TICKETS go on sale March 10th, 2025
Hello, my name is Erin Gonzalez and I am the Principal of Wapato Middle School. As a Wapato High School graduate, and participant in the Cultural Unity Fair as a WMS student, I hold this event very near to my heart.
For those of you who have also been part of this event, whether that be as a student, or a parent, or a volunteer, you know how important this night is to our community.
It might be the tradition, it might be the chance of a reunion, it might be because you have a child performing, or it might simply be the cheese zombies that bring you back every year! But, if you are anything like me, it doesn’t take you long to realize that the reason you come back is because you belong to something special, and that is the community of Wapato.
The very first Cultural Unity Fair took place 43 years ago on the Wapato Middle School stage and after school that day, a group of ladies went to grab a coffee before the big night. When they returned, the parking lot was completely full and they thought to themselves “Oh great, we booked our event on the same night as some high school event!” Turns out, everyone was there for CUF.
One of the ladies who spearheaded this event was Sue Rigdon. Sue dedicated 25 years of her life to our middle school children and was the director of the renowned Cultural Unity Fair. Through her dedication and the help of numerous volunteers, the Cultural Unity Fair got to the point that when I was here, as a student, we were selling out the Capitol Theater 3 nights a week with a two-hour show of cultural performances.
In addition to the CUF director, Sue was the founder of the Wapato Indian Club. They were asked to perform all around the valley and eventually around the country. In 1999, after suffering from two strokes, Sue Rigdon was forced to retire from a career she loved. Sue passed away on June 30, 2017. To honor her life and the impact she had on many lives in our community, Sue’s husband and her family joined us on stage in 2018 as we dedicated that night's show to Sue.
In 1982, the first year of CUF, the theme was “Like a Mighty Redwood, America is nourished by her roots.”
Members from our Native American Club presented the family with a plaque that read:
When I put out a request to the community of Wapato to send in any old CUF videos they might have laying around, the Rigdons stepped up and brought me what they had. Those videos have been made available to you, on this website, for viewing.
Thank you, Rigdon Family, for sharing these with the world.
*If you have any videos from years not listed on this website, feel free to reach out to me and we can get copies made and uploaded here.