Members of four federally recognized Virginia tribes will gather at Riverbend Park in Great Falls on Saturday, Sept. 12, for a day of dancing, drumming, archery and hands-on cultural demonstrations.

The Virginia Native American Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the park, 8700 Potomac Hills St. The Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy tribes are all participating, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority.

Advance registration is $12 per person and closes Friday, Sept. 11, at 9 p.m. Walk-up admission is $15.

What to expect

The lineup includes Upper Mattaponi dancing and drumming, traditional storytelling and a flute performance by Patrick "Littlewolf" Brooks of Five Feathers Productions. Mattaponi cultural keeper Samuel McGowan will present recreated tools and artifacts highlighting Mattaponi culture past and present.

The Powhatan Shinny League, now in its third year, will demonstrate shinny, a traditional Powhatan game that blends elements of field hockey, soccer, lacrosse and rugby. Games begin with a prayer and an elder tossing the ball into the air.

T.J. Tupponce, co-founder of the Powhatan Shinny League, told the New Kent–Charles City Chronicle in June that the league found the game by researching Williamsburg and Jamestown journal entries. "What we play is a game called Shinny and it's more akin to field hockey with all the physicality put back into it," Tupponce said.

Native American food and craft vendors will also be on site.

Throughout the day, visitors can try archery, join guided walks exploring traditional uses of local plants, watch fire-building and dugout canoe demonstrations, meet live animals and participate in hands-on activities.

Inside the visitor center

The Riverbend Park Visitor Center will host exhibits on Indigenous people and history, including the traveling "Loudoun's First Farmers" exhibit from the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling. The exhibit features pottery sherds, stone tools and projectile points spanning 10,000 years of history.

How to register

Full schedule and registration details are available at the festival event page.