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The 2017 Cama-i Festival Takes Shape

Dean Swope
/
KYUK

The 2017 Cama-i festival, while still in the early planning stages, is taking shape.

Bethel Council on the Arts, the sponsor of the festival, has decided on a theme for this year's gathering: it will be "In This Time of Joy," or Nunaniryuum Nallii in Yup'ik.

Starting March 31 and running through April 2 of next year, the festival is expected to bring 22 performers to Bethel. These performers will bring their culture and styles from not only this region, but from the rest of Alaska, the lower 48, and maybe even Russia and Canada. Some groups have confirmed their interest in performing. The organizers will continue to follow up with the other performers on their list.

The Fur Fashion Show will also be taking place this year for the first time since 2005. Students from KuC, the local branch campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, are making traditional Yup’ik regalia out of fur, which they will be wearing to the festival.

The logo for the festival will be created by Cuna McIntyre, who created the first logo for the first Cama-i festival in 1993. The organizers will meet again in January for the next phase of planning. Anyone wishing to attend is welcome.