THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409300516
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Bob Hewitt is probably the only fall festival organizer who hopes his Swamp Fest '94 visitors will walk away disappointed.
``We want to pack so much entertainment into one day that people will say, `You know, I didn't get to see that,' '' he said. ``That's what I mean about being disappointed - not from being bored by a lot of dead time, or down time, or filler between one or two prime entertainment slots.''
Hewitt is again chairing Gates County's biggest gala, which this year falls on Saturday and will take over the grounds of Gatesville Elementary School.
Elsewhere in the area there are two festivals in Pasquotank County, the Edenton Peanut Festival sponsored by the John A. Holmes High School Band Parents Association, and the Dare County Arts Council's annual Artrageous celebration.
The 4th Annual Swamp Fest kicks off with a 10 a.m. parade featuring both modern and antique cars, trucks and tractors, floats and horses.
The procession begins at the Gates County Courthouse on U.S. 158 Business and ends in front of the Gatesville school on N.C. 37.
Highlights include pony rides, a NASCAR simulator, a ``Casting for Kids'' contest and a lawn mower pull.
Twenty-seven arts and crafts booths will be selling everything from ceramics and woodwork to jewelry and painted gourds. Several commercial booths also will be open for business.
Numerous game booths will offer visitors a chance to relax, win prizes or just have fun at others' expense with dunk tanks, a moon walk, bingo, live goldfish, a duck pond and hay rides.
Area performers will be country music singers Robin Bland, Denise Pierce, Tiffany DeWald and Barbara Mathias, the Riverwind Aerobic Team, Southern Stars Square Dance Club, the alternative music band called Fathom and Movin' Up gospel group.
Other entertainment appearing on two different stages includes the country band Southern Blend, beach music's TFC Drifters, bluegrass's Calamity Jane and Undercover, a Top 40 band.
Storyteller Edward Red Hawk will give two performances followed by the jazz music of Dreams; a rhythm and blues band known as Pearl; and Christian rap artists Disciples of Trinity.
Magician Penn Russell will roam the festival, with disc jockey Mike filling in between sets.
Festival-goers will not be disappointed by the wide array of foods being served at this year's Swamp Fest - a name that was selected not only to pay tribute to Gates' natural surroundings but because it was unusual enough to be remembered, Hewitt said.
Ice cream and frozen yogurt, fried chicken, Italian sausage, fried seafood, hot dogs, funnel cakes, ribs and grilled chicken, pizza and pork skins are just some of the samplings.
Twenty educational booths include everything from blood pressure checkups to two-way radio communications information.
Swamp Fest will have some competition Saturday from the Edenton Peanut Festival, less than 30 minutes away.
That fete also kicks off with a parade at 10 a.m. along Water and Broad streets to the John A. Holmes High School, where the main event - a battle of the bands - will take place.
The cavalcade will include six state bands competing for the top honor at the high school athletic complex beginning at 1 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for students. Children 6-years-old and under are free.
Arts and crafts and food booths, as well as children's attractions and a martial arts demonstration, will be held throughout the campus.
A sailboat regatta will be held in conjunction with the Peanut Festival at 10 a.m. at the Edenton Bay marina. Awards will be given at 5 p.m.
The Taste of Fall Festival'' from 9 a.m. to noon offers Elizabeth City residents and visitors a chance to sample recently harvested vegetables and fruits served up in healthful recipes.
The tasting party is free and includes health information from the American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, American Heart Association and Pasquotank Extension Homemakers' Clubs.
The Farmers' Market, located off Pritchard Street, offers free tours of local gardens, nurseries, farms and orchards each Tuesday from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m.
Transportation is provided, and there is no charge for attendance. Call 338-3954 for more information.
On the Outer Banks, art and artists are the featured attractions at Kelly's Restaurant where the annual Artrageous celebration begins at 10 a.m. and runs through 3 p.m.
If by early evening you're still revved up, then you might swing by the Dixieland Speedway near Morgan's Corner in Pasquotank County for the 1st Annual Big Barbecue and Bomber Blast.
General admission is $8, with a $3 price for children ages 6 through 12. Kids 5 and under are free. Proceeds benefit the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Crimeline.
Gates open at 5 p.m. with the first event, a pig cook-off. Teams from Virginia and North Carolina will prepare whole pigs in the hopes of winning the $300 grand prize.
Guests will get to gobble up the entries for $4 a plate while watching the Bomber Race that begins with qualifying starts around 5:30 p.m.
More than 75 race car drivers will compete for a $500 top prize by winning the 50-lap main event set to begin around 7 p.m.
After the race there will be music by the country band Straight Shooter. ``We'll cap off the night with a party,'' said Kos Jackson, an event organizer. ``That'll be the blast.''
Weather forecasters are calling for clear skies and mild temperatures. Should it rain, however, the Dixieland Speedway festival will be held Oct. 8, Jackson said. by CNB