Dancing and drumming, Native American food and craft vendors, archery, dugout canoe demonstrations and hands-on cultural experiences will bring Riverbend Park to life during the Virginia Native American Festival on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This year’s festival welcomes members of the Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy tribes for a day, celebrating Virginia Native culture, heritage and community.

Festival programming includes Upper Mattaponi dancing and drumming, traditional storytelling and a flute performance by Patrick “Littlewolf” Brooks of Five Feathers Productions, shinny demonstrations with the Powhatan Shinny League and a presentation by Mattaponi cultural keeper Samuel McGowan, featuring recreated tools and artifacts that highlight Mattaponi culture past and present.

Throughout the day, visitors can try archery, join guided walks exploring traditional uses of local plants, watch fire-building and dugout canoe demonstrations, meet live animals, and participate in hands-on activities.

Inside the Riverbend Park Visitor Center, exhibits will highlight Indigenous people and history. The traveling Loudoun’s First Farmers exhibit from the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum will feature pottery sherds, stone tools and projectile points used by generations of Indigenous people.

Advance registration is $12 per person and closes Friday, Sept. 11, at 9 p.m. Admission at the door is $15 per person.

Register for the Virginia Native American Festival

The festival takes place at Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac Hills St., Great Falls. Visit the Riverbend Park website or visit the Virginia Native American Festival webpage for the full festival schedule, program details and registration information.