Celebrate Suvoyuki Day on July 7 at Homolovi Ruins State Park and State Parks' 50th Anniversary

PHOENIX-"Suvoyuki" translated in the Hopi language is joint effort. "Suvoyuki Day" is an open house at Homolovi Ruins State Park that celebrates the partners who have helped to protect and save Homolovi from destruction.

The event begins on Friday, July 6 at 7 p.m. with a lecture about the important role of corn in Hopi culture. This lecture is tied to the Hopi sweet corn roast that will begin on Saturday at the park (see full schedule below).

On Saturday, July 7, the day begins at 6 a.m. with a morning run (4 and 6.5 miles). Following the run, the corn pit will be opened and all will get a taste of freshly roasted sweet corn. Throughout the day, there will be Hopi artist demonstrations, traditional food demonstrations and lectures from Hopi people and archaeologists interpreting the site.

Registration for the run begins at 5 a.m. on Saturday. The run will begin at 6 a.m. There is a $10 registration fee that can be paid on the day of the run. Pre-registration is available online at www.homolovi.com. There will be T-shirts, refreshments and a prize drawing for participants.

The Fourth of July events will also commemorate Arizona State Parks' 50th anniversary. This will be a celebration with dignitaries and a cake cutting under the big tent at 7 p.m. Anniversary displays will be featured including activities for children.

For more information about Suvoyuki Day call Homolovi Ruins State Park at (928) 289-4106 or visit www.homolovi.com. Entrance into Homolovi Ruins State Park is waived for this event. Homolovi Ruins State Park is located five miles northeast of the city of Winslow, Navajo County, in northeastern Arizona. The park campground is convenient to I-40 and accommodates large rigs, as well as tent camping.

Hopi tribal leaders and Arizona State Parks staff have been collaborating for four years to create a new model for park management and tourism to traditional Hopi lands which will preserve and protect the sacred culture, while offering special cultural tour opportunities for the public.

Homolovi Ruins, one of a series of many ancient Hopi pueblos found in the Southwest, offers the public the opportunity to begin their journey into Hopi life and culture. Like the modern visitor making their way to Hopi, Homolovi Ruins was a stop for the ancestral Hopi people along their migration route, eventually moving on and settling at one of the current Hopi villages.

This event is part of Arizona State Parks 50th Anniversary celebration held from October 2006 through December 2007. Special events will be held at each park such as a traditional mariachi festival, plein art shows, an apple festival, geocaching, solar energy celebrations and astronomy galas. Hiking, fishing, boating and mountain biking await those individuals with an adventurous attitude. Come uncover the many secret places and stories that are still to be found in Arizona's State Parks.

The Arizona State Parks Board was established in 1957 to acquire and manage park and cultural areas. Over the years, legislation has added other programs to Arizona State Parks and as a result, the volunteer Board is responsible for a much broader spectrum of duties. These duties are related to historic preservation, archaeology, outdoor recreation, resource conservation/education and grant administration.

For information about Arizona State Parks call (602) 542-4174 (long distance 800-285-3703) or see the website at www.azstateparks.com.

Homolovi Ruins State Park "Suvoyuki Day - Hopi Festival"

Listing of events for Saturday, July 7, 2007

- 6 a.m. - Talavay Warikhàalaya (Homol'ovi morning run) 4k and 6.5k. Prize drawing for participants. Refreshments will be provided after the run.

- 6:50 a.m. (when the runners return) - Opening of corn pit

- 7 a.m. - Archaeologists lead a tour of park archaeological sites. Meet at the visitor center.

- 9 a.m.-4 p.m. - Hopi cultural demonstrations and archaeological presentations, booths by organizations associated with Homolovi and Hopi culture presentations

- 9:30 a.m. - Homolovi dancers present traditional Hopi social dances

- 10:15 a.m. - Welcome remarks by Hopi leaders and Arizona State Parks followed by our 50th anniversary cake

- 1 p.m. - Archaeologists lead a tour of park archaeological sites. Meet at the visitor center.

- 2 p.m. - Leuppe Kiln Conference at park campground. Archaeologists will begin setting up kilns for various traditional styles of firing. This will be going on all afternoon. The pottery will fire overnight and the kilns will be opened on Sunday morning.

Sipaulovi Village (928) 737-2570

e-mail sznjmsn@gilanet.com

Sipaulovi Village Celebrates Suvoyuki Days

Artist Fair, Tours, and Lectures

Sunday, 8 July 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Second Mesa, Hopi Nation, Arizona

Hopi Sipaulovi Village celebrates its ancestral connections to Homolovi Ruins State Park with free events on Sunday, July 8. Suvoyuki Days is an opportunity to experience direct connections between the ancient and contemporary, to find out where the Hisatsinom from Homolovi went and what their life is like today.

Sunday's events at Sipaulovi feature an artist fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; two 45-minute walking tours of the upper village, presented by Cedric Kuwaninvaya at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; a Living Atlas presentation of Hopi lands by Vaughn Sieweumptewa; and a lecture on Hopi lifeways from 2:30-4:30 p.m. by Alph Secakuku.

Traditional foods will be available for purchase during the day.

This event inaugurates Sipaulovi's new tourism program and visitor center in the middle village. Maps will be available at Homolovi Ruins State Park and other regional locations; directions will be posted at the junction of Highways 87 and 264. Visitors are requested to come to the community center in the Sipaulovi middle village for orientation and directions to the day's events.

Clan stories and "footprints" mark Hopi migration routes over hundreds of years and thousands of miles to converge at present day Hopi mesas. Sipaulovi Village, founded in the late 1600s, traces its migration from Homolovi. This year's Suvoyuki Days celebrates the 50th anniversary of Arizona State Parks and their collaboration with the Hopi Tribe's Homolovi Park Project, establishing Homolovi Ruins State Park as the ancient gateway to contemporary Hopi villages.

The artist fair, Living Atlas, and food sales will be in the community building in the Sipaulovi middle village, which is also the starting point for tours of the historic upper village. The lecture is at Hopi Fine Arts Gallery on Highway 264, just east of the junction. This project is sponsored by Sipaulovi Development Corporation with support from the Arizona Office of Tourism.

For more information, call the Sipaulovi Village office (928) 737-2570, e-mail sznjmsn@gilanet.com or visit http://www.homolovi.com.

Directions to Second Mesa and Sipaulovi Village: From I-40, take exit 257, Highway 87 north to Homolovi Ruins State Park and Second Mesa. Sipaulovi Village is 60 miles north, at the junction of Arizona Highways 87 and 264. To get to the middle Sipaulovi Village community building, follow the signs from the junction.

Suvoyuki (translated as "joint effort" or "done together") will also be held Friday and Saturday, July 6-7.

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