By Topher Sanders
ITHACA — More than 8,500 people will get a chance to listen to the words of the Dalai Lama when he makes two days worth of appearances in Ithaca as part of his visit to the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, his North American seat.
The Dalai Lama, who will speak at three events in Ithaca between Oct. 9 and 10, has generated rock star style excitement in the community with batches of tickets for his speaking engagements selling out in hours and even minutes. The Dalai Lama is coming to Ithaca to bless the land where a new monastery is to be built.
This is the Dalai Lama’s first visit to Ithaca since 1991. He will speak at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9 at Cornell University’s Barton Hall, at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10 at the State Theatre of Ithaca and at 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at Ithaca College’s Ben Light Gymnasium. All of the Dalai Lama’s public appearances are sold out.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people and winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
“He represents someone who is outside the normal flow of controversial world events yet he is part of a movement that is based on people getting along with one another, and that is something that is in short supply these days,” said Dave Maley, spokesman for Ithaca College, where 1,900 people are expected at Ben Light Gymnasium.
General admission tickets to the Ithaca College event sold out in three hours, and tickets set aside for the Ithaca College community sold out in 90 seconds.
“Ithaca College is certainly excited to be hosting part of his visit here,” Maley said.
People from beyond Central New York purchased tickets.
“I think it’s a good range,” said Joe Scaffido, assistant dean of students for student activities. “We noticed a lot of people with shipping addresses outside Central New York and we understand that a lot of hotels are already booking up, so we know people have purchased tickets to all three events. So we’re anticipating a lot of out of towners, which I think is great for our community.”
Scaffido said the Dalai Lama’s visit will be good for the surrounding community, too.
No one knows that more than Dan Smalls, executive director of the State Theatre, where slightly more than 1,600 people will listen to the Dalai Lama.
“We’re honored that our venue was chosen to be the public event of this trip,” he said. “Anytime you can put 1,600 people in your theater, especially people who may not have been here before, it’s a wonderful chance for us to show what we have to offer as a theater.”
The three venues are also having to help coordinate security for the Dalai Lama’s visit. Scaffido described security efforts as “intense.”
Cornell Police Department, Ithaca College Police Department, Ithaca Police Department, New York State Troopers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. State Department will all have some role in security.
“From what the FBI and State Department have said, we’re in very good shape, so that should be no concern,” said Ted Arnold, president of the board of directors for the Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies. “The traffic patterns are being looked at very carefully around town so we hope it will be as smooth as possible for everyone,”
Schedules will be released a few days before the Dalai Lama’s arrival to detail street closings and times, Arnold said.
A bevy of events before the Dalai Lama’s arrival, such as documentary showings, book readings and Mandalay creations will make sure that everyone has a chance to experience the excitement.
“We wanted to really open up and have the entire Cornell community and Ithaca and Central New York region to come and join us this education experience of the Dalai Lama’s visit,” said Sabina Lee, Cornell spokeswoman. “We want people to be able to participate in some way regardless of whether they have a ticket in hand or not.”
Arnold agreed.
“It’s really great that we’re able to offer a wide variety and depth of things,” he said. “We hope people will attend the events, like the Mandalay creation, because we tried to set up events that reflect the Dalai Lama’s broad interest.”
The Dalai Lama will leave Ithaca for New York City on Oct. 11. He will be in the city through Oct. 14.
