Gold Horse Casino packed the Cenovus Energy Hub full of excited spectators and competitors for its first ever powwow.
Read more: Town of Vermilion approves new strategic plan
Hosted by Gold Horse Casino, the event, which ran from March 13-15, is the first of its kind in the Border City.
“It’s our inaugural powwow for Gold Horse Casino. From my understanding, it’s the first of this kind of powwow in Lloydminster,” said Justina Sather, general manager of Gold Horse Casino.
She said SIGA, which operates Gold Horse Casino, hosts cultural events throughout the year.
“SIGA has been putting powwows on for almost 28 years, and we’re actually celebrating 30 years as a SIGA company right now,” she said.
Originally, Gold Horse Casino planned to host its first powwow in 2020.
“We had planned our first powwow back in 2020, but we know what happened there,” said Sather.
The delay between the original planned powwow and now was due to the opening of the Cenovus Energy Hub.
“SIGA’s been bringing back its powwows, and we just wanted to wait until the Cenovus Energy Hub was open,” she said.
The main arena was packed with competitors and spectators alike, both in the stands and on the floor.
“It’s been amazing. While I expected a good crowd, this has gone beyond my expectations in a wonderful way,” said Sather.
Friday’s grand entry featured 505 dancers, with even more participating throughout the weekend. Both dance and singing competitions were held as part of the powwow, drawing crowds from across the region.
“From my understanding, they’re from across Western Canada and the United States, all coming here to Lloydminster,” she said.
Read more: ‘Proud to say that they were Rustlers’
