A Celebration of Muscogee Culture and Community
Held annually in June, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Festival is a celebration of the living culture and contemporary life of Muscogee people. Since 1974, the Muscogee Nation Festival has been a treasured and time-honored experience.

Free Family Fun for All Ages
Festival events include sports tournaments, an all Indian rodeo, a parade through downtown Okmulgee, Junior Olympics, horseshoes, live entertainment, a 5K run, children’s activities, senior activities, a fun fair, art festival, stomp dance, cultural exhibitions, and fireworks. With an estimated attendance of 40,000 plus, all of more than 26 events are free to attend and everyone is welcome. The festival’s goal is to be a premier event providing entertainment and free, family fun for the Muscogee Nation Reservation and beyond.

Festival Origins and Growth
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Festival began in 1973 with an all-Indian rodeo. The following year, the Nation added a softball tournament to the rodeo, and the festival was born. Fifty years later, the festival consists of more than 26 events, including the festival’s biggest draw, live entertainment, and requires the help of nearly 1,000 volunteers.

Big Names, Bigger Crowds
Festival attendance has dramatically increased in recent years thanks to the addition of some of the music industry’s most well-known stars. Some recognizable names include Smokey Robinson, Eli Young Band, Kool & The Gang, and Bret Michaels. The acquisition of top musical acts has garnered the Nation’s premier event greater attention and has created a much larger festival. All subsequent festivals must now be bigger and better.

Honoring Tradition Through Participation
The increased awareness of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Festival has also heightened participation and attendance of all other events. This includes a momentous celebration of traditional Muscogee culture, and a rare event, opening the festival each year with a Muscogee stomp dance that is open to the public. Everyone is welcome to attend and immerse themselves into a single but vital part of Muscogee culture entrusted from generation to generation.

A Hub for Sports and Heritage Activities
While visiting the festival, make sure to attend some of the largest sporting events in Oklahoma including fast pitch and slow pitch softball tournaments that attract more than 100 teams, volleyball, horseshoes, basketball, as well as a tennis tournament, and the second largest All-Indian Rodeo in the U.S. Children and adults alike enjoy a great parade and the festival parade is not one to be missed. Each year the festival parade amasses an excess of 100 entries. The parade is always exciting to view as it passes in front of the historical Creek Nation Council House, the original post-removal capitol, on Main Street in historic downtown Okmulgee.

Festival Grounds and Event Locations
While some events occur in other locations throughout the Nation and throughout the entire month of June, the majority of events are held at the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Claude Cox Omniplex during the fourth weekend in June. The Claude Cox Omniplex is located on the north end of the city of Okmulgee and west of the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and OK State Highway 56, Loop Route. Check the festival website, MuscogeeNationFestival.com, for a full schedule and list of locations.