“Continuing Iowa’s Heritage” has been selected as the Veishea 1996 theme by the Veishea executive committee.

The executive committee picked the theme last week to focus the spring event on Iowa’s upcoming sesquicentennial celebration.

Iowa’s 150th anniversary will be celebrated from Dec. 28, 1995 to Dec. 28, 1996, said Shellee Novotny, Veishea general co-chair.

Novotny said Veishea will be one of the major events during the sesquicentennial celebration.

Mark Lee, the other general co-chair, said Veishea will be one of the first official events of the celebration. “It is important to have a focus for Veishea because it helps to recruit speakers and other helpers,” Lee said.

Lee said Veishea officials also try to keep in mind how the theme will work with float builders, award criteria and programs and events that will take place during the Veishea celebration.

“We wanted the theme to be encompassing all of the Veishea events,” he said.

Last year the focus was on Carrie Chapman Catt and the year before it was on George Washington Carver, Lee said.

This year the committee chose “Continuing Iowa’s Heritage” to show the continuation of the past, present and the future of Iowa and how that relates to Veishea, Lee added.

“We have some really big events planned and some good ideas about how we can tie in the celebration,” he said.