This year’s Veishea celebration promises to provide a variety of both old and new activities during its 78th year.

“I’m looking forward to everything,” said Alyssa Armbrecht, Campus Events committee co-chair. “I just think it keeps getting better.”

Justin Chesnut, general co-chair for Veishea 2000, said the Veishea celebration strives to improve every year by focusing on what its original purpose was.

“Veishea is about giving students at Iowa State a chance to display what we do [here],” said Chesnut, senior in agricultural systems technology.

He said students will have a great opportunity to do this during this year’s celebration since there will be more than 100 open houses and displays across campus.

The open houses are sponsored by student groups and organizations to showcase advances and events in each of the colleges. Chesnut said students and visitors will be able to see both old and new traditions, from the sale of cherry pies in MacKay Hall to a working replica of the first electronic digital computer.

He said students should take advantage of the open houses since they are a great way to learn more about Iowa State and to get involved.

“I’d like to see a good turnout,” he said, “a lot more student involvement overall.”

Chesnut said the weekend’s events will start after the opening ceremonies at noon Friday. The ceremonies will begin with an opening speech by John Atanasoff II, son of former ISU professor John Vincent Atanasoff, who helped to build the first digital computer.

Other activities Chesnut said he is looking forward to are the Taste of Veishea on Welch Avenue, the Stars Over Veishea musical and the Veishea parade, which will begin its route through campus at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Tom Duncan, Entertainment committee co-chair, said he is excited about the upcoming Veishea events.

“There’s so many things that you can see and take part of,” said Duncan, senior in mechanical engineering.

He said he is particularly looking forward to the band for this year’s celebration, Black Eyed Peas.

“They’re probably different than what most Iowa State students have seen,” he said. “But they may be one of the bands that breaks it big here in the near future, and we think that’s pretty cool.”

Duncan said he is also looking forward to shows at the Battle of the Bands Thursday night in The Maintenance Shop, Dew the Rec with comedian D.L. Hughley Friday night at the Lied Recreation Center and a variety of bands that will be on stage for Taste of Veishea.

Armbrecht, junior in food science, also said she is looking forward to Veishea weekend, but she added the Countdown to Veishea promises to have a variety of activities for students to enjoy, too.

“There will be an event on campus every single day,” she said. “We wanted something visible.”

Armbrecht said some of these events will include an ice cream social on central campus Monday and a faculty cookoff Wednesday.

She said each of the colleges at Iowa State also will be providing free barbecues for students in the school Tuesday and Wednesday.

Armbrecht said Tuesday’s barbecue will be sponsored by the Colleges of Agriculture, Family and Consumer Sciences, Design and Veterinary Medicine, and the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering and Business will host Wednesday’s.

In addition to free barbecue, Armbrecht said a free pizza and barbecue lunch also will be provided for ISU students Friday after the opening ceremonies.

Besides free food, Armbrecht said there also will be other events for students to participate in, such as the Veishea tournaments, activities on central campus and float tours.

She said she hopes students take advantage of all the events and activities during Countdown to Veishea and Veishea weekend.

“Just being a part of it all is really fun,” she said.