The co-chairs of Veishea 2000 hope next year’s celebration follows in the footsteps of the past two events, offering a safe yet fun festival for Iowa State.

“I have a strong belief in what Veishea is about,” said Justin Wilhelm, Veishea 2000 co-chair. “It was a great experience growing up, and I hope I have a lot to offer to Veishea.”

Wilhelm, senior in mechanical engineering, and Justin Chesnut, senior in agricultural systems technology, are the Veishea 2000 co-chairs.

“I found out what Veishea was when I was a little kid, but I didn’t know what kind of students it took to put it on,” Chesnut said. “I am excited to see students wanting to come back to organize and be a part of a Veishea they want to see happen.”

Both men have been attending Veishea since they were small children, and they have high hopes for this year’s celebration.

“I grew up in Boone, so I remember coming to Veishea since I was in elementary school,” Chesnut said. “When I came to ISU, I got involved with Veishea, and it was one of the funnest organizations I have ever been involved in.”

Both men remember Veishea before it officially became an alcohol-free event three years ago, and they have both been involved in planning Veishea since it became dry.

“When the changes started, the committees had to come up with lots of new ideas,” Chesnut said. “But this has been three years in the making, and we now have the events we want.

“Now it is just the quality of the event that could change,” he said. “We are making this event first-class entertainment.”

Wilhelm said he hopes his experience on the executive board last year will help him with his responsibilities this year.

“Each year … we learn more and more about the changes we need to make, and being on exec board last year, I hope to have experience to bring to the table since I have helped work through these problems before,” he said.

Moving the location for Dew the Rec could be one necessary change, Chesnut said. The Lied Recreation Center’s floor recently was redone, and the building’s administrators aren’t sure if it’s possible to host something of that nature again.

Wilhelm said there also will be changes in entertainment if the sub-committees decide the usual entertainers don’t reach enough people.

The co-chairs were chosen at the end of Veishea last year, but it wasn’t until last week that they began to make concrete plans.

“We started working on Veishea right after we were picked, meeting with the necessary officials to get this year’s Veishea on a roll,” Chesnut said.

Sub-committee position applications will be available Wednesday.