THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409100237
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY W. KEVIN ARMSTRONG, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Grab your calendar and pencil in the Neptune Festival for the next four weekends. The city-sponsored fun starts today.
The 21st annual festival begins this weekend with an air show at Oceana Naval Air Station and then moves around town each weekend through Oct. 2, when the party ends on the Boardwalk.
Best of all, admission is free to all but a few events.
Gates at Oceana open to the public at 9 a.m. today and Sunday, with the aerial acrobatics getting under way at 11 a.m. and continuing until 4 p.m.
The Canadian Snowbirds precision flight team has top billing for this year's show, which also features performances by the Canadian Forces parachute team, a truck powered by three jet engines, a civilian acrobatic team, and a display of military maneuvers by F/A-18, F-14, A-6 and MiG-15 aircraft.
More than 100 static displays also will be featured on the grounds. There will be carnival rides for children.
Next weekend, the festival moves south for Country Fair Day at the Farmers Market at Princess Anne and Landstown roads. The entertainment includes down-home fun such as pig races, corn shucking contests and a petting zoo.
A celebration of various ethnic groups' history and cultures marks the following weekend's main event. Heritage Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at 24th Street Park. Crafts and food will be on sale, and there will be musical entertainment on the stage.
The Boardwalk extravaganza will be Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. All the traditional trappings of the festival - including the sandcastle contest, parade, fireworks and an arts and craft show - take place from Rudee Inlet to 28th Street along the ocean.
Roger M. Pierce, co-owner of Orbital Technologies, will reign over the festival as King Neptune XXI.
For more information on any of the activities, call 427-3580, Ext. 878. MEMO: PARADE TODAY
The Mid-Atlantic Shriners' grand parade begins today at 10 a.m. at
17th Street and Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach and travels north to
31st Street. The parade, an annual event, will feature everything from
clowns to the Shriners' famous motor corps, string band and bugle
corps.
KEYWORDS: NEPTUNE FESTIVAL by CNB