THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407020182
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 136 lines
THE SPIRIT OF SMALL town America, where Independence Day is still celebrated with patriotic fervor, is alive and well in Western Tidewater.
From Northern Suffolk to towns in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties, residents will continue their July Fourth traditions again this year with parades, picnics, games, fireworks and other festivities.
In the Crittenden-Eclipse-Hobson area of Suffolk, an opening ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Ebenezer United Methodist Church on Steeple Drive will begin Monday's celebration. Then a parade with fire and rescue vehicles, antique cars, floats and children riding decorated bicycles will proceed through the communities snuggled between the Nansemond River and the Chuckatuck Creek.
``We really dote on kids around here,'' said Danny Wagner, president of the C E & H Ruritan Club that has sponsored the event for 20 years.
The parade route winds for about a mile and a half through the residential area, and people stand on porches and wave and yell as the procession passes. The events often attract passersby from U.S. Route 17 that bisects the area.
A dog show will be held at noon, then water activities begin at 3 p.m. The first event, the Chuckatuck Creek Raft Race, often has some unusual entries.
The race has few rules. Each raft must be home made and cannot have a motor or oars. Otherwise, anything that floats is acceptable.
``We've had paddle wheels and sailing craft,'' Wagner said.
Memorable entries from previous years include a catamaran covered with thousands of empty beer cans created by Wagner's family and the frame of an old car that Judd Keeling, another local rafter, attached to 50-gallon drums. Another year, Keeling and several of his brothers won in a dragon ship.
Once, a group entered a burial vault. ``It floated part of the way until the wave washed over them,'' Wagner said.
Rafts don't have to be elaborate, he said.
``You can put some inner tubes together and float down the river,'' he said.
The course stretches between the Sidney B. Hazelwood Bridge on U.S. Route 17 and the mouth of the creek. The starting point is set the day of the race, according to which way the tide is running.
Prizes are given for first, second and third fastest and the best-looking and the ugliest. There is no entry fee or registration form.
``Just show up at the starting line when they start and they'll think you're entered,'' Wagner said.
Each year, the local Girl Scouts enter a raft, run a concession stand and sell T-shirts designed by their leader, Karla Smith. Last year they also sponsored a new event, canoe races, which will be repeated this year at 4 p.m.
The races are designed to involve people in water activities, Smith said.
``It doesn't cost anything,'' she said. ``It's just something fun for the community.''
Several short races will be held for different age categories before a ``trash and treasure'' contest to retrieve candy, dollar bills and other items floating in unsinkable containers.
``The purpose is to have fun in the community,'' said Smith, a school teacher. ``It's really small-town, a fun, old-fashioned Fourth of July day.''
A variety of food will be sold throughout the day. And a local band, ``Fire Star,'' will perform from 6 to 9 p.m. The culmination of the day's events will be a fireworks display at 9 p.m. and lasting about 30 minutes.
In Southampton County, the Sedley Recreation Association will host its seventh annual Fourth of July celebration on Monday. The community event, which consisted of afternoon ball games and a hamburger cookout the first year, has grown to an all-day festival drawing hundreds of people from surrounding areas.
Every year, more events are added, spreading the excitement throughout the normally quiet village about seven miles north of Franklin.
This year a flag-raising ceremony begins the day's activities at 8 a.m., followed by a bicycle ride and a five-mile run at 8:15 a.m.
At 11:30 a.m., a parade will assemble on Peachtree Avenue and proceed through the community and return to the starting point. The parade will include floats, go-carts, four-wheelers, bicycles, old cars and fire and rescue units, said Anita Felts, festival chairwoman.
The activities will continue throughout the afternoon at the ball field. Highlights include carnival games, a treasure hunt, dunking booth and a moon bounce for children. And there will be baseball and T-ball hitting and throwing contests, a horse show throw, a baseball tournament, volleyball games and a co-ed softball game.
A car show, sponsored by Felts Machine, will feature classic cars and trucks, pickups, performance cars and race cars. The entry fee is $5, and exhibitors who pre-register get a free T-shirt.
Entertainment will include performances by the County Line Cloggers at 2 p.m. and the Christian Four at 7:45 p.m.
During the day, various food items - hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and lemonade - will be available at a concession stand. And a disc jockey will provide music from 2 to 9:30 p.m., when the fireworks display will begin.
In Isle of Wight County, the Smithfield Jaycees will sponsor a Kid's Carnival today from 2 to 7 p.m. on Commerce Street beside the Pagan River.
Events include carnival games, entertainment by characters such as Pluto and Duffy the Dinosaur, face painting, magicians, story telling and a moon walk. Concession stands will sell a variety of food items.
This is the second year the Jaycees have sponsored the events.
From 5 to 8:30 p.m., the Jaycees will host a ``Party on the Pagan,'' featuring music by a local country and rock band, Trouble. Beer will be available for sale during the party.
The festivities will conclude with fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Spectators can view the display sites along the Pagan River, said Alan Nogeic, director of the Isle of Wight County Department of Parks and Recreation.
The show, presented by the Department of Parks and Recreation, will last about 15 to 20 minutes. The display is sponsored by local businesses, the county Board of Supervisors and the Smithfield Town Council.
Also in Isle of Wight County, a celebration in Windsor will be held Monday starting with a community picnic sponsored by the Windsor Ruritan and Woman's clubs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The picnic, held at Robinson Park on Duke Street, is open to the public. Picnickers are asked to bring a lawn chair and a dessert to share. Barbecue, hot dogs, potato chips, lemonade and ice tea will be provided.
``We started this to show support to the neighborhood for our projects throughout the year and give them some entertainment,'' said Connie Cope, a Woman's Club member.
A band, ``Undercover,'' will provide music from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. And at 9:30 p.m., fireworks will be the evening's finale. Spectators can view the display from the picnic site or other areas along South Church and Duke streets. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Anita Felts, chair of the Sedley Fourth of July celebration,
decorates a racing car that will be in the traditional parade,
beginning at 11:30 a.m. Monday on Peachtree Avenue.
File photo
Trouble, a local country and rock band, above, will play today
during the ``Party on the Pagan,'' sponsored by the Smithfield
Jaycees, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Then Monday, the annual Chuckatuck
Creek Raft Race gets under way at 3 p.m. It often has some unusual
entries, such as the dragon boat below. Each raft must be homemade
and cannot have a motor or oars. Otherwise, anything that floats is
acceptable.
by CNB