Meet Swanson: Veishea’s new mascot

Swanson, the mascot for Veishea, visits with students at the ISU Book Store on Wednesday April 10, 2013, in the Memorial Union.

Nicole Presley

Q: What will you be doing at Veishea?

A: I’m going to try to go to as many events as possible. I want to see everything Veishea has to offer, including tournaments, food on campus and even being a dignitary in the parade.

Q: What’s your favorite part of Veishea?

A: I think my favorite part of Veishea are the concerts. I just love that Iowa State is able to bring in such great bands for such a low price. And it’s also cool to be able to brag to the other mascots about Veishea bringing in an incredible variety of bands.

Q: Are you good friends with Lancelot and Elaine?

A: I love Lancelot and Elaine! We’ve definitely become close this semester, and I’m glad that they’ve been so welcoming and helped acquaint me with Iowa State.

Q: Will you be hanging out with Cy?

A: I hope so. I have not seen Cy since our dance-off at Dance Marathon, but I’d love to have us hang out a little bit more during Veishea. Maybe we could even set up a round two of that dance-off.

Q: What’s your favorite tradition at Veishea?

A: I think that my favorite Veishea tradition is the parade. It has been a part of Veishea from the beginning, and I love going through old photos of past floats. Even though I have not experienced the parade yet, Allison Clem, one of the public relations co-chairs, told me that this was her favorite event when she was growing up and that I’ll have a great time!

Q: How can students interact more with Veishea?

A: For starters, they can attend the events. There are so many things that go on during the week and the best way to get the full Veishea experience is to go to as many events as possible! B.o.B is going to be at Live @ Veishea, there’s going to be a free Thursday night concert after Cyclone Idol, Saturday is chock-full of events, and there will be food on campus all week. Go and look up the full schedule on our website at veishea.iastate.edu, and I’ll see you there! Students can also follow Veishea on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news with what’s going on, including free ticket giveaways and videos from the artists coming for Live @ Veishea.

Q: Do you have a favorite tournament?

A: Battleship! The Executive Board recently had their battleship tournament and it was hysterical. I think you all should go to this one.

Q: Do you have a favorite band?

A: I love all of the bands that are coming this year, but I really like Blessed Feathers. I might be biased to the feathers part.

Q: What do you do to prepare for Veishea?

A: I’m going to take it easy this week and make sure that I get a lot of sleep. Hopefully that’ll help give me the energy to go to all of the events during Veishea.

Q: What are you most excited about?

A: I’m most excited to go to Veishea Village and see all of the great interactive booths, demonstrations and food. I’ve already heard about a lot of the organizations that are coming this year and I know that it’ll be a blast!

Q: Are you related to Lancelot and Elaine?

A: No. Unfortunately we are not related. We’re still really good friends, though.