This weekend will be a big one for members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

The tribe will host its annual Jingtamok, or Pow Wow, in Peshawbestown on Saturday and Sunday. The public is invited to attend the traditional gathering.

Planned on the day before the Pow Wow is the tribe’s annual Health Fair in the Strongheart Center off McKeese Road in Suttons Bay Township. Everyone is invited to the health fair as well, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow. It will feature dozens of displays promoting fitness and nutrition, and will offer a variety of fun activities for youngsters and adults alike.

Also Friday, for the first time, the Tribal Council of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will host an Open House for tribal members. The event will be held from 8 a.m. until noon at the tribe’s Governmental Center off M-22 in Peshawbestown across from the Eagletown Market.

The Open House will provide tribal members an opportunity to interact with newly-elected Tribal Councilors JoAnne Gasco and Tom Shomin, as well as new Tribal Chairman Alvin Pedwaydon. Also slated to be on hand will be veteran Tribal Council members Bob Kewaygoshkum, David Arroyo, George Antoine and Jane Rohl. Light refreshments will be served.

The main event of the weekend will be the Pow Wow, to which everyone — area residents and visitors alike — is invited.

The Pow Wow grounds are located about four miles north of the Village of Suttons Bay off M-22. Signs were being posted throughout the community. Those heading north on M-22 past Suttons Bay should turn left on Stallman Road and then right at the Medicine Lodge, following signs to a parking area near the Pow Wow grounds.

“Grand entries” of dancers in colorful Native American regalia will be held at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, and at noon on Sunday.

Dozens of vendors offering traditional Native American foods and handcrafts will be on hand with items for sale near the Pow Wow grounds beginning Saturday morning. The Pow Wow is billed as a “drug and alcohol free event.”