Still alive.
Anyway, VEISHEA. It's a "celebration" of something. Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, and Lyndon B Johnson have all participated in VEISHEA (two of them while in office, the other during a break from acting in the 50's), as have a number of big bands.
Though not in the past twenty-two years.
After a geriatric The Who played in Ames for VEISHEA in 1980, VEISHEA started to decline, a decline marked by drunken riots from 1988 to 1997 that finally ended when a fatal stabbing spurred university administration to ban alcohol from the celebration. Now VEISHEA features an annual parade, an annual student musical, a showcase of local bands, and... that's about it. The most popular event so far seems to have been the drink specials at the Campustown bars. "VEISHEA has matured without losing its glamour," claims the VEISHEA committee, but I don't buy it.
Bottom line: I'm tied up with VEISHEA for the station, and sorely disappointed with the whole deal. But I still have to get some sleep to cover the parade...