Humor columnist Dave Barry is scheduled to speak tonight at Kent Stark campus. The event will start at 7 p.m. in Timken Great Hall located in Kent Stark’s Professional Education and Conference Center.

The event is free, but tickets are required to attend, said Cynthia Williams, public relations coordinator at Stark campus. Tickets became available on March 24 and went quickly.

“The tickets for the lecture were gone on Tuesday afternoon, after becoming available on Monday morning,” Williams said. “The overflow tickets were gone by Thursday afternoon.”

Williams said they decided to offer free tickets so they wouldn’t have to turn anyone away on the evening of the event. The Timken Great Hall will hold 645 seats, and the overflow room will hold approximately 150 seats.

Barry was a syndicated columnist for 25 years, having his work published in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad, according to his personal Web site.

Barry has also written more than 30 books. His most recently published book, Dave Barry’s History of the Millennium (So Far), was released in September of last year.

This is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to enjoy an evening of exposure to someone who has greatly impacted the world in which we live, said Williams.

“We felt that his superior talent in journalism would not only appeal to our students and faculty within that discipline, but also to the masses of people who have laughed at his books throughout the years,” Williams said. “With the awesome response that we’ve received, we believe this event will be a major hit and a positive end to the Featured Speakers Series season.”

Contact regional campuses reporter Julianna Frantz at [email protected].