Scottsdale’s Holland Community Center will host the Adopt-a-Native-Elder Program for the second annual Scottsdale Navajo Rug & Jewelry Show from February 16–18. 

The event will feature, and have for sale, over 200 traditional, handwoven Navajo rugs, jewelry and crafts, as well as weaving demonstrations, stories, cultural teachings and raffles, allowing guests the opportunity to gain deeper insight into Native culture. 

The weekend will begin on Friday, Feb. 16, with a VIP preview and sale from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Attendees will be given an early look and opportunity to purchase rugs and other handcrafted items before they open to the public. The VIP evening will also feature talks with weavers about their rugs, Native music, hors d’oeuvres and beverages. VIP tickets are $50 at the door and online at hollandcenter.org. The $50 fee includes a raffle ticket for a chance to win a handwoven rug. 

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17, and Sunday, Feb. 18, admission is free and all proceeds from rug sales will directly support the weavers. Attendees can watch weaving demonstrations and meet several of the weavers and artists who have their items for purchase at the show. 

This year's Featured Weaver of the Rug & Jewelry Show is Nellie Curley. Curley is known for incorporating cultural teachings into her rugs. She tells stories in rich detail, like the Creation Story of her homelands and various Navajo ceremonies. 

The Holland Community Center is proud to continue its partnership with Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program after welcoming 1,200 attendees at last year’s show, which was the first of its kind in Scottsdale. The sales of last year's event matched some of the program’s most successful shows in other states, aiding the Adopt-A-Native-Elder organization to help reduce the extreme poverty and hardship facing Native Elders living on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Many Elders live in hogans that do not have running water or electricity, and the Adopt-A-Native-Elder has delivered food, medical supplies, firewood and other forms of support for over 30 years while also building relationships that honor and serve the elders. 

For more information about Adopt-A-Native-Elder and ways to support the organization, visit anelder.org. For more information about the 2nd Annual Scottsdale Navajo Rug & Jewelry Show tickets and details as well as the Holland Community Center, visit hollandcenter.org.

Photos courtesy Scottsdale Navajo Rug & Jewelry Show