Pow wows are a great place to find seed beads and see wonderful beaded workmanship! Pow wows are gatherings of Native American tribes to celebrate and honor native cultures and traditions. They are a social event that usually features a variety of dances, songs and vendors. 
Here's info on an upcoming one at CSUN in Northridge on November 29, 2025. 

Here's a link to the Press Release from California State University, Northridge.

To find other Pow wow events, you can try searching the Pow Wows Calendar from PowWows.com.  

The website for Calexplornia has lists of California Pow Wows. Unfortunately, it may not be as timely as one wants. 

Another website specifically for California is NewsfromNativeCalifornia. It is broader than just Pow wows. For example, there is some interesting information about rock art locations in California. 

In addition, another website on Southern California Pow wows comes from the San Manual Pow Wow and is linked  here. 

If you know of other websites that have useful Pow wow information, let us know in the Comments. 

The Bead Society sponsored two field trips in September to the Bowers Museum and the Broad Museum. The group went to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana to The Bead Society of OC - Bead Sale in the outside courtyard and to the exhibit, World of the Terracotta Warriors at the Museum. World of the Terracotta Warriors comprises over 110 newly uncovered treasures including Terracotta Warriors, chariot regalia, jade and gold adornments, bronze vessels, and immersive digital experiences. In a landmark collaboration with the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center and esteemed museums and archaeological institutions across Shaanxi Province, These artifacts make their North American debut, offering audiences unprecedented glimpses into China before and during the Qin dynasty. Below are some pictures from the exhibit taken by attendees. 

In addition, several Bead Society members went to the Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles to see the exquisite works of Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me. These sculptures were stunning with intricate beadwork. The colors were so vibrant!  According to the Museum,  Gibson's artwork are "all reflecting the artist’s radical vision for a future in which all people are seen, accepted, and loved."  The show came to The Broad directly from the 60th Venice Biennale (2024), one of the most prestigious exhibitions of visual art in the world, where Gibson made history as the first Indigenous artist to represent the USA with a solo show. The exhibit has moved on, but for more information you can click on this link from the Broad Museum.  The video installation of She Never Dances Alone is also available on the website. 

And here are some photographs from members of the Bead Society on this marvelous work. ​

The Bead Society regularly hosts field trips to various museums and events. There are plans to visit the Autry Museum in November. 

The Bead Society Cultural Arts and Bead Show was held on November 1st at the auditorium of the Veterans Memorial Complex in Culver City. In addition to beads and finished jewelry, we also had pottery, clothing, photography and exquisite origami objects. See the pictures! The attendance was good, both vendors and attendees expressed their pleasure. In addition, the Bead Society Booth filled four tables with beads, supplies and jewelry and made a decent return. We even acquired some donations from some of the attendees. We offered  complementary giftwrapping at this event. We had paper, ribbon, bows. Some people event decorated gift cards. We had demonstrations by Deidre Green and Janice Metz. 
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Here are some pictures of the event. We even included some before shots, so you can see how the auditorium transformed! 

The Bead Society is very grateful to our volunteers who helped out at the Bead Shack Table, the Membership Table, and at the various Demo tables. And of course, the Bazaar/Pop Up Committee headed by Sylvia Humphrey deserves a lot of credit. Raul Soliz, our helper and his daughter, Bianca were very helpful!