful stands are stocked with the best fireworks greeting returning and first time customers.
Photo/ Brandi N. Montreuil

For those not attending the annual firework’s show at Tulalip’s Boom City on July 4th, and looking for fun ways to spend the fourth and catch some light shows, here are Fourth of July events, including festivals and parades, around Puget Sound.

3rd of July Fireworks Show & Festival

Food and arts vendors, noon; entertainment begins, 3 p.m. Wednesday, opening ceremony, 6:30 p.m.; fireworks show, 10 p.m. Wednesday, Poulsbo (www.thirdofjuly.org ).

Lake Union 4th of July

Gates open, food vendors, exhibits, inflatables for kids, noon; entertainment, 2-7 p.m.; games and contests, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.; fireworks show, 10:15 p.m.; Gas Works Park, 2101 N. Northlake Way, Seattle; parking limited, food and coolers permitted subject to search, no outside alcohol, no pets, no glass bottles (www.seafair.com).

Independence Day Celebration, Museum of Flight

Skyway Post Veterans of Foreign Wars honor the nation’s birthday with program on the 27 versions of the flag of the United States through history, for all ages, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Museum of Flight, 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle; $10-$18 (206-764-5720 or www.museumofflight.org ).

4th of July on the Arthur Foss

View of the 4th of July fireworks over Lake Union from the historic tugboat Arthur Foss, adults only, 8:30 p.m., 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle; $55, preregister (206-447-9800 or nwseaport.org/event/4th-of-july-on-arthur-foss-2013/).

Bellevue Family 4th

Family Fun Zone play area, games, inflatable rides opens 2 p.m.; entertainment by local bands begins 3:45 p.m.; presentation of the colors, 9 p.m.; Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, 9:30 p.m. before and during fireworks display, Bellevue Downtown Park, 10201 N.E. Fourth St., Bellevue (www.bellevuedowntown.org ).

Celebrate Kirkland 4th of July Celebration

Children’s decorating event, 10 a.m.; children’s parade, 11:30 a.m.; parade, noon; food vendors, 1-10:30 p.m.; music, 5-10 p.m.; fireworks display, 10:15 p.m., Marina Park, 25 Lake Shore Plaza, Kirkland (www.celebratekirkland.org/eventschedule.htm ).

Red, White, Blue and Wine

Classic rock band, NW Art Alliance showcase by 25 artists, wine by the glass and lunch available, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, 14111 N.E. 145th St., Woodinville; may be canceled in case of inclement weather (www.ste-michelle.com/events/).

Fourth on the Plateau

Music, kids’ activities, food vendors, 6 p.m., fireworks, 10 p.m., Sammamish Commons Park, 801 228th Ave. S.E., Sammamish (www.sammamish.us/events/FourthOnThePlateau.aspx).

An Edmonds Kind of 4th

5K run, 10 a.m., City Park; Children’s Parade, 11:30 a.m., Fifth Avenue South and Howell Street; main parade, noon; entertainment, food vendors, 7:30 p.m., fireworks, 10 p.m., Civic Playfield, Edmonds (425-670-1496 or www.edmondswa.com/events/fourth-of-july.html ).

Bothell 4th of July

Pancake breakfast, 8:30-10:30 a.m., Downtown Firehouse, 10726 Beardslee Blvd.; children’s parade, 11:15 a.m.; grand parade, noon, Main Street, Bothell (www.ci.bothell.wa.us).

Celebrate Woodinville — July 4 Concert in the Park

Music for all ages, wine garden, beer, food, vendors, noon, Wilmot Gateway Park, 1730 N.E. 131st Ave., Woodinville; free (425-481-8300 or www.celebratewoodinville.com).

Kenmore Fourth of July Fireworks

Food vendors, activities, 8 p.m., fireworks, 10 p.m., Tracy Owen Station/Log Boom Park, Northeast 175th Street and 61st Avenue Northeast, Kenmore (www.kenmorewa.gov/events ).

Renton Fabulous 4th of July

Children’s activities, noon-8 p.m.; free canoe rides, 1-5 p.m.; entertainment, 1:30-9:30 p.m.; fireworks, 10 p.m., Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, 1201 Lake Washington Blvd., Renton; parking extremely limited (rentonwa.gov/living/default.aspx?id=5920).

Burien Independence Parade

Bands, cars, drill teams, community groups, 3 p.m., Ambaum Boulevard from Southwest 149th Street, east on Southwest 153rd Street, north on Second Avenue South, west on Southwest 152nd Street, Burien (www.discoverburien.com ).

Family Fourth at the Fort

Park opens, 9 a.m.; entertainment, food vendors, bouncy rides, 4 p.m.; fireworks show, 10 p.m., Fort Dent Park, 6800 Fort Dent Way, Tukwila (206-768-2822 or www.tukwilawa.gov/recreation/recevent.html ).

Fireworks over Des Moines

Festivities begin 5 p.m., fireworks at dusk, Des Moines Marina and Beach Park, 22307 Dock St., Des Moines (seafair.com ).

Auburn 4th of July Festival

Entertainment, kids’ crafts, arts and crafts vendors, car show, inflatable rides ($5/unlimited rides), food vendors, book sale, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., bike parade at noon, Les Gove Park, 11th Street and Auburn Way South, Auburn (253-931-3043 or www.auburnwa.gov/events ).

Federal Way Red, White and Blues Festival

Arts and crafts, food vendors, entertainment, 6 p.m., fireworks, 10:15 p.m., Celebration Park, 1095 S. 324th St., Federal Way (253-835-6900 or www.cityoffederalway.com ).

Bainbridge Grand Old Fourth of July Parade and Fair

Parade, 1 p.m., street fair kids’ activities, entertainment, vendors, classic car show, beer garden, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Waterfront Park and surrounding area, Bainbridge (206-842-3700 or www.bainbridgechamber.com).

Carnation 4th of July Celebration

5K Run for the Pies, 8:30 a.m., registration 7 a.m.; pancake breakfast, 8-11 a.m., Tolt Congregational Church; Kiddie Parade, 10:30 a.m., Grand Parade, 11 a.m., Main Street; 3-on-3 basketball tournament, Hot Rods & Harleys, noon-4 p.m.; vendors, bouncy toys, entertainment, all day; beer garden, 4-10 p.m., fireworks at dusk, downtown Carnation (carnation4th.org).

Tacoma Freedom Fair

Airshows, food vendors, rides, exhibits, fireworks, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Ruston Way waterfront, Tacoma; suggested minimum donation $2 (www.freedomfair.com ).

Holiday Parade, Picnic & Fireworks, La Conner

Parade on First Street, 11:30 a.m.; picnic, Pioneer Park; fireworks at dusk, La Conner, Skagit County. (360-466-4778 or www.lovelaconner.com).

Suncadia 4th of July Weekend

Carnival, 3-7 p.m. July 4; fireworks in Cle Elum, 10 p.m. July 4; carnival, games, barbecue, 10 a.m. 9 p.m. July 5; 5K, 10K walk/run, Kids Race, 7:30 a.m. July 7, $10-$30; carnival, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. July 7, Suncadia Resort, Cle Elum, Kittitas County (866-904-6301 or www.suncadia.com).

Compare a week of U.S. groceries to Mexico, Mongolia, and other countries

By Sarah Laskow, Grist

Have you seen these photos by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Alusio? They show what a family eats for a week in countries around the world. They’re a quick and fascinating window in the differences in the quantity and the quality of food people eat.

Just look for a second at all the colors in this Mexican family’s food:

And then check out the American family’s groceries. Still colorful, yeah, but the colors come from the bright packaging of processed food:

In Mongolia, a more arid environment, the food’s more monochrome:

And in the countries where families have fewer resources, like Ecuador, their food has less variation: They buy groceries in sacks.

There’s a book of these photos, too. Get it!

Native Cultures Get National Airplay on Venezuelan Radio

Rick Kearns, Indian Country Today Media Network

Indigenous cultures are receiving national attention on radio shows throughout Venezuela.

The National Venezuelan Radio System (NVRS), which includes 14 indigenous channels, announced in June the start of a weekly indigenous cultures show that will be broadcast across the country.

The Original Cultures radio program was developed by the NVRS’s Indigenous Communication Channel (ICC) and is described in the channel’s press release as being “multicultural, multilingual, aimed at promoting the ancestral cultures and the preservation of the environment from an indigenous perspective.”

“The objectives of this effort,” the statement continued, “will be to educate, inform, entertain, and to know everything related to the original cultures.”

This new show, which premiered on June 11th, will include three segments that will deal with regional, national and international topics through the use of interviews, surveys, public statements, and brief reports among other items. The program will also be run by and feature indigenous people from Venezuela and throughout Abya Yala (Latin America). As with prior ICC shows, indigenous journalists from other countries such as Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Mexico will contribute news reports from their regions.

The first guest of the Original Cultures show was Congressman Jose Luis Gonzalez, a representative of the Pemon community and President of the National Assembly’s Permanent Commission of Indigenous Peoples. In the first episode of the program Congressman Gonzalez spoke about the culture of the Pemon people who live in Bolivar State, located in southern Venezuela.

“We, who are part of nature, and our ancestors, comparing it a little with Genesis in Christianity, said that the creator placed us here; and that the ancestors are in the mountaintops, their contact with the cosmos, spirituality, that is where our origins lie,” Gonzalez said in the first program.

He also congratulated the shows hosts for creating the radio space that would allow all Venezuelans to learn about the origins and the histories of the many indigenous cultures. Gonzalez then spoke briefly about the Pemon cultural value of belonging to a place, of the sacredness of the land, as well as how a company of Pemon (also known as Caribe) archers participated in the Battle of San Felix in 1817, as part of the war of independence against Spain.

The new show will be broadcast on Wednesdays and will be 45 minutes long. Original Cultures will join other national indigenous programming such as Indigenous News, broadcast Monday through Friday on the Music and Information Channel every afternoon at 3:50 p.m. and We Are Amerindians, which goes on the air every Saturday at 3 p.m.

Puget Sound Speed-Crabbing Derby is July 20 in Everett

Mark Yuasa, The Seattle Times

How fast can you harvest a limit of Dungeness crab?

That is what will happen when crabbers converge at the Puget Sound Speed-Crabbing Derby July 20 at the Port of Everett.

Check in is 6:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. with the derby starting at 8 a.m.

The unusual derby is free, and open to teams of two, three or four crabbers who race against the clock to harvest and submit the 10 heaviest Dungeness crab they can catch in the shortest amount of time.

Teams are individually timed from the start signal until they finish the race by crossing the finish line. There is a maximum of four crab pots per team per boat. Each team must have a separate catch cooler to contain their 10 heaviest crabs.

Each vessel will be checked prior to the start of the race to make sure all gear and no crab are stowed in the boat. All boats must return by noon to the ramp, and for every 10 minutes after the deadline a boat will be penalized. Those who return after 12:30 p.m. will be disqualified.

For details, go to www.speedcrabbing.com.