Take Me to the River Culture

 We always have a bunch of local outings in mind for the weekend, but this Saturday, hanging out in the sunshine with some Penobscot hoop dancers is right at the top of our to-do list. The third annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival — sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project, Visioning Bear Circle Intertribal Coalition, and Turners Falls RiverCulture — celebrates Native American culture and history with drumming, live music from Theresa “Bear” Fox, Mohawk (Wolf Clan), and Kontiwennenhawi, the Akwasasne Women Singers, dancing, elder teaching, storytelling, crafts and kids activities, and food from Diemand Farm, Holyoke Hummus Company, Miller’s River Cafe, and Bart’s Ice Cream.

Pocumtuck Homelands Festival: Saturday Aug. 6 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free; all ages. Unity Park Waterfront, First Street, Turners Falls. (413) 835-1390, turnersfallsriverculture.org.

 — Hunter Styles