Students, faculty and staff are invited to travel around the world with the performers in this year’s annual Ethnos Culture Show. The performance put on by the International Students Association will show Friday and Saturday in Cullen Auditorium.
This year Ethnos features 13 international acts and 150 performers, said Ethnos Producer and Coordinator Veronica Whitt, senior family studies major from the Philippines. This weekend’s show features the same number of acts as last year but a greater number of performers.
Co-producer Lucius Patenaude, sophomore multimedia major from Thailand said a skit spread over the entire performance weaves the international acts together. The skit follows the story of five tourists, Witt said, allowing native students to perform with their international classmates.
“We have made it more available for American students to get involved, and more have this year,” Whitt said.
SHADES Step Squad is performing in the Ethnos production. Women’s captain for SHADES Destiny Hagood, senior photojournalism major from Compton, Calif., said SHADES has been a part of Ethnos since the show began.
“We have always been an international group, but it is a good way for American students to get involved with the cultural show,” Hagood said.
The producers of the show are using everything from chalk drawings on campus walk ways to “flash mobs” in the mall area after Chapel to spread the word about this weekend’s performance. Whitt said ISA had some help getting creative to promote the event.
“We teamed up with American Marketing Association and they gave us ideas of chalk drawings and the flash mobs, or sneaks, to advertize,” said Whitt, who also serves as president of ISA.
Patenaude said ISA is encouraging attendants to purchase tickets before the show.
“Our goal is to sell out all the tickets before the opening night,” Patenaude said.
While the advertisements are created to attract the student body, Whitt said a majority of the attendants are the host families and friends of the international students.
“We try to make it where everybody can enjoy it,” Whitt said.
The productions will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Cullen Auditorium. Tickets cost $7 when purchased at the door, $5 and tickets wen purchased early and $3 when purchased early in bulk.