By Rebekah Hanson
With snow falling and temperatures in the 30s, more than 40 folk dancers huddled together watching 'Monster''s Inc.' outside the Marriott Center Friday night.
It was a mass campout, with tents and sleeping bags sprawled out all over the place. The sound of laughing and talking warmed the atmosphere for the dancers, preparing them for a long cold night.
Why were these dancers camping out in freezing weather? They were waiting in line to buy 'Christmas Around the World' tickets that went on sale Saturday - a tradition the folk dancers have practiced for the past few years.
'I''ve been around five years and I''ve camped out every year, so at least that long,'
said Willis Pueblo, Folk Dance Ensemble member.
'I''m sure it''s gone on longer than that,' he said.
The dancers camp out to make sure they get the best seats for those they buy tickets for, because seats are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.
They also wait in line to get the best seats for their family, said Breann Hewitt, Folk Dance Ensemble member and number 41 in the line for tickets.
'We want to get better seats for our family, because we''ve spent so much time practicing, and it''s a huge part of our lives, being our biggest concert,' Pueblo said.
Pueblo said he doesn''t take all the good seats at the concert, but leaves plenty of good seats for the other dancers'' families.
Pueblo takes the whole ticket-selling thing seriously. He was the first in line at the Marriott Center, getting there at nine Friday morning. He had his father stand in line from 2 to 5 p.m. while he went to dance practice and then came back to sit in line until the windows opened Saturday morning.
For the last two years he has been the top ticket seller, selling close to 400 tickets each year. He thinks he sold close to that again this year.
An incentive for being top seller is a gift certificate to various restaurants worth $100. In the past the gift certificates have included Tucanos and Macaroni Grill.
This is the first time it has snowed the night they camped out, and the first time in the last five years they had a projector for movies, Willis said.
'I think this is social activity for the folk dancers to come and develop some friendships and relationships other than just dance in class,' Russell said.