ROSE, Okla. – Join Cherokee Nation for a day celebrating Cherokee culture, ecology and community connection with the return of Watercress Fest on Saturday, April 26.
The family-friendly event is open to the public and free to attend from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Saline Courthouse Museum.
Guests will enjoy live art demonstrations, traditional games, a pop-up market and hands-on make-and-take opportunities. Native-owned food trucks will be onsite and live music performances are scheduled throughout the day with Zebadiah Nofire, Agalisiga "Chuj" Mackey, and Desi & Cody.
“The land and resources we depend on today were left to us by our ancestors – those who endured the hardest of times,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Honoring them demands more than a single day of celebrating the Earth. It calls for a deeper commitment: to learn from the land, to safeguard its richness, and to cherish the bond that ties us to the resilient spirit of those who came before us."
The spring-fed creek located on the grounds of the museum is home to an abundant amount of the aquatic plant, watercress – the event namesake. As part of the day’s events, there will be land and water talks aimed to increase environmental awareness, developed in collaboration with Cherokee Nation’s Secretary of Natural Resources Office.
Guests can also take advantage of new Trail Walks that utilize cultural stations throughout the grounds and enjoy guided ethnobotany tours and cooking demonstrations offering traditional and contemporary ways to prepare Watercress from Cherokee Nation citizen and Indigenous culinarian, Chef Taelor Barton.
In addition, Watercress Fest is serving as a qualifying event for the 2025 Traditional Native Games Championship. Cherokee Nation’s Native Games coordinators will be onsite conducting qualifying rounds of cornstalk shoot, hatchet throwing, blowguns and more.
For more information and a detailed schedule of events, go to VisitCherokeeNation.com.