The next three or four posts will be single location posts because each one deserves its’ own blog post. I’ll start of in Central California at Tuolumne at the Black Oak Casino. Most non-American people wouldn’t know that most of the casinos in the USA are owned by native American Indian tribes and Black Oak is no exception. We came here as a base to visit Yosemite National Park (next blog). BOC was one of the few parks we could get in to and it turned out to become one of our favourite stops.
Not our last resort.
The RV Resort is a bit dearer than a regular RV park but it had its compensations. As BOC guests we were each given a $25 poker machine voucher (we won $50 with it), discount vouchers for all the eateries in the casino, vouchers for the gift shop, free 10 pin bowling games plus more. They also had a free shuttle bus on call to and from our vans to the front door of the casino. Our timing also turned out to be spot on as on the first night the casino had a free concert on and that weekend was the annual Acorn Festival.
The Acorn Festival Pow Wow.
On the Saturday the casino was providing free shuttle bus trips into the Me-Wuk Indian village for the 53rd Annual Acorn Festival. This is what this entire post is about. For Shane and I it was one of the most exciting events we’ve seen since first arriving in the USA in May 2018. This festival is not designed as a tourist attraction it is a traditional gathering of local tribes to continue their way of life and pass on the ancient customs and culture to the next generation. The admission of non-Indians to witness the festival is a great way to display to all their proud heritage.
I am not going to waffle on much more about this. I will just let the pictures and the video tell the story. I will recommend several photos for you to look out for like the Elder chatting with the very young girl and passing on stories for prosperity. Also pay particular attention to the footwear and the details of their patterned embroidery and dress. Let me finish by repeating we found this gathering and the exhibits, dancing and music exhilarating.
Now revel in this gallery and this short video.
Cheers for now.
Garry & Shane