PENDLETON — Two cultures will come together in an event Feb. 23-25 at the Pendleton Convention Center, 1601 Westgate.

The “Two Cultures, One Community Pow Wow” is designed to celebrate two cultures that make up part of the Pendleton tapestry: Native American cultural traditions and the cowboy culture.

Two of the main organizers of the event symbolize the diverse nature: Pat Beard has been dubbed “the cowboy” who promotes local events and rarely appears without a cowboy hat and boots, while Fred Hill is well known as a master speaker and teacher of native languages who wears his heritage proudly. Both are deeply involved with local events and came together to create a new one to celebrate Pendleton. Although Wildhorse Resort and Casino already hosts pow wow events, Beard said it was important for the Two Cultures, One Community Pow Wow to take place in Pendleton.

“We have such a great community, such a diverse community, and I really want to see us all come together and support each other as a community,” Beard said. “This isn’t about it being one side or the other side, this is about being one community.”

Hill agreed.

“It’s two-fold: the two cultures, the natives and the nonnatives, to be able to come together and appreciate one another’s culture and company. That’s what we’re hoping will be accomplished with this beginning: relationships and friendships,” Hill said.

Hill said Beard approached him with the idea of a partnership.

“I asked him what his goal was because we can either do a small little shindig or blow it out of the water,” Hill said. “We’re going to go big.”

Part of going big is attracting names well-known on the pow wow circuit. The head emcee is Ruben Littlehead and the host drum is Northern Cree, a well-known group from Alberta, Canada, that has been nominated for six Grammy awards and two Juno awards.

“As soon as people see the name Native Cree, that’s definitely a big draw for people in the pow wow world, whether they’re vendors or dancers or spectators,” Hill said. “They’re very well-known and very accomplished.”

Hill said dancing has become an important way of communicating culture and history.

“These dances and songs, they’ve been handed down through the generations. A lot of these are shared dances between the tribes, so it’s a big common ground for us,” Hill said. “The languages that are spoken, from all the different tribes, we don’t all understand each other’s language. Through these dances, this is a common language, a shared language.”

Hill said the event will allow attendees to experience the whole spectrum of what a pow wow is, including energetic performances and those that are reverent. The schedule includes multiple dancing and drumming contests for participants of different ages.

Food will be available for purchase at the event, including from Quartz Creek, a premier fry bread and Indian taco provider, and Pendleton Catering Company, the on-site caterer for the Pendleton Convention Center.

The event will feature more than 50 vendors with many items, from jewelry to leather goods. Vendor spots for the event are full with a waiting list. Beard and Hill said they put out the word that they were having a community pow wow and vendors started calling in.

“The response has been really, really great,” Beard said. “I think people are excited.”

The event is family-friendly and will be an alcohol and drug-free event. Sponsors include the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Travel Pendleton, the City of Pendleton, Cayuse Native Solutions and Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center.

In promotion of the event, Pendleton Mayor John Turner will sign and read a proclamation supporting the Two Cultures, One Community Pow Wow during a Pendleton City Council meeting.

“It really is about bringing everyone together, and it really is a partnership with all of us working together,” Beard said. “It’s going to be an incredible event for our community, and I hope everyone will come and join us.”

The Two Cultures, One Community Pow Wow runs from noon to 11 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23, noon to midnight on Saturday, Feb. 24, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25.

For more information, email TwoCulturesOneCommunity@gmail.com.