ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 9, 1993                   TAG: 9309240344
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Wendi Gibson Richert
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short


HEY, IF IT KEEPS YOU COOL . . .

In the middle of a heat wave, nothing could feel better than stripping off all your clothes and dashing through the backyard sprinkler.

Under normal circumstances, such a stunt might have your nosy neighbors eyeballing you with spectacles askew, mouths agape and minds dismayed.

But these dog days are anything but normal. Especially this week.

You may have missed Monday's start of Nude Recreation Week, but it's not too late to catch the tail end of the fun. The week of celebrating social nudism culminates Saturday and Sunday with National Nude Weekend.

Sponsored by the American Sunbathing Association, a 62-year old nudist organization headquartered in central Florida, the weekend f-b f+iau naturelo is geared toward celebrating life ``without the restriction of clothing.''

For those eager for some good old-fashioned fig leaf fun but too shy to venture into a clad world in the raw, the ASA operates a number of nudist parks and clubs in 20 states. Among such outfits as the Healthy Hides of Houston, Skinnydippers (Woolside, N.Y.), and Vista Grande (Weatherford, Texas), the best name of all is affixed to Virginia's only ASA camp - White Tail Park in Zuni.

For its part in the weekend, White Tail Park will host an open house with live tunes. (No clothing drives or nude art shows, though, as many parks are offering.)

It might be that a weekend of unrestricted, stark-naked sport could loosen anybody up. If your interest is piqued, you can call White Tail Park at (804) 859-6123.

But the backyard sprinkler sprint suits us fine.



 by CNB