From Friday to Sunday, attendees took in drumming and dance contests during the event, which saw competitors of all ages vie for cash prizes. Food and artisan vendors were set up around the arbour as well. Kamloopa Powwow Society director Colin Stonechild estimated tens of thousands passed through the front gates over the course of the weekend. “We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve had a lot of great drum groups travel here, we have lots of great dancers and lots of great spectators from all over the place here,” he said. “I was just talking to a family from California, and I know people are here from Minnesota, South Dakota — all over the place — the Northwest, Washington and Idaho.” He said he thought attendance was "just a little bigger" than last year. Plenty of vehicles Traffic in and out of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc powwow arbour was snarled for most of the weekend, and Stonechild said some attendees were bused from an overflow parking lot to accommodate the number of people — a new service this year. Stonechild said the society’s board of directors has been hard at work during their second year organizing the event, and he said they are fortunate to see such strong attendance numbers. “There was nowhere to sit in the bleachers, seven rows of chairs in the arbour here. It was a pretty remarkable achievement to have that many people,” he said. “I think it rivals the heyday of Kamloopa back in the early '90s.” Stonechild said the non-profit society generates money through donations, fundraising and tickets, and all proceeds are put back into the event. “It’s about being great hosts and taking care of the people that come and visit us here at Kamloops,” he said. “If you’re a great host, people want to come back every year and I think that’s what’s happening.” 'People coming together' Melissa Kelm has been going to the Kamloopa Powwow for years and has been working one of the concessions for the past handful. She said the event has grown bigger and better every year she’s attended and appreciates last year’s decision to move the event from August to June, as there’s less smoke and more accommodating temperatures. “I often say that culture is like a harm reduction type tool,” Kelm said. “Today is my five-year sobriety actually, and so for me attending ceremony, attending powwows in circles — that is harm reduction, it's what keeps me sober.” Foster Tom said he hadn’t been to a powwow in several years but is starting to get back into the swing of things. “For me it was all the dancing and the drumming, all the different regalia,” he said. “It’s all the people coming together and having fun.”