HENRYETTA, Okla.- Apekv Ceremonial Ground hosted their Honkv Bash Tournament along with other Halloween-themed activities. The event included carnival games, hayrides, costume contests for all ages, and a Mushball tournament. This event was held on Nov. 4, and was open to the public.
Apekv Ceremonial Ground Member Corey King (Mvskoke) has recently taken the role of hosting fundraisers for his ground. These different fundraisers will help with equipment and bills during the off season. They have a small committee that helps with different ideas to help raise funds.
This specific fundraiser will benefit Apekv elders and children. This will allow them to participate in activities such as the Christmas Light and a trip to Incredible Pizza. According to King, the goal is to keep their community together during this season.
This year’s event marked the first time attendees dressed up in Halloween costumes for the Honkv bash tournament. The tournament was open to anyone interested. King mentioned it had no age limit. “There’s teams that do get competitive but this game is for anybody’s ball game,” King said.
Event hosts thought it would be a funny sight to see the players dress up and play mushball, since some of them have participated in softball tournaments in the past. Mushball is different compared to softball because the players have to run clockwise around the diamond, instead of counter-clock wise.
“They get confused when they trip or fall. It’s just a comical event. We do Halloween and Thanksgiving stuff at the grounds but this year I think we are making it a little bit bigger and we are inviting everybody if they want to attend,” King said.
Mushball tournament winners received T-shirts with softball logos. The shirts also had lettering which read “Apekv Honkv Bash” on the front and “Champions” on the back.
The various tournaments were featured throughout the day. Carnival games and hayrides began in the evening. Apekv members helped with event setup and meal preparation.
King enjoys seeing everyone coming together. He also enjoys the support received from citizens and other grounds.
“It’s really special because you never know the support you got until you have stuff like this, But they show a lot of support. It’s mainly ceremonial grounds helping other ceremonial grounds out just like what we do when we have our Stomp Dances during that season, we go and help them and they go help us,” King said.
The event was not only open to other ceremonial ground members, but the public as well. King does ask that anyone who do attend events like these be respectful to ceremonial ground members and the ceremonial ground itself.
