For the past 28 years, thousands of people from around the country have traveled to campus for the annual Ann Arbor Pow Wow "Dance for Mother Earth."

More than 1,000 of the nation"s top Native American dancers, singers and drummers come to compete for cash prizes at the event, sponsored by the Native American Student Association. The show is expected to attract 10,000 students and residents to Crisler Arena this weekend.

Interim Pow Wow Coordinator Deb Mexicotte said winning a competition at the Pow Wow is "like becoming grand master in chess."

One group of high school dancers, who will be competing tomorrow, is coming all the way from Barrow, Alaska. They will be part of the Grand Entries, parades that feature all the performers and are the most entertaining parts of the weekend for most attendees, Mexicotte said.

"The Grand Entries are very impressive. All the dancers come in. Saturday afternoon after the first Grand Entry is sort of one of the more popular times for people to come," she said.

The Grand Entry times are today at 7 p.m., tomorrow at 1 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Pow Wow will be only one of several cultural events on campus this weekend. The African Students Association and the Persian Students Association are both holding their spring shows.

PSA is holding their third annual dinner and show tomorrow beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The dinner features Persian food from Reza"s Restaurant in Chicago because Michigan lacks Persian restaurants, said PSA board member Reza Breakstone.

"Reza"s Restaurant is very popular and has national recognition among the Persian community," he said.

The show will include musical acts, piano playing, comic skits, traditional Persian and modern hip-hop dancing. There are four parts to the show, which, Breakstone said, "will really serve as one play, one story."

More than 30 students have been working on the skits since January.

Breakstone, an LSA junior, said although the show is much smaller than other cultural performances, PSA is still expecting a large turnout for the show.

"We"re small but mighty. I"m hoping that we can draw 1,700 people from a 37,000-person student body. We"re just asking for a small slice of campus," he said, adding that the previous years" shows, held at smaller venues, both sold out.

The purpose of the show is to unite the Persian community.

"We don"t care what your politics are. It"s absolutely not political. If our community were to unite, we could have a greater impact than we currently have," Breakstone said.

The event also serves as a way to celebrate the Persian New Year, which was the first day of spring.

"We"re excited. I haven"t slept for the past two weeks just doing all the preparation, but it"s worth it at the end because the show will be fantastic and all the work falling behind in class will be justified," said PSA board member Mahshid Pirzadeh, an Engineering sophomore.

The ASA cultural and fashion show, African Nights, is also tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Attendees who dress in authentic African attire get $1 off the admission price.

Traditional African and hip hop dancing is planned for the night. Dramatic skits about the history of slavery and poetry also will be performed.

"You kind of get a taste of everything in one show," said ASA executive board member Yvonne Butler.

The event, previously held at the Michigan Union, was moved to the Michigan League for this year.