“Would anybody like a free Veishea newspaper?”

I spent part of my Saturday morning shouting those words over and over as I walked past the throngs of people lining Osborn Drive. I, along with other Daily staff members, passed out Veishea editions of the Daily, as well as bright red balloons, to parade-goers for our annual Veishea advertising gig.

I walked past hundreds of people, each waiting eagerly for the start of the parade. From babies in strollers to kids on rollerblades to adults in lawn chairs, they were all smiling and laughing, enjoying the beautiful weather and the company of thousands of Iowa State friends and family.

As I observed this congregation, I realized something: This is what Veishea is about.

Sounds cheesy, doesn’t it? But it’s true — Veishea is about the daytime showcase, not the nighttime bacchanalian party.

Many students have said that Veishea sucked this year. They say it wasn’t fun without the parties, and the concerts weren’t cool enough to make them forget that alcohol, the reason for their existence, was being denied to them.

These students missed out. They sold themselves and the university short by refusing to enjoy the fun of Veishea.

I have to admit that I’m the last person to feel attached to Veishea. I’m not from Iowa, so I had never heard of the celebration before I came to school. And last year, my first Veishea, was just not that great, especially after hearing all the hype. I don’t drink, so seeing everyone I knew wasted on Welch wasn’t all that appealing. And I didn’t visit any of the open houses or other Veishea novelties, so the whole weekend was profoundly disappointing.

But this year, Veishea was different.

I went into the weekend looking forward to truly experiencing Veishea. I decided to check out the displays and the parade and just enjoy myself all day.

So I did.

The Veishea parade was a lot of fun, and except for the standard parade delays (and the Noble House float spontaneously combusting), it lived up it my expectations.

The open houses were interesting; the cherry pies were delicious, and the food booths were overpriced but worth it.

So what made the difference this year? Did the “dry” label really change the face of Veishea?

I’m not sure. I really hate to think that alcohol has that much of an effect on the campus.

But the focus of Veishea did change this year. Everyone who was on Welch Friday or Saturday nights could feel the difference. The crowd wasn’t as large or as intense. But during the day, the crowds of students, alumni and community members were enjoying themselves and enjoying ISU.

Last week, I wrote a story for the Daily about the history of Veishea. For the article, I interviewed a woman who has lived on Welch Avenue for almost 30 years. She predicted that Veishea would be tame this year, but that next year it would revert to its former, unruly self.

I sincerely hope she’s wrong. I hope this year’s change for Veishea is a permanent change in attitude.

There are definitely improvements that are needed to make Veishea better for a primarily student audience. It would be nice to see more attractions at Taste of Veishea, and hopefully, we can bring in even bigger names for next year’s Rock Veishea. But the celebration (not party) attitude from this year’s event needs to remain for it to be a success.

Whether it stays dry or alcohol is allowed again, let’s keep Veishea a positive, fun-filled event. Then someday we can bring our children to the parade to get balloons and newspapers from a new slew of ISU students.

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Sara Ziegler is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Sioux Falls, S.D. She is the opinion editor of the Daily.