Copyright © 2003 NLThomas
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TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Experiencing a taste of Cherokee culture has never been easier than at the Second Annual Kanuche Festival. The festival offers visitors to the Cherokee Heritage Center, and downtown Tahlequah, the opportunity to experience Cherokee history, culture and food October 11 and 12.

The Kanuche Festival, sponsored by the Tahlequah Tourism Council, the Cherokee Phoenix and the Cherokee Heritage Center, will feature live entertainment, arts and crafts, kanuche-making and tasting and storytelling.

Sunday’s activities will feature an exotic chili cookoff, meaning no beef allowed. Kanuche is a traditional food made with hickory nuts. A kanuche ball is roughly the size of a baseball and is made from the meat of approximately 150 hickory nuts. A ball this size makes approximately one and a half gallons of kanuche.

The ball is cooked in water to form a broth. The recipe can vary after that; some cooks prefer to serve it with hominy, and others use rice. Event hours are Saturday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 12 from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information on the Second Annual Kanuche Festival, please call 918-456-6007, call toll free 888-999-6007 and/or http://www.CherokeeHeritage.org">visit the Cherokee Heritage Center Web site. For vendor applications, please call 918-456-3742.

Related contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org