"It's our culture," the Tlingit woman, a Raven from Angoon, said during the final day of event held every two years to celebrate Southeast Alaska Native heritage through song and dance. "It just gives us a sense of pride about who we are."

"It brings me close to tears when I see our children learn our culture, our way."

Many did stand in the rain for the parade from the Mount Roberts Tram, some equipped with umbrellas and some covered in plastic. Later, people filled Centennial Hall's Sheffield Ballroom to watch the final afternoon of performances. This year's theme is "Reflections of our ancestors in the faces of our children."

The crowd overflowed outside the ballroom, where a television with a small seating area was showing the happenings on stage.

Nelson said she has two grandchildren living in Juneau who are dancing. The youngest, Heather James, who Nelson is proud to see learning Tlingit, was with her in the afternoon. Darren Austin, who was in the morning's parade, had to go to work at the tram in the afternoon, Nelson said.

Nelson said she has been coming to Celebration off and on since the early 1980s.

Joe Zuboff, of Angoon, had a short answer for why he came to Celebration.

"This one," he said, hugging his 5-year-old son, Sterling, a little tighter.

He said, though, he has been coming to Celebration since the 1970s, when it was held at Juneau's high school.

"When we started, it was just a handful of people. I can't believe it has grown to this," he said.

When he asked Sterling about the dancing, the boy started moving his legs and arms.

"The elders wanted the children to learn the culture," Zuboff said. He pointed to the tradition of the songs going back hundreds of years.

"Undoubtedly some songs have been lost, but new songs are being written," Zuboff said.

Celebration also is a chance to catch up with people from all over Southeast, he said. "We get to see a lot of the elders and people from out of town."

Frank Quinto and his son, Sonny, came from Washington state to see their first Celebration.

"I wasn't sure what to expect," said the elder Quinto. He said they left Juneau when his son - now a tradition drummer and singer at the Colville reservation in Washington - was just a year old, but they still have family here. "I didn't expect it to be as big as it is. I think it's absolutely fantastic."

He said he also has enjoyed seeing old friends and relatives. But one aspect stands out for him. "What makes this trip very, very special is my son bought the tickets and said, 'We're going home for Celebration.'"

The Quintos just missed the parade, though. Frank Quinto said he didn't know it would go on in the rain.

Rain isn't unusual in Southeast Alaska and, when Nelson was younger, the rain didn't bother her, she said. But Saturday she saw a lot of people taking shelter where they could.

"It would have been nice if the sun was shining," she said. "If the sun was shining, it would have been as full as Disneyland."