Manito Ahbee Festival draws big crowd in Winnipeg over long weekend

About 800 dancers decked out in traditional powwow regalia put on a show at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg this weekend as part of the 2016 Manito Ahbee Festival.

The festival celebrates Indigenous cultures from across North America and is the biggest event of its kind in Canada.

"The energy here is fantastic," said Lisa Whitecloud-Richard, a member of the Manito Ahbee Festival board of governors.

Richard said Indigenous groups from across the continent have been coming together during the warm months for a long time.

• Manito Ahbee Festival begins in Winnipeg with lighting of sacred fire

"Quite often this is a traditional thing we did in summer. During the summer we would travel around and visit and celebrate through song, dance," she said.

"That's an important part of what we've always done. We come together now in a modern context for dancing and singing, and singing and dancing is like a prayer. It's a lot of healing between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities."

People competing in the dancing and jigging contests had a chance to win cash prizes, which were to be handed out Sunday.

An Indigenous culture education day on Friday also drew more than 500 students to the University of Winnipeg RecPlex. And on Thursday, up-and-coming Indigenous musical acts performed and took part in an event designed to give new and aspiring artists a better idea of what it takes to be successful in the music industry.

The Manito Ahbee Festival wraps up Sunday.