Silver Lake Pow Wow Set For A Big Year

Jeff Green | Aug 21, 2025

Trudi Knapp, the long serving organiser of the Silver Lake Pow Wow, is extra excited about this year.

In the last few weeks, leading into the Pow Wow, which runs this Saturday and Sunday, August 23 and 24, Knapp’s phone has been ringing steadily, as people have been calling about coming to the Pow Wow.

“It feels like everyone wants to come this year. Our host drum again this year is One Nation, but we have two other Drums who called and want to come, so we have two guest Drums this year,” she said.

 A host of Dancers are coming as well, the number of vendors is up by 15 from last year, and “it seems like everyone I have talked to at other Pow Wows has said they were coming this year. Even people who haven’t been to Silver Lake in years and years,” she said.

This is gratifying because COVID hit the Silver Lake Pow Wow pretty hard. It had been growing steadily for years, and in 2018 and 2019 there was a lot of momentum, and Knapp and the other organisers felt that it had taken the Silver Lake Pow Wow to become established as a strong, community-based Pow Wow, carving out a place among the Competition and Commercial Pow Wow circuit.

But all that momentum disappeared with the COVID hiatus until 2022, and it was a struggle to get re-established, when it came back.

“It seems like we have recovered now, and it will be packed this weekend. Our camping section of the park is full, full,” said Knapp.

In addition to the vendors, the Drums, the Dancers, and food, there will be some new kids programming this year from Marcie Webster, who recently took a job doing outreach for the Sharbot Obaadjiwan.

The Powow starts on Saturday morning and runs until Sunday evening. There are no fires at the campground this year because of the fire ban that is in place, with the exception of the sacred fire at the Pow Wow, which is tended at all times