By Cara Jepsen
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The Wabash River was home to indigenous people for 10,000 years. That effectively ended on November 7, 1811, when then-general William Henry Harrison and his forces won the Battle of Tippecanoe in Prophetstown and proceeded to burn the outnumbered locals’ homes and food supply. The rout opened expansion into the Indiana Territory, which included Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. For the last ten years more than 20 tribes with historical connections to the Hoosier state return each summer to celebrate the Waahpaahshiki Peoples Pow Wow. They also lead workshops on how to craft such things as friendship bags, storage baskets, ribbon-work vests, and gourd dippers. This year the classes will be held at Ross Camp, 9225 W. County Road 75 S., ten miles outside of West Lafayette, Indiana, from July 10 through 14. A three-day session is $60, with variable supply fees for each workshop; scholarships are available for Native American participants. The powwow takes place July 8 and 9 at the Tippecanoe County Amphitheater Park at 4448 State Road 43 N. in West Lafayette. Admission is $5, or $3 for kids. Call the Museums at Prophetstown at 765-423-4617 for information about both events.
On July 8 a half-mile-long circus train featuring 75 antique wagons (including a specially constructed model for a giraffe) will begin a 380-mile trip from the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, to Milwaukee County’s Veterans Park near the Lincoln Memorial Bridge at Mason Street and Kilbourn Avenue in Milwaukee, where it’ll unload for five days of big-top shows ($7). The highlight is July 16’s Great Circus Parade through downtown Milwaukee, which will include 700 horses, 1,000 musicians, a steam calliope, a trunk-to-tail elephant chain, 100 clowns, and 2,000 costumed participants. It starts at 2 and prime bleacher seats are $25; it’s free elsewhere along the route, which includes Michigan Street, Wisconsin Avenue, and Kilbourn Avenue. Or you can stay home and watch it in air-conditioned comfort from 2 to 4 on Channel 11. Call 608-356-8341 for more.
Over 500 flatbeds, tankers, bobtails, dry vans, reefers, low boys, and drop-decks are expected in Waupun, Wisconsin, for the 11th annual Truckers Jamboree, which takes place August 11 and 12. Friday night culminates with the Lights of the Night Convoy, in which the town’s lights are turned off and the truckers’ lights are turned on. “It’s beautiful,” says the wife of one of the organizers. “Some of them have oodles and oodles of lights.” There’s also a pancake breakfast, model truck contest, and remote control races. Most events take place at the Waupun Community Center near the corner of Spring Street and Fond du Lac Street. Call 920-324-9985.
