Eight-year-old Ross Ike, of Omaha, Neb., spins as he dances during an inter-tribal dance at the annual KU Spring Powwow Saturday, April 11, 2015, in the ballroom of the Kansas Union.

Last year, organizers of the annual KU Powwow expanded the event into a daylong educational festival complete with workshops, speakers, arts and crafts, and, of course, traditional American Indian dancing.

“There was a lot of good feedback,” remembers Melissa Peterson, who co-advises the university’s First Nations Student Association, one of several campus groups involved in planning the powwow.

“We wanted to expand the American Indian presence at KU and in Lawrence,” Peterson said of last year’s efforts. “In Lawrence, we already have so many Native Americans, but we want to expand that at KU. Plus, bridging the non-Native community in Lawrence with the Native community.”

About 3,000 people attended last spring’s KU Powwow and Indigenous Culture Festival at the Lied Center, Peterson said. She’s hoping for an even bigger turnout (admission is free) at this weekend’s event, slated for noon Saturday at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive.

Of course, that’s assuming “the weather will cooperate,” Peterson said. The National Weather Service predicts a 20 percent chance of showers between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.

This year’s event offers both a matinee and evening powwow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., with competitive dancers — dressed in colorful and intricate regalia — from more than 60 tribes.

“We’re trying to make it as interactive as possible, especially for the kids,” Peterson said of Saturday’s lineup of workshops and activities.

Aside from the popular dancing component, the “hands-on” roster also features beading workshops (for both beginners and advanced beaders) and traditional crafts by Phillip Pursel of the Ioway tribe. Kids will have plenty to keep them occupied, with activities ranging from coloring and storytelling to Native Alaskan games and “wilderness treks” around the Lied Center.

Speakers this year include Elizabeth Kronk Warner, a professor of law at KU and director of the university’s Tribal Law & Government Center; Adrienne Keene-Wild, a Native American scholar, blogger and activist; and Joshua Miner, an assistant professor of film and media studies at KU whose research has included Native American activist filmmaking and visual art.

As with last year’s event, the Lied Center will also be populated with vendors selling food, art and crafts. Be sure to bring cash if you’re planning to do any shopping, Peterson said — there won’t be an ATM on the grounds.

Peterson, a Navajo Indian, said she doesn’t dance in powwows. But plenty of KU alumni are returning to campus this weekend to do just that, Peterson said. Helping to organize KU’s powwow, a tradition for about 30 years now, has been a learning experience for her — and, she hopes, for the community members attending Saturday’s powwow and festival who might be new to Native culture.

Strengthening connections between Lawrence’s Native and non-Native residents, Peterson said, is important to her, “especially in the present moment.”

“People don’t understand that the Native community is still here, and we practice a lot of cultural and traditional practices that not a lot of people think about, and sometimes they’re misrepresented,” Peterson said. “It’s important to understand that there are so many cultures and so many ways to understand how Native people live.”

Anyone is welcome to join the fun Friday at the Lied Center, where powwow organizers are constructing a lodge made from willow bark starting at 11 a.m., Peterson said. Construction will likely take place on and off throughout the day, she said.

Partners for this year’s KU Powwow and Indigenous Culture Festival include the Lied Center, the Haskell Culture Center and Museum, the Spencer Museum of Art, the KU Office of Diversity and Equity, and the KU Office of Multicultural Affairs.

For a complete schedule of powwow events, visit www.lied.ku.edu.