Let’s be honest, here. We live in Ames, Iowa. There’s no Thanksgiving Day parade, and we don’t dye the Raccoon River green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. But we are home to a fantastic college celebration, and the Veishea parade is a tradition that can’t be missed.

“I like to describe the Veishea parade as three cups cardinal and gold, one teaspoon of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, two tablespoons of the Ames community, and a dash of tradition for flavor,” said Kyle Wiebers, VEISHEA Parade Co-Chair.

Started in 1922, the Veishea parade has been one of the longest running traditions of the Veishea celebration at Iowa State. And on Saturday spectators will witness the 85th running of the parade.

Organizations, such as the ISU Hockey Team, the Chinese Student and Scholars Friendship Association and many of the greek fraternities and sororities, will be on display for parade attendees Saturday.

“The Veishea Parade is such a great tradition because it is one of the only times that Iowa State is showcased and on display to the entire state of Iowa and beyond. With the Parade and VEISHEA Village on Saturday, the Iowa State Community is showcased for one day in a way that can’t be compared to any other event,” Wiebers said. “It is an amazing experience for all who attend.”

With 116 entries in this year’s parade, spectators should expect amazing things, like marching bands, fire trucks, large-scale balloons, horses and more. There is a great variety in the entries, with everything from traditional and non-traditional floats to specialty units.

“Traditional floats are the largest floats in the parade. They cost the most to build [up to $12,000] and take the longest to construct,” said Allison Peters, Veishea Parade Co-Chairwoman. “Usually, these floats are self propelled, meaning there is nothing pulling them, however this year all floats will be pulled for safety reasons.”

This year there will be three traditional floats. Organizations building these floats typically spend somewhere around 300 hours building them, which costs up to $12,000. They are often very elaborate, with themes like “Cars” and “Ice Age Ames.”

“Non-traditional floats are smaller floats that are usually built on a flat bed trailer. These floats cost less and take much less time to construct,” Peters said.

Non-traditional floats are usually pulled by a truck or tractor through the parade. Even though these floats are smaller, many are just as elaborate as the traditional floats.

This year’s parade grand marshal is Clayton Anderson. According to the Veishea parade Web site, Anderson completed the master’s program in aerospace engineering at Iowa State in 1983, and then worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for 15 years. On June 8, 2007, Anderson became the first ISU alumnus to fly into space.

Check out the Veishea parade on its route, which will begin, heading east on Pammel Drive, by the Molecular Biology building and then head south on Stange Road, before turning west on Osborne Drive. The entries will then tour through Central Campus on Morrill Road and Union Drive before stopping in front of the East Campus Parking Deck.

The parade will also be televised on KDSM (the Des Moines Fox Affiliate) from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, which is sponsored by Veishea and Government of the Student Body.