Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Art Park, open free to the public.
A Lakota tipi is featured in CRYP's Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Art Park
EAGLE BUTTE, S.D.-The Cheyenne River Youth Project officially launched its Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Performing Art Series in April and will host regularly scheduled events through the end of May. The family-friendly series, made possible with funding from NEA Art Works, will incorporate popular films, live performances, a youth wacipi and a handgame tournament in the nonprofit youth organization's public Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park, as well as Midnight Basketball in the Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life) gymnasium.
According to Julie Garreau, CRYP's executive director, the Waniyetu Wowapi Performing Art Series helps fulfill a vision she and her staff first developed more than 10 years ago.
"Our first years really focused on The Main, our youth center for 4- to 12-year-olds," she explained. "In 2006, however, we were able to start providing teen programming and special community events at Cokata Wiconi; nine years after that, we unveiled the art park with our first RedCan invitational graffiti jam.
"Together, Cokata Wiconi and the art park have become meaningful gathering places for community members of all ages," she continued. "The performing art series offers even more opportunities for us to celebrate our Lakota culture, make memories, and lift each other up."
