About $55,000 and the efforts of 15 people will culminate this weekend into an unforgettable display of Native American culture.

The North American Indian Student Organization is sponsoring its 19th annual Pow-Wow of Love. Grand entry of the dancers is at 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.

The powwow will showcase traditional Native American singing, dancing, drumming and arts and crafts from all over the United States and Canada.

Grammy award-winning drum group Tha Tribe will be recording its next release at the event.

Don Lyons, a kinesiology freshman and co-chairman of the powwow, said he thinks the attendance for the event will top last year’s 2,000 person turnout.

“It’s going to be good, the biggest one we have ever had and the best organized,” he said. “It’s a modern link to our past. We hope to enlighten people about other cultures in a way more than books can do. It will bring a lot of people in to learn about Native American culture and stop the stereotyping.”

Richard Shafer, a finance senior and co-chairman of the event, said he thinks this year’s powwow will be more successful because planning was completed earlier.

“Students will have the chance to see things they don’t see every day, things people don’t know about, like the traditional regalia the dancers wear,” he said. “The whole weekend is really exciting.”

Shafer said he thinks students will enjoy the event’s entertainment while gaining cultural awareness.

“Diversity is really important,” he said. “We live in an increasingly diverse world. We need to be more educated on others’ values and beliefs. By understanding other people better, we will understand ourselves better.”

The event is $8 for general admission, $5 for students with an ID, $5 for senior citizens, free for children under 5 and $5 per person for groups of 10 or more. For more information, call (517)432-7153.