Gift of the Waters Pageant canceled

The organizational committee for the Annual Gift of the Waters Pageant has announced the event will not be held this year due to COVID-19.

Barb Vietti, head of the organization, said it is out of concern for the elders of the Shoshone Tribe that the decision was made to cancel this year. Spectator numbers were an additional reason as the state will only allow gatherings of 250 people.

“We were worried for the health and safety of the elders,” Vietti said. “So many of them have participated each year and with the pandemic we would rather they stay home and be safe.”

This is only the second time in the Pageant’s 50-plus-year run that it has been cancelled, with the first time being due to two days of torrential rain.

The Pageant is a historic celebration filled with music, dance and camaraderie between two nations. While not a re-enactment, it does commemorate the agreement between the U.S. Government and Shoshone Chief Washakie in 1897.