One of the most popular events of Veishea existed even before all the hype surrounded the festival.

Since 1922, the Veishea Parade has drawn an average of more than 75,000 people to view the nontraditional and traditional floats, marching bands, balloons, novelty units and clowns.

This year’s parade is scheduled to begin on campus at 11:30 a.m. on the Saturday of Veishea.

The parade will be broadcast on KCCI Channel 8 starting at noon, which will ensure the Veishea Parade will reach at least 25,000 more viewers.

“[The parade is] good for the family. The parade’s been a part of Veishea for 76 years,” said Brent Carmichael, traditional float co-chairman and junior in agronomy.

Mindy Steffes, director of the Veishea Parade, agreed that the Veishea Parade is family-oriented.

“It attracts the families; alums can bring their families and show them what it was like to go through Veishea from the parade’s point of view,” said Steffes, sophomore in business. “It’s a good, wholesome way to bring the campus together.”

She said her favorite part of the parade is “the excitement of the day.”

Dickson said this year’s parade will boast more than 60 entries, including floats, novelty units (special interest groups), horses, bands and dignitaries.

Former ISU football Coach Johnny Majors will be the Grand Marshal for this year’s festival. Majors also will be making statements at the opening ceremonies.

Dickson said getting Majors as the Grand Marshal was “a good accomplishment,” adding that many alumni, who are this Veishea’s target audience, will enjoy seeing Majors.

“We were very excited he could make it,” Dickson said, noting that Majors currently resides in Pittsburgh.

Many dignitaries also will be attending this year’s festival, including ISU President Martin Jischke, Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill, Dean of Students Kathleen MacKay and Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco.

Cory Dickson, parade co-chairman and senior in agricultural business, said the parade “is one of the main reasons why a lot of people come to Veishea,” adding the parade is an opportunity to showcase ISU.

Dickson said he and his co-chair were selected to run the committee early in the fall. Since the middle of October the parade committee has been meeting every Sunday night, he said.

What makes all the work worthwhile, Dickson said, is “seeing the large groups of people who come out and enjoy the parade.”

The difference between traditional and nontraditional floats, Dickson said, is that nontraditional floats usually are pulled behind a vehicle, while traditional floats are self-propelled.

According to a Veishea press release, more than 100 people participate in the planning and construction of a traditional float.

The floats are constructed from Feb. 14 through April 18, with an average of 3,000 hours of work going into each float.

He said the cost limit for nontraditional floats is $2,000. For traditional floats, prices range from $5,000 to $11,000, depending on the size of the floats.

The parade will be diverse with a total of 19 floats appearing this year, 11 nontraditional and eight traditional. Some of the groups sponsoring floats include the College Republicans, Golden Key Honors Society (nontraditional), the Human Development and Family Studies Club — which will be carrying a large “honey bee” balloon — and various greek houses, Dickson said.

On the large traditional floats, between 15 to 25 people stay “on beds” underneath the floats to make sure everything is running smoothly, he said.

Dickson said the committee “stages” the floats at 4 a.m. the Saturday morning of Veishea to ensure that the floats will run efficiently for the parade. Occasionally a float will break down, but usually “once we get going, everything goes off without any problems,” he said.

The floats are then judged by Ames residents following the parade. Judges for the traditional floats will be made up of representatives from the seven colleges.