Pokagon Band of Potawatomi invites the public to its 25th annual Kee-Boon-Mein-Kaa Pow Wow, the annual celebration of traditional singing, dancing and culture, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4 and 5.

The Pokagon Band’s pow wow arena is located at its Rodgers Lake headquarters at 58620 Sink Road, Dowagiac.

Parking and admission are free.

Kee-boon-mein-kaa in the Potawatomi language refers to the end of the huckleberry harvest, a traditional time of celebration for the Potawatomi people.

Part county fair, part family reunion and part traditional ceremony, the pow wow is a time for native people to celebrate their identity and to visit and share with their friends in the greater community; and for traditional drum groups to sing their songs, for tribal dancers to perform their steps and for craftsmen and women to display their handiwork.

The pow wow draws dancers and drummers from the Great Lakes and beyond to compete for prize money in several categories: traditional, contemporary and a Great Lakes old-style dance category, which showcases regalia reflecting traditional Potawatomi and Great Lakes styles and designs not usually seen on the pow wow trail.

Vendors will be selling native artwork, jewelry, crafts and goods, as well as traditional food.

Presentations will be given throughout the weekend on such topics as black ash basketmaking, copperwork and native language.

Grand entries for the pow wow, which are the formal start of the dancing and songs, are at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.

On both mornings the vendors and cultural presenters will set up before the dancing starts; the gates to the pow wow grounds open at 10 a.m. For more details, visit the pow wow’s Web site at www.pokagonpowwow.com.