Two cultures, one community, one big success
By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 29th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Plans are already in the works for a 2025 Two Cultures, One Community Pow Wow following last weekend’s resounding success. Pendleton Convention Center Manager Pat Beard says most, if not all, of the credit belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
“I’ve worked on hundreds of events,” he said. “I have never booked one that came together so quickly, so well, and turned out so good. It really was amazing.”
Beard said that over three days there were over 10,000 people who entered the convention center for the pow wow in its inaugural year. When asked what he hoped for 2025, he joked that doubling the capacity of the convention center would be good.
“We were at complete capacity,” he said. “There were multiple times when there was no place to sit and there were people coming in.”
Beard said that he’s hopeful the Blue Mountain Equine Center being built to the west of the convention center will give more room for the event. He also said that Travel Pendleton Director Kara Woolsey is planning a Pow Wow 101 class to introduce newcomers to the event.
Photo via the Pendleton Convention Center.
