Cleanup crews out at Molanosa get the site ready for a week’s worth of events. Photos courtesy Freda Bird, Facebook.
Camp setup is now complete for the Molanosa Cultural Days, which runs in the Montreal Lake region until Friday.
Organizer Freda Bird says the cultural event is focused on positive, sober activities and this year they’re adding a disciplinary advisory committee of four Elders to hold people accountable to their vision.
“If anybody in the campsite is caught doing anything they’re not supposed to be doing they would have to go and talk to the advisory committee to find out what we’re going to do with them,” Bird said.
It’s been a hectic few weeks of setup, with a storm that came through the Molanosa area downing trees. Luckily, the Montreal Lake fire crew and about 24 summer students working with the band’s programming have been made available to help prepare the grounds.
The transformation of mowing grass, cleaning up trees, and other debris has made the site look “so different from when we first started working on it two or three weeks ago,” Bird said.
She is most looking forward to a family tree workshop that’s coming up for the first time ever, and will show how different people from the region are related. That is one in a long list of cultural events like jigging competitions, canoe races, a fishing derby, and traditional teaching presentations.
There are events scheduled every day from Monday to Thursday, with camp takedown scheduled for Friday.
There is daily transportation to Molanosa from the Nehethow Store at 9 a.m. and return transport at 9 p.m.