A powwow’s teachable moment

This annual two-day gathering attracts Native Americans from a large number of tribes, and is open to the public as a way of sharing their culture.

“A powwow is about showing the nonnative public what we do and who we are,’’ said organizer Daniel Hand, a Natick resident who is a member of the Overhill Cherokee tribe of Tennessee.

Native crafts, from leather pouches and medicine bags to jewelry, clothing, incense, and botanicals, will be on sale during the Saturday and Sunday event, and music and dance performances will abound.

Confirmed performers on the roster include Envision, a women’s drumming group, and the Wolf Cry Singers, a Boston-based ensemble with members from many tribes.

But powwows tend to be organic happenings, more like a drop-in jam session than a programmed event. “We never know for sure who is going to show. It’s always a surprise,’’ said Hand. But one guarantee is that this year’s powwow will place special emphasis on education.

“A lot of the powwows don’t explain the different dances,’’ said Hand. “And to someone who is unfamiliar with them, every men’s dance might look like the war dance, but that’s not the case. So we’ll be explaining what each one means and how it came about.’’

All proceeds will go to Native Directions, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit organization that connects young Native Americans nationwide with sobriety counseling. Hand, a drug and alcohol counselor, volunteers to provide referrals and help run the organization. Native Directions hopes to build its own counseling facility eventually.

“There is a big need for it,’’ said Hand. “You have alcoholism that’s been passed on from way back. But you also have kids today dealing with drug addictions, and there’s a big methamphetamine problem at some of the Western reservations.

“So the powwow is about getting involved. It’s a participatory event. And I like to say that recovery is a participatory sport,’’ added Hand. “So in every way, this powwow is about taking part.’’

Fourth annual Intertribal Powwow will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at Sweetwilliam Farm, 153 North St., Upton. Admission is free. Parking $5. 508-529-2000, www.sweetwilliamfarm.biz.

SCHOOL HOUSE STILL ROCKS: One exam from his college days stands out for Dave Sheppard above all others. He was sitting in an auditorium with about 400 other students, and one of the first questions asks them to write out the preamble of the Constitution.

“All over this huge hall you heard people start singing ‘We the People, in order to form . . .’ which is from ‘School House Rock,’ ‘’ said Sheppard, referring to the 1970s and ’80s Saturday morning cartoon show that taught subjects like history and grammar through pithy songs.

“I remember at the time, while singing it to myself to figure it out, that I was thinking ‘School House Rock’ is really a powerful thing. It’s how so many people learned so much,’’ added Sheppard.

It’s also turning out to be a great way to draw families to Maynard’s Acme Theater, which is opening its production of the musical “School House Rock Live!’’ tomorrow night, with shows continuing through Oct. 10. It’s the first children’s show that the award-winning community theater has produced.

“This is just a really fun, cartoony show, with big, oversized props for many scenes, and I just love the music. I loved it growing up and I still love it now,’’ said Sheppard, who is Acme’s executive director.

Directed by Russell Greene of Waltham, the production stars a host of professional area talents and reprises the best of “School House Rock,’’ including “Zero, My Hero’’ and “Interplanet Janet,’’ amped up by a live rock band.

“School House Rock Live!’’ will be performed 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday, with shows continuing Fridays and Saturdays the next three weekends, and Sunday matinees on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, at Acme Theater, 61 Summer St., Maynard. Tickets $19; seniors, students $16. Reservations recommended. 978-823-0003, www.acmetheater.com.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE STRINGS: You have to wonder what kind of antics went on in the Broadbent household that led to the formation of Stringfever. Just what led brothers Giles, Ralph, and Neal Broadbent to corral their cousin Graham Broadbent - classically trained musicians all - and start a quartet that’s part Vegas, part string quartet, and a pinch of Cirque du Soleil? Whatever the cause, we should all applaud it.

With crayon-bright electric violins, cello, and viola, this high-energy foursome from Britain repackages the classics with wit and gusto. From a James Bond medley to their guess-this-movie theme games to their show-stopping “History of Music in Five Minutes’’ (from Elizabethan to heavy metal), they travel through all genres with humor and mischief.

They do mix in the classical greats as well, but don’t expect this foursome to remain sitting down - or to keep their bows to their own instruments. In their riotous version of Ravel’s “Bolero,’’ all four simultaneously play their parts on the same cello.

They will be at the Center for Arts in Natick on Saturday evening for the second stop on their first US tour. This all-ages show may be the perfect way to inspire young musicians to keep at the strings.

Stringfever performs 8 p.m. Saturday at the Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St. Tickets $30; members $26 in advance; seniors, students $1 discount. 508-647-0097, www.natickarts.org. www.stringfeverusa.com.

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