Comedian Sinbad will be the main act at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 in the Lantz Arena for Eastern’s 2014 Family Weekend.

Darius Francis, University Board chair said UB chose Sinbad as the entertainer with the hopes of drawing in a larger crowd of all ages.

“People’s families as well as students know comedians, so it makes it more universal,” Francis said. “We knew it would be new, fresh and innovative to have a comedy show instead of a musical concert.”

Melanie Kaderabek, UB vice-chair, said this is not the first time Eastern has hosted a comedian instead of a musical act.

“We’ve done things like this before, for example, when Bill Cosby came a few years ago,” Kaderabek said. “So, it’s definitely something that we thought we could change up a bit.”

Sinbad will also provide a change of events because Family Weekend typically features a musical act.

“Typically we do a concert with a musical guest, but we thought it would be interesting to have a comedian come,” Francis said. “He’s still a really well-known, popular name and we wanted to spice it up a bit and do something new besides the standard concert.”

Francis said that UB chose the entertainment this year by questioning the community.

“We have a concert coordinator and Ceci Brinker, who is also a concert advisor, who look through various musical and comedy acts and we decided choosing a comedy act would be really great this year,” Francis said. “We also took student polls and asked people around the office what they thought.”

Despite speculation, UB has not changed their budget to accommodate the change in performance.

“Because he’s more well-known, the budget is the same as what we always work with,” Kaderabek said.

UB is not making budget cuts.

“It’s not like we’re trying to cut back on money or anything like that,” Francis said. “It’s a pretty standard process whether it’s a comedian or a music show.”

Sinbad is most widely known for his appearances in the movies “Jingle All The Way,” “Houseguest” and “Necessary Roughness.”

He has also held starring roles in “A Different World” and “The Sinbad Show.”

Most recently, Sinbad has appeared in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Tickets are being sold for $21 and can be purchased through the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Ticket Office.

Francis said he expects it will be an exciting weekend, and the change will spark interest with more of the audience.

Samantha Middendorf can be reached at 581-2812 or semiddendorf@eiu.edu.