Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 6, 1990 TAG: 9006060395
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It has expanded over the years from a sidewalk show for local artists to two weekends of crafts, music, dance, stage shows, acrobatics and a variety of sporting competitions - plus many kinds of good food and drink. It is festive in every sense.
Only the curmudgeonly could not have found something to enjoy in Elmwood Park and environs. The arts and crafts events demonstrated that such exhibits are not just highbrow stuff. Whimsy and satire - some of it poking fun at the arts themselves - abounded in the paintings, photographs, sculptures and other displays.
The river race is determined not to take itself seriously. Entries must float, but mere boats aren't acceptable. The more elaborate, colorful and downright bizarre the rig, the better. Of course, the idea is also to make it downstream in time to beat the competition. What else is a race for?
Many other racers were of sterner mien. A total of more than 2,000 took part in the WDBJ Festival Bike Race and Dominion Bank's 5K and 10K runs - most for the pleasure of participation, some for the thousands of dollars in cash prizes to winners.
Crestar also held its third annual soccer tournament in conjunction with the festival; the games attracted 176 teams from 11 states, and filled hotels and motels from the Roanoke Valley to Blacksburg.
There's a lesson in this. Not only can areas promote their own attractions; they also can pull in throngs of people for professionally arranged activities with wide-ranging popularity, such as foot and bicycle races - and soccer, which has taken America's scholastic sports world by storm in the past few years.
Yet more important than the attractions themselves is the sense of community the event inspired, if only for a few days.
Many of the thousands who attended the festival do not often find themselves in downtown Roanoke, especially on weekends. Festival-goers seemed to enjoy sharing the weather, such as it was, and the event with neighbors and others from around the valley.
A few glitches occurred. A group of Chinese acrobats and magicians scheduled to appear in Roanoke had to cancel. Bits 'N Pieces, the giant-puppet troupe that performed at Victory Stadium, was intended as a big attraction but drew only a sparse audience - perhaps because the stadium is too far from the festival's main location.
And while the festival is definitely an event for families, there was sporadic violence: At least six people were injured in fights and bottle-throwing incidents, and more than 30 were arrested on charges involving disorderly conduct of some kind.
Those are relatively small numbers out of the tens of thousands attending festival activities; crowds almost always include a few potential troublemakers. But police and hospital representatives saw an uptick in the violence level, perhaps bespeaking a need for added vigilance in the future.
Festival officials have a good thing going, and it could have been easy to rest on the oars and ride with the momentum. They've not been satisfied with that, but have kept looking for ways to improve on previous festivals. That bodes well for next year and beyond. The happy event deserves many happy returns.
by CNB