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San Juan's Day, June 24, was always an exciting time when I was growing up in the village of Paguate on Laguna Pueblo.

It was a day to celebrate people whose names were Juan, Juana or Juanita. As is the Indian way to commemorate one's honor, it is the honoree who gives the gifts. So every year on those hot, summer afternoons in the mid-1930s, it was customary for everyone to gather in one place to await the giveaway.

Relatives and clan members donated tubs of food for the honored individuals to throw from the roofs of their homes to the people below. There would be loaves of bread, cookies and food bought from the trading post. Hispanics came from the nearby villages of Bibo, Seboyeta, and Moquino in wagons and on horseback to join in the festivities, as did some Navajos from Ca¤oncito.

Finally, someone would announce it was time for the grab, and we would go en masse to the first house. An elder would welcome us to the home and then throw water on the crowd. Water, an important element in the Pueblo world, is included in many of our ceremonials.

Then the goodies came flying through the air. The agile ones would catch as many items as they could put in a flour sack brought for the occasion. Others would pick up what had fallen at their feet. There would be several houses to go to before sunset.

Years later, when some folks started to own trucks, we would hop in the beds of the vehicles or stand on the running boards for rides to the next house, never realizing how dangerously we were living as we rode over the rough dirt roads.

Today, these celebrations are rare in my pueblo, and the gifts are now of the Wal-Mart variety - packaged snacks, plastic bowls, cups, water bottles, paper towels and other small household articles.

But the most fun is bouncing beach balls on peoples' heads, bursting water balloons and unraveling toilet paper into streamers. Now I feel it is more of a sport to watch than to participate in.

One such activity occurred at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on April 20, when the newly built Pueblo House addition was dedicated. The 1,000-square-foot classroom has space for workshops, hands-on activities and artists' demonstrations. I had been on the building advisory committee, so it was with joy that I saw it come to life.

Prior to the throw, about 150 visitors to the center were entertained by the world-renowned Zuni Pueblo dance troupe led by Fernando Cellicion. A group of middle school students from Bernalillo were especially entranced by the dancing, as well as by the grab.

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, at 2401 12th Street N.W., is alive with numerous activities. Owned and operated by the 19 pueblos of New Mexico, the center's museum, theater, galleries, gift shop and Pueblo Harvest Cafe are open daily, while the archives and the library can be visited by appointment. Dances are held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekends. Various special events take place during the year, and a calendar is available at the front desk, as is a list of all the Pueblo feast days and other Pueblo celebrations.

Tours to Acoma and Zuni pueblos are now being conducted through the efforts of the center and the two pueblos. The tours travel from the center to Acoma on Tuesdays and Thursdays and to Zuni on Wednesdays. Included in the one-day trip are a meal and guided walking tours to each site's museums, cultural centers and missions. The village tours are led by a member of the respective pueblo. Into the Sunset Western Pueblo Tours can accommodate 10 to 55 people at a time. To make a reservation, call 843-3550 or 866-855-7902, ext. 3550.

If you have not visited the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center lately, do go by to look, listen, learn and enjoy what it has to offer right here in the city.