Despite the holiday weekend and the increase in tourists due to the NCAA Regional Tournament, many groups on campus are not expecting an increase in attendance for events being held this weekend.

Representatives from both Syracuse Stage and Syracuse MASTI said they are not anticipating an increase in attendance at either this weekend’s performances of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ or MASTI’s ‘South Asian Twist.’

‘The campus community isn’t greatly impacted by what is going on at the Dome,’ said William Longcore, associate director of the Office of Residence Life.

Despite the Easter holiday this weekend, many students remain on campus, Longcore said.

Syracuse Stage Ticketing Assistant Amber Hansel said she has ‘no way of guessing’ whether or not attendance at any of this weekend’s three performances of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ will be affected by the tournament, but in her opinion, it probably will not.

Tickets for ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ are still available for this weekend’s shows and they range in price from $18 to $42, Hansel said. Performances are Friday night at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Kyle Bass, director of media relations and community outreach, said Syracuse Stage always advertises in the local newspapers for their shows.

‘Do we anticipate increased traffic because of the tournament being here? – We certainly hope so,’ Bass said.

Also this weekend is MASTI’s ‘South Asian Twist’ dance show. The show will include a variety of different types of South Asian cultural dances, including performances from the Bhangra team, Kalabash, Raices and Zero Gravity.

‘A lot of the Indians on campus are a mixture of cultures,’ said Savitree Hanif, president of MASTI. ‘We want to make them feel comfortable on campus.’

Hanif said last year’s show was held in Panasci Lounge in the Schine Student Center Halloween weekend and the event was very crowded. This year the event is being held in the Schine Underground to accommodate the anticipated crowd.

‘I can’t really predict right now,’ Hanif said. ‘I don’t think (the tournament) will affect us much.’

Published on March 22, 2005 at 12:00 pm