Students will be packing their suitcases and putting on their dancing shoes this Veishea for a night of alcohol-free entertainment and a chance to win a weekend getaway.

The Inter-Residence Hall Association and Variations in Better Educating for Students are teaming up for Veishea 1998 to provide an alcohol-free alternative for students, said Renee Fosselman, co-chairwoman of the suitcase dance.

“We wanted a safe, positive alternative social event for people to go to,” she said.

Megan Heitzman, co-chairwoman of the event, said there were two purposes in holding the event during Veishea.

“First of all, because Veishea is dry this year we know there will be a lot of people looking for a safe place to go,” Heitzman said.

The event will also help Veishea by providing another option for people seeking alcohol-free activities, she said.

The suitcase dance, which will be held April 17 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at State Gym, offers students who attend a chance to win a raffle drawing for a trip for two, Fosselman said.

“You must be present to win,” she said. “People who get there early will have the best chance to win.”

Fosselman said there will be two trips for two given away at the dance to “someplace warm.”

“We will be taking the people who win to the places they live to grab their suitcases, which should be pre-packed,” Fosselman said.

After that it is off to Des Moines to eat and then to the airport, she said.

The destination of the weekend trips will be announced at the dance, Heitzman said.

Fosselman said the winners of the trips will return home on Monday afternoon. “We’re trying to get it so they’re excused from their classes on Monday,” she said.

The suitcase dance will also have two educational sections on alcohol abuse, Fosselman said.

“Alcohol-poisoning card protectors, pamphlets and post-it notes will be distributed to make guests aware of the negative effects of alcohol,” she said.

“There will also be questions throughout the night, hourly, and the people who answer correctly will be rewarded with a prize,” Fosselman said.

Students have shown interest in the suitcase dance. “From the people I have been talking to, we’ve been getting a good response,” Heitzman said. “I think we’ll have a pretty good turnout, and the people there will be happy with their trip.”

Fosselman said 500 people are expected to attend the event, which is sponsored by VIBES, IRHA, Government of the Student Body and the VeisheaPalooza grant.