Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 28, 1995 TAG: 9505300079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BREEA WILLINGHAM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"As soon as it got in the water, it sank," said John Kelley, one of the racers at Smith Park in Roanoke.
Moore's Lumber and Building Supplies, sponsors of this year's race, entered five boats, made by employees of the Bedford, Danville, Salem and Roanoke stores.
Kelley's boat, the "Split Decision" - actually two yellow-and-blue boats joined together by bolts - managed to stay afloat a little longer than the "Cup and Saucer."
Kelley said the original plan was to fill the little blue cans in each corner of the boats with smoke grenades and light them. Smoke was supposed to surround the connected boats so two separate boats could appear where one had been.
But it didn't work out that way.
"We went halfway down the river and, soon as we split them apart, we turned around and went down," Kelley said.
"We're in second place. `Redneck Heaven,' with the outhouse on the back, came in first place."
As he poured water from his shoes and tried to dry himself off, Kelley said he'd had a good time despite the rain, though it did dampen the festivities a little.
"It's not nearly as much people as last year," he said.
On the other side of the drive, the rain didn't seem to bother the kids as they splished and splashed in their bubble bath.
Well, not really, though the mounds of white foam closely resembled bubbles.
This is the second year the Roanoke City Fire Department has sponsored the "Firemen's Foam from Sweden" event. "A company in Sweden donated the foam and the festival people asked the department if they had a machine to make it," said Capt. Rick Troutt of the Roanoke City Fire Department.
The foam is mixed with water and blown through a large fan, creating the bubble effect.
"It's ... nontoxic and won't irritate the skin," Troutt said.
But it irritated the parents when they saw the mess. The sticky foam clung to skin and clothes, making it almost impossible to wipe off. And the kids accumulated plenty of caked-up mud sliding in the foam.
"The kids love it, but the parents don't," Troutt said.
A little boy covered from head to toe with foam asked the firemen: "Are you going to make some more? Are you going to crank it up yet?''
"In about 15 minutes," the firemen said. As 8-year-old Ivan ran back into the foam, they laughed, "Look how muddy his butt is."
"I'm going to have to put him in the rinse cycle to clean him off," said his mother, Rurik Zuidhoek of Roanoke.
"There's not much I can do. He's having such a good time," Zuidhoek said. "He's been in it about an hour."
The river race was part of Roanoke's Festival in the Park, which runs through June 4. There will be a backyard circus and a children's parade today, as well as a Young Life Volleyball Tournament, a soccer tournament at River's Edge sports complex and a bicycle race up Mill Mountain.
Memorial Day will feature the 12th annual craft show and the Saturn Festival Cup bike race.
Among the new things to do and see this year are the Roanoke Comedy Club, through Saturday; a photo exhibit of the insect world at the Science Museum, through June 15, and rollerblading and an antique car show Saturday.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***