An estimated crowd of 5,000 people is expected to gather at the Campus Recreation Center to attend one of the largest one-day festivals in the Midwest – the 12th annual NIU Powwow.

NATIONS, NIU’s Native American Awareness group, will host the event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Campus Recreation Center.

The Powwow, which is one of the largest one-day festivals in the Midwest, will include music, dancers, food and shopping to entertain the estimated 5,000 people expected to attend, said Rita Reynolds, NATIONS adviser.

NATIONS stands for Native Americans Together Insuring Our Nation’s Sovereignty. The Student Association helps generate funding for this small 50 to 60 member organization, which also receives help from many outside volunteers.

Saturday’s Powwow will have 300 Native American dancers dressed in regalia, which is a feathered and ruffled outfit made with their family used to represent their heritage. Dancing and dressing up is a way of prayer, Reynolds said.

There will also be the more feather-oriented Aztec dancers, Reynolds said. During intertribal dances, everyone is invited to come into the arena to join in the dancing.

Native American drum groups will also be performing at the event.

In addition to various performers, 40 vendors will be selling jewelry, clothes, craft items and other novelties Native Americans have made.

Of the four kinds of powwows, NIU’s is intertribal, which is a get-together of family and friends, Reynolds said. There are also tribal, religious and contest pow wows.

“It’s just a really fun event; many alumni come back to go to the pow wow,” Reynolds said. A powwow is held almost every weekend at different locations, she said.

NIU’s Powwow was first held over a graduation weekend and took about four years to get started, Reynolds said. A year and a half later it was held again and has been held annually since 1992.

“When I’m there, it always brings a tear to my eye that I got it off another year,” Reynolds said.