THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 5, 1994 TAG: 9410040134
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 159 lines
ROCHELLE GOOD AND BOB MILES thought it would be nice to see a sculpture of King Neptune reclining in the water, his fat belly rising above the water line like a half melon.
A frosty cold beverage fashioned from sand might be nice, too, they thought, and designed one to fit neatly into the king's sandy hand.
Their design, brought to life by a team from their company, URS Consultants Inc., won first place in the business category of the Sandcastle Classic competition during last weekend's 21st annual Neptune Festival.
Even on Monday afternoon, when the sand sculptures had long been washed to shapeless lumps, Good remained in a cheerful mood.
``We're so excited,'' she said. ``You should see the trophy. It's huge!'' First place in the masters category in the popular contest fell to Raleigh, N.C., based Sandy Feat, while the people's choice award went to last year's business winner, Clark, Nexsen, Owen, Barbieri & Gibson, Norfolk-based architectural and engineering company.
All along the Boardwalk, the locals' favorite festival unfolded in countless ways during a splendid fall weekend that marks the traditional end of the summer.
The festival actually began Sept. 9 with the air show at Oceana Naval Air Station Air and unfolded at dozens of sites around Virginia Beach over the following four weekends, culminating in the art show and sandcastle competition at the Boardwalk celebration.
There was music, too. Concert stages at 11th, 15th and 24th streets were venues for a range of musical tastes, from the rock of Randy Bachman,
to Against All Odds, a jazz ensemble. Young country singer Troy Hedspeth offered music for a decidedly younger set while the Old Dominion Wind Ensemble brought music not commonly heard at the Oceanfront.
On Saturday night, after the crowd had strolled past artists stands and ate and drank themselves to contentment, the Zambelli Fireworks Co. of Newcastle, Pa., let loose with a show-stopping fireworks display that included a dramatic ``wall of fire'' off the 15th Street pier.
All this activity helped raise the drive and determination of the sandcastle builders.
For eight years, URS Consultants, a Virginia Beach engineering company, has sculpted sand into one form or another hoping to win top honors. But it never did. Not that it mattered. The team was happy just to have fun in the sand and enjoy each other's company.
``It brings the whole office together,'' said Good. ``It's a lot of fun. It involves the whole family who can participate in a family activity.''
Good and her 25 teammates never expected to win.
``We hoped we would, but we didn't count on it because we just like being together,'' said Good, who is the operation's manager for the company, which also operates the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes along I-64 for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Tim Clarke, a civil engineer who normally works on the city's underground fuel storage tank management plan, helped sculpt the left hand. He was a little blunt about his artistic skills.
``I'm a better engineer than a sandcastle carver,'' he said. ``We enter every year. We've done it for eight years. The best we've done to date was honorable mention.''
Working like true engineers, the team devised a map that would serve as a blueprint for the design - a map that showed how high each pile of sand should be before it was formed into the likeness of King Neptune.
``We ran in shifts,'' he said. ``The early crews got down with shovels and piled it up, led by Greg Anderson and Rick Underhill. They went out about 8 a.m. Then there was another crew that did the rough shaping, and then the real artists came in, Pat Perrotta, Dominic Neece and Otis Davis.''
The team finished by 2 p.m. and learned of its victory by 5:30.
When the names were being read, Lamont ``Bud'' Curtis, the vice president of URS Consultants, began to chant, ``Yes! Yes! Yes!'' when it became clear his company won.
The team is still talking about it. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
FINAL FLING
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
ABOVE: Against an early morning ocean backdrop, a bucket brigate
hauls water up the beach to the sand castle building contestants.
RIGHT: Tom Coffey of the Sandy Feat works on his team's entry, which
won the Master's division to the theme of ``Vive Le Neptune.''
Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Janyce Gemvorys of Hampden Sydney looks over the artwork of
Catherine Murphy of Haw Creek Forge in Ashville, N.C., during the
boardwalk show.
Photo courtesy URS CONSULTANTS
URS Consultants, surprised and excited, finished first in the
Business division in Sunday's sand-sculpting competition with this
entry, which featured a pot-bellied King Neptune sipping his
favorite adult beverage.
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
The Kellam High School marching Knights play before a packed parade
route. Green Run and Tallwood won the high school band
competitions.
LEFT: Steve Esmonde and Doreen Ficken of Norristown, Pa., dance to
the music of the Blues Exchange. RIGHT: Jeff Donlan makes his point
during the co-ed open volleyball tournament.
COMPETETION RESULTS
SANDCASTLE CLASSIC
SATURDAY (SCHOOLS)
People's Choice (best-in-show): St. Gregory's School
Elementary schools: 1. Kingston Elementary, 2. Newtown
Elementary, 3. W.T. Cooke
Middle schools: 1. St. Gregory School; 2. Virginia Beach Middle
School (National Junior Honor Society); 3. Virginia Beach Friends
School
High schools: 1. Green Run; 2. Tallwood; 3. Kellam (FHA)
Freelance: Windsor High School Art Club.
SUNDAY (BUSINESSES)
People's Choice (best-in-show): Clark, Nexen, Owen, Barbieri &
Gibson
Masters: 1. Sandy Feat of Raleigh, N.C.; 2. Shadetree Studio of
Lexington, Ky.; 3. East Coast Cowboys of Atlantic City, N.J.
Business: 1. URS Consultants Inc.; 2. TAF Group; 3. Professional
Hospitality Group
Non-profit: Mogul Ski Club.
ART & CRAFT SHOW
1. Pam Andre (glass), ``Amethyst Wave Bowl;''
2. Irmaly Brackin (mixed media), ``Oblation;''
3. Allen Avis (photography), ``Standing Stone.''
VOLLEYBALL
Men's open: 1. Richmond Hall and Frank Hall, Bethany Beach, Fla.;
2. Willy Hughes, Virginia Beach and John Hughes, Wilmington, Del.;
Women's open: 1. Ann Traxler, Baltimore, Md., and Jan Miller,
Washington, D.C.; 2. Holly Wiedemann, Arlington, and Brenda
Larrimer, Reston;
Men's A division: 1. Keith Coulstien and Dave Moore, Virginia
Beach;
Women's A division: 1. Glenn Fanelly, Chesapeake, and Marty Ward,
Norfolk.
YOUTH ART SHOW
Best-in-show: Mike Russek, First Colonial High School, 12th
grade, painting, ``Milk & Oatmeal'' Governor's School of Arts;
Neptune Festival award: Sheryl Collins, Kempsville High School,
11th grade, photograph, ``Surfer;''
Creativity award: Virginia Alas, Tallwood High School, 12th
grade, 3-D painting/sculpture, ``Picasso's Nose;''
Photography award: Julie Riggs, Cox High School, ninth grade,
``Trapped.''
PARADE
Smaller bands: 1. Green Run High School;
Larger bands: 1. Tallwood High School;
Most Original float: Virginia Beach Jaycees;
Best float interpretation of theme ``Vive Le Neptune,'' Hurrah
Players;
Best military marching unit: Virginia Beach Police Department;
Best civilian marching unit: The Florettes of Richmond.
by CNB