Tent camping is a tradition for many Choctaw families during the Choctaw Labor Day Festival. Generations gather to camp out and make memories during the annual event.
Tent camping is a tradition for many at Labor Day Festival
Published August 1, 2024By Christian Toews
Tent camping has been a part of the Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival for as long as the festival has existed. Hundreds of people travel from across the country to sleep under the stars at the Tvshka Homma, Oklahoma, event.
According to Kerry Steve, her family has been tent camping at the Labor Day festival for most of her life. Steve’s family would try to arrive early to rope off an area so their extended family could join them.
For Steve, one of the most meaningful memories of the Labor Day festival was camping with her extended family. “We really didn’t care who we were by as long as we were together. It was a homecoming kind of feel,” she said.
Tent camping has changed over the years.
Steve remembers camping where the general store is now located and waiting in long lines for the bathroom.
The tent camping area has moved, and improvements to the grounds have allowed easier access to water and bathrooms. However, the rush to get a camping spot has stayed the same.
Janita Jeffreys manages tent camping, among many other things, at the Labor Day festival.
According to Jeffreys, they call the opening day of tent camping “the Tent Scramble” because it describes it so well.
“People line up and are ready when we open the gates on Saturday morning. They rush in and rope off their area,” she said. “It’s literally a scramble.”
Jeffreys echoed Steve’s sentiment when considering the years of tent camping.
“We have huge families come in, and they do their vacation and reunions here,” said Jeffreys.”That’s the neatest part about it because you see all the families come together.”
According to Jeffreys, anywhere from 750 to 1000 people will gather in Tvshka Homma to tent camp. Many families return to the same spot each year and keep the tradition alive.
Steve said that as she has gotten older, she prefers “glamping” in an RV more than tent camping, but she will always look back fondly to the years her parents took her family tent camping.
Whether you are a veteran Labor Day Festival tent camper or want to try it for the first time, be sure to mark your calendars for the 2024 Tent Scramble on Saturday, August 24, at 10:00 a.m.
A full Labor Day Festival schedule and a map with specific tent camping locations can be found Choctaw Nation Labor Day website.