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Cherokee Indian Fair 1935

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Item
  • This program for the 1935 Cherokee Indian Fair is 23 pages and documents the fair that was held on October 1, 2, 3, & 4 of that year. The fair was first formally established and held regularly in 1914. Since it began, one of its main functions was to sponsor competitions that provided a showcase for Cherokee crafts. A tradition that continues today, at the annual fair, the Cherokee display a wide variety of high quality work. The fair programs were usually 20 to 30 pages each and listed the competition categories and the monetary prizes offered. At this 22nd annual fair, prizes were offered for numerous agricultural products, Indian dance and ball games, as well as categories of Needlework and Arts and Crafts. The 1935 Cherokee Indian Fair program billed itself as a Folk Festival and included several events listed as Indian Pageantry. These events were presented by students and performers from the Chilocco Indian Institute in Oklahoma and Haskell Institute from Kansas. The ""Spirit of the Great Smokies"" pageant included over 200 actors. Beginning in 1935, in addition to seeing displays of the finished craft entries, visitors to the fair were able to observe the techniques and processes involved in producing the craft items on view with demonstrations of basket making, pottery construction, spinning, and weaving presented.
Object
  • This program for the 1935 Cherokee Indian Fair is 23 pages and documents the fair that was held on October 1, 2, 3, & 4 of that year. The fair was first formally established and held regularly in 1914. Since it began, one of its main functions was to sponsor competitions that provided a showcase for Cherokee crafts. A tradition that continues today, at the annual fair, the Cherokee display a wide variety of high quality work. The fair programs were usually 20 to 30 pages each and listed the competition categories and the monetary prizes offered. At this 22nd annual fair, prizes were offered for numerous agricultural products, Indian dance and ball games, as well as categories of Needlework and Arts and Crafts. The 1935 Cherokee Indian Fair program billed itself as a Folk Festival and included several events listed as Indian Pageantry. These events were presented by students and performers from the Chilocco Indian Institute in Oklahoma and Haskell Institute from Kansas. The ""Spirit of the Great Smokies"" pageant included over 200 actors. Beginning in 1935, in addition to seeing displays of the finished craft entries, visitors to the fair were able to observe the techniques and processes involved in producing the craft items on view with demonstrations of basket making, pottery construction, spinning, and weaving presented.