THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407150203
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Encouraged by the promise of another great fireworks display at the Oceanfront, my family and I braved the crowds on July 4th and ventured onto the Boardwalk to enjoy the festivities. The statement in the Beacon describing a ``fireworks display by Pyrotechnico, the third-place winners in this year's North American Fireworks Competition'' on Memorial Day, gave us high hopes that the journey would be well worth the effort.
For the record, the Beacon was overly optimistic, to say the least. As my 13-year-old daughter said, ``If these guys finished third in anything, it was only because there were only three entries!''
It was, in short, the most pathetic fireworks display I've seen in all my near (the key word here is near) 40 years. It lasted all of eight minutes; if you paused briefly to wipe funnel-cake sugar off your shirt, you missed 10 percent of it!
I heard nothing but negative comments from the crowd as people dispersed rather disappointed.
For countless out-of-town vacationers, this will unfortunately be their image of the Beach's ability to stage a fireworks display in a perfect setting. I urge the event's organizers to demand better. Last fall's Neptune Festival show was great, and I'm told the Memorial Day weekend fireworks were terrific. How sad that on one of the tourist season's biggest weekends we can't do better.
Next time I will give Mount Trashmore a whirl; at least the parking will be cheaper and the show can't be worse than it was that night.
Skip Heyman
Virginia Beach MEMO: Editor's note: Ocean Occasions, contracted by the city to oversee
Oceanfront events, says that the Memorial Day contestant it engaged for
the Fourth backed out on short notice. The show planned by the
substitute ran short because in crowded quarters the fireworks intended
for the finale ignited prematurely.
by CNB