The Festival of Flowers was held on March 8-10 in beautiful downtown Mobile, Alabama’s Cathedral Square. Celebrating its thirty-first year, the Festival of Flowers showcases the best in horticulture and design with this year's theme, "Make Your Mark." Providence Foundation produced the event, with funds being dedicated to the purchase of advanced medical equipment for USA Health Providence Hospital located in Mobile, AL.
Multiple departments from the Tribe, led by our Southern Chapter Vice-President J Ross Railey AIFD, created the display using native plants, including a sculpture of Chief Calvin McGhee, and designed it to incorporate culturally significant elements of Poarch's past, present, and future.
As part of the sponsorship, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama’s only federally recognized Indian Tribe, had the opportunity to showcase a life-sized living sculpture for the event. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians Festival of Flowers team won the Judge's Choice Award for their Chief Calvin McGhee display.
Chief Calvin McGhee (1903-1970), a distinguished leader of the Creek Nation East of the Mississippi, is remembered for his role as an activist and visionary. Together with numerous Tribal Elders, he laid the foundation for what has now evolved into the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
The mark these Tribal Leaders and Elders made is still strongly felt today. Today, the Tribe actively participates in Mvskoke language preservation, traditional stomp dancing, cultural songs, and various other preservation practices.
For more information about the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, you can visit poarchcreekindians.org
About the Poarch Band of Creek Indians
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama. From hospitality to aerospace, we continue to operate in a variety of industries across the World. Read more about at pci-nsn.gov.