The Veishea parade gives organizations a unique opportunity to display their presence in the Iowa State and Ames community. The parade, which takes place the Saturday of Veishea week, allows groups to compete for the most creative float while conveying a message and creating lasting memories.

Veishea’s Parade Committee is accepting registration for parade participants through 5 p.m. March 5. The committee has contacted the leaders of campus organizations and past entrants, but the parade is open to anyone interested in participating.

“The parade is a big part [of Veishea] for the community to come watch and for alumni to come back,” said Annie Olson, junior in mathematics and Veishea Parade co-chairwoman. “It’s on Saturday, which is the biggest day of Veishea, and it’s a great way to showcase the groups of Iowa State while entertaining the audience. It’s really fun, and it’s a great way to work with a group and show off your organization to Ames.”

Committee co-chairpersons Jim Engler, senior in agricultural business, and Olson both became involved with the Veishea Parade Committee after experiencing the float-building process firsthand working on floats in their first years as students.

“It started out as something that my fraternity did,” Engler said. “I was the float co-chair for my fraternity, then the parade traditional float co-chair, and, overall, I’ve been involved with the parade for four years. The parade is a good cross-section glimpse at what Ames is made of.”

One participant already registered for this year’s parade is the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, which is returning to the traditional float category in this year’s parade after an eight-year hiatus. Low membership prevented the group from building its own traditional float, but the group was involved with small pairings throughout those eight years.

“We used to do it a lot, but stopped about eight years ago,” said TKE Veishea co-chairman William Underwood, freshman in agricultural business. “We decided that it was a good thing to get involved on campus, and we get to know houses through pairings. It’s also a part of the greek thing. Veishea is important, and it’s important to get involved to consider ourselves a good fraternity.”

The fraternity’s participation is possible through sponsorship it has acquired, by asking for discounts on supplies they’ve had to buy and through alumni from their fraternity.

All parade participants have a maximum budget of $12,000 they’re allowed to use on their floats. Different groups have different methods of funding their floats, from budgeting for their float from their group’s funds, to acquiring sponsors. Engler and Olson said the floats need to provide the best visual presentation possible, encourage people to get involved and said they hope to see some extravagant displays in the parade April 17.

Final application due date: March 5

Entry fee: $75

Parade entry categories:

• balloons
• bands
• performance floats
• specialty units
• non-traditional float
• traditional float