“Frame thy mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms, and lengthens life.”-William Shakespeare

Join us for…

When: Wednesday July 11- Saturday July14th

Where: Main Street Park

What:  Free entertainment, crafts and concessions, children’s games, fun for everyone!

The festival known as the Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire has a long-standing tradition of fun, excitement, and great memories. For 30 years, people from around the world have gathered in Cedar City, Utah to be a part of these festivities.

On festival days in medieval times, vendors brought their wares, along with their families, in wooden carts to the base of the city’s walls. They set up a temporary shelter where their families slept, ate and played. Guildsmen worked at their crafts whenever business was slack, and everyone sold hard, shouting their wares at passersby. Festival days were a joyous gathering of people, a bustling social event, full of colour, music, laughter, and endless commotion.

We invite you to come and be a part of our wonderful world. Come take a look at our magnificent renaissance history and life-style that surrounds these festive traditions.

This weekend the Paiute Indian Tribe will be hosting the 32nd Annual Paiute Restoration Gathering and Pow Wow.  Come check it out.

When:  June 8th & 9th

Where:440 North Paiute Drive, Cedar City UT 84721

What:

The Pow-Wow is the Indian way of celebrating life and heritage. To the observer, this appears as entertainment or theatrics. Besides singing and dancing, the Pow-Wow is to renew old friendships and to form new ones.

Drum
At many Pow Wows there is a Northern Drum and a Southern Drum. There is no limit on drum groups to participate and each drum group comes to participate and compete against each other.

The Dance Arena
The Dance Arena or Arbor can be any open ground large enough to accommodate all participants and observers. The arena has a speaker’s platform where the Master of Ceremonies (MC) sits. The MC has the job of keeping all of the participants and the audience informed of the activities of the day and also the appropriate times when recording and pictures are not to be taken. The audience’s cooperation is well-appreciated at these times. The observers may sit in the surrounding area. Once the dancing has started, the dance area has been “consecrated” for the duration of the Pow-Wow and organized activities may be conducted within the dance arena. Running through the arena at random or children playing in the dance area is prohibited. The arena director has the obligation of maintaning the sanctity of the arena during the Pow-Wow.

Proper Attire
The appropriate term for Naitive Clothing is “Regalia.” All dancers should be dressed in proper attire according to which category they are competing in. There are many different types of dancers. The Fancy Dancers are the most vigorous. The Men Fancy Dancers wear bustles, either one or two, and they have very colorful feathers. Women Fancy Shawl Dancers have very beautiful colored shawls with fringe and beautifully beaded and non-beaded capes. The Grass Dancers have outfits made of yarn, which depicts the swaying of grass. Jingle Dress Dancers have dresses made of seven rows of cones depicting seven stages of life. The most respected dancers of all of them are the Traditional Dancers, both men and women. They dance with grace and pride. It is most respectful of the observers to stand while the Traditional Dancers have their exhibition. The removal of hats is also appropriate.

General Pow-Wow Procedure
The Head man and Head Lady Dancers are selected by the Paiute Activities Committee before the Pow-Wow. It is an honor to be selected as one of the Head Dancers. They are the first to begin dancing on each song. Everyone waits in respect for the head men and head women to begin.

The Grand Entry
The audience is requested to stand while the flags are presented and until all the dancers enter the Pow-Wow arena.

The Invocation
All are to stand while one of the Tribal Elders says a prayer.

Intertribal Dancing
This is a social form of traditional dance. Dancers are not competing with each other but are cementing old friendships and are making new ones. Anyone can participate in this dance.

Giveaways
Sometimes an individual or a family will request time to have a “giveaway.” This is done out of grattitude or to pay social honor to an individual. It is the gesture, not the gift, that is important. This procedure usually takes some time, patience, and courtesy.

Sunday May 20th, thousands of people will be gathering in Southern Utah to view the spectacular sight of a solar eclipse.  The eclipse will begin at 6:22 PM and finish at 8:37 PM.  The annular will be visible from 7:31-7:36.

We want to make sure that all of our guests have a fun and safe experience, so we thought we’d share a few safety tips and options for viewing.

1.  Eclipse glasses are an inexpensive and safe way to view an eclipse.  Make sure the glasses have “CE” printed on them, showing that they are safety certified.  Visitors can order them online at www.rainbowsymphonystore.com/gensolecshad.html or pick them up at the Iron County Visitor’s Center for FREE (first come, first served.)  Inspect your glasses for any damage before looking directly at the sun.

2.  If you are using a telescope filter, DO NOT use one that fits over the eye piece.  This can seriously damage your eyes.  Instead, be sure to use a filter that fits over the FRONT END of the telescope.  Devices such as binoculars and telescopes concentrate energy from the sun in a similar way to magnifying glasses.  (Picture the little pyromaniac child that tortures ants and burns leaves.)  So if you don’t want your eyes to suffer the same fate as those ants, make sure you are using a proper telescope filter.

3.  A number 14 welders glass can be used.  However, you should not layer glasses of smaller numbers that add up to 14.  A stack of two 7 glasses to does not provide the same protection as a 14 glass!

4.  The classic pinhole projection is a guaranteed safe way to view the eclipse.  Instructions for making one can be found at http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how.html.

No matter how you decide to view this amazing phenomenon, make sure you protect your eyes first and foremost…..

….And be sure you book your room with us soon.  We are already sold out for Saturday the 19th but still have a handful of rooms for Sunday the 20th.