Festive Swinomish Days was round-the-clock attraction

It was billed as Swinomish Days.

But the Tribal weekend cultural celebration could well have been promoted as Swinomish Days AND Nights.

A bevy of free admission events often spilled into the night, including the always popular canoe races on Swinomish Channel.

“We’re kind of burning daylight here,” Swinomish Tribal Senate chair Brian Cladoosby, who live-streamed and offered commentary on the races, said as dusk approached Saturday night. “They’ll be pulling (canoes) in the dark, but we’ll get it done.”

The canoes drew large crowds on both sides of Swinomish Channel, especially for mid-afternoon heats, as Saturday’s early cloud cover gave way to sunny conditions.

Hosted by the Swinomish War Chief Canoe Club, the races featured solo and team entries in both men’s and women’s divisions.

Cladoosby, who is President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), was among many impressed with the apparent ease canoe pullers navigated sometimes tricky currents on the channel, occasionally with tour boats passing by.

“Wow,” he said at one point during the six-man finale, “they’re flying.”

Dr. Wil James, who split time between watching the races and an all-day three-on-three basketball tournament several blocks away, agreed.

“They make it look easy,” he noted, “because they put a lot of time into it.”

Canoe racing enjoys a rich tradition at Swinomish, dating back decades to the legendary “Telegraph,” a perennial champion on local and distant waters.

Canoes here were fashioned by late master carvers such as Andrew Joe, whose work was sought by Hollywood studios, and Charlie Edwards, who crafted the original Swinomish totem pole bearing the image of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at its top.

While history at Swinomish Days was a major undercurrent, youth was served as well.

Perhaps nowhere was that more evident than during pow-wows at John K. Bob Ballpark, where young dancers entertained in colorful traditional regalia.

Young Society was host drum for the pow-wow sessions, whose participants represented tribes from near and far, and used the gatherings as an opportunity to honor and project their culture to a broad public audience.

Meanwhile, outside the temporary structure that served as the pow-wow venue, Native American crafters and artisans marketed their wares to Swinomish Days attendees walking to and from various events.

Stick games, also known as bone games, proved popular, too, building on momentum generated several years ago at nearby Tulalip, which hosted over 170 teams at a high-stakes Battle of Nations tournament.

The guessing rounds weren’t alone in creating suspense.

It was a wide-open field of some two dozen teams that competed for top honors in several divisions of the outdoor hoop tourney.

Games often went down to the wire, with players from throughout Western Washington, Idaho, and Montana converging on the Swinomish court. Many put in a six-hour day under the expanded bracket format.

Games were 20 minutes in length, or ended when one team reached 20 points.

Swinomish staff provided water, sports drinks, and pizza for players and spectators alike.

“The important thing on a day like this,” said tourney announcer Jesse Edwards, a La Conner High assistant basketball coach, “is that everybody stays hydrated.”

Pretty much everyone in attendance had a thirst for what Swinomish Days had to offer.

“The great thing about it,” said Swinomish Youth Center Coordinator Barb James, “is there’s something here for all ages.”