A drum social this weekend at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts sets the stage for celebrations, gatherings and new beginnings among the Aboriginal and First Nations communities of Windsor-Essex, says Russell Nahdee, coordinator of the University’s Aboriginal Education Centre.

“The intent is to promote our identity by focusing on our culture, our languages, our achievements, our children and our values as Native people,” says Nahdee, one of the organizers. “It is an awareness event for the general public to learn, to see and hear what we as a people are all about.”

It opens with a gathering from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 15, and continues Saturday with a series of workshops, including:

• Voices of our Ancestors: Storytelling Workshop;
• Making the Medicine of Spirit;
• Entrepreneurship: Explore the Opportunity;
• Traditional Storytelling and Puppet Making for Children.

Saturday’s program runs 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The entire event is free and open to the public. The St. Clair Centre for the Arts is located at 201 Riverside Drive West.