After an early start, the Veishea entertainment committee made the announcement that many Iowa State students have been waiting to hear — Veishea’s Friday night entertainment line up.

Kicking off Veishea 1998, “Time for Change,” will be Dew the Rec on Friday, April 17. Acts scheduled for the night include local Ames band The Nadas at 10:30 p.m., comedian Willie Farrell at 11:30 p.m. and Saturday Night Live comedian Kevin Nealon at midnight. The Nadas will close the evening with a performance at 1 a.m.

Scott DeSotel, co-chairman of the Veishea entertainment committee, said the past few months have been filled with trials and tribulations.

Without knowing whether there would be Veishea until late fall, DeSotel said the committee got a late start on scheduling performers.

The biggest night for entertainment will be Rock Veishea on Saturday, April 18. The headliner act for Rock Veishea, which also will be held at the Lied Recreation Center, has yet to be announced.

Brett Showalter, co-chairman of the Veishea entertainment committee, said none of the acts for Saturday have been released because scheduling still needs to be finalized.

“We’re going to announce all the Saturday bands within the next week at the same time as a package,” Showalter said.

Although Friday’s acts are set in stone, the committee said it has changed its original plans many times.

DeSotel said they had originally hired an outside promoter to put on Saturday’s concert at Hilton Coliseum, but when the promoter fell through, new measures had to be taken.

The committee sought help from local businessman Tom Zmolek. Zmolek, owner of People’s Bar & Grill, 2428 Lincoln Way Ave., said the committee didn’t have a say in which bands were scheduled — it was decided by circumstance.

He said the committee refused the bands the promoter suggested because they only targeted one type of audience.

“We wanted bands that would appeal to everyone,” he said.

DeSotel said members of the committee met with the Government of the Student Body and the Inter-Residence Hall Association to get students’ opinions of the acts.

“The really big bands that people want us to bring in we can’t afford,” Showalter said.

“That’s a huge misconception college students have; that you can bring Pearl Jam in here for $50,000,” said Corey Moss, music coordinator for the Veishea entertainment committee.

The Veishea entertainment committee received funding from the university, private corporations and its sponsor, Pepsi. GSB funds Veishea as a whole, but DeSotel said it doesn’t fund Dew the Rec or Rock Veishea.

“The show that we have now will be the most diverse concert ever in Ames,” Moss said.

Many obstacles prevented the entertainment committee from having Rock Veishea at Hilton Coliseum, including the type of entertainment and rental costs of Hilton.

Showalter said their next idea was to have the concert outside on Central Campus, but the idea was discouraged by university officials because of possible safety risks.

“They thought it was a good idea, but just not this year,” he said.

Zmolek said there has been a lot of support from both the university and the Department of Public Safety.

Moss also said that Hilton Coliseum was understanding when they backed out on their date.

“Originally we didn’t want [Rock Veishea] at the rec center because Friday night’s concert is at the rec center,” he said.

Zmolek said there are advantages to having Rock Veishea at the rec.

Committee members also said they had a hard time attracting bands because they were adamant in fulfilling the Veishea pledge.

“We put on our request that the bands couldn’t drink and that we were not marketing the concert out of the city,” Showalter said.

Along with Saturday Night Live comedian Nealon, there will be a laser show on Saturday and a lot of vendors selling products.