THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506040031
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Mother nature rained on Elvis' Oceanfront parade Saturday morning, but by noon the sun broke through the clouds to keep the three-day tribute to the King of Rock rolling.
Fans as young as Mina Douglas, 3, and Stanley Smith, 4, both of Virginia Beach, were among thousands on the Boardwalk, waiting to sight Presley lookalikes and wannabes and listen to Elvis sounds on Day 2 of the Viva Elvis weekend.
An Elvis parade along Atlantic Avenue was washed out by a heavy morning rain. But the sun arrived as seven contestants in the Elvis lookalike contest took the stage at 24th Street, warbling, wiggling and sneering in the tried and true Presley manner. Winner of the $300 first prize was Sterling Riggs, 33, of Chesapeake, an Elvis impersonator for only a year. Riggs had the moves and timbre to snatch the title from runner-up Bob Glass, 40, of Virginia Beach, a maintenance analyst for a local defense contracting company.
Third place went to Bret Thom, 4, of Norfolk, a pint-sized blond Elvis who wowed the crowd with a nonstop wiggle.
An also-ran in the lookalike contest was Betty, a 3 1/2-year-old West Highland terrier, outfitted with Elvis shades, pompadour, sideburns and jumpsuit jacket.
The dog, owned by Duff and Allison McDuffie, of Virginia Beach, struck a Presleyesque pose, then devoured an Elvis favorite - a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Precisely at 3:05 p.m., a ``Flock of Elvi'' leapt from a twin-engine aircraft cruising high over the beach and parachuted to pinpoint landings at the surf line on 24th Street amid cheers and whistles of onlookers.
The seven jumpers, dressed in white, open-at-the-collar jumpsuits, are members of Chesapeake Skydive Adventures, a skydiving club. They will take another aerial plunge today at 2 p.m. at the same spot.
Later, Black Elvis, or Clearance Giddens of the Eastern Shore, took the 17th Street stage to begin a two-hour show with a lively rendition of ``Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On.''
On a smaller Boardwalk stage at 20th Street, where Elvis wannabes labored in relative obscurity doing Elvis karaoke, Oscar Wilkomer of Norfolk was not to be outdone. He crooned a fair imitation of Presley's ``Don't Be Cruel,'' and won grudging applause from passers-by.
On Friday, Dennis Wise, a Las Vegas entertainer, kicked off the weekend with a free two-hour concert at the 24th Street stage before an audience of well over 2,000. Wearing the standard beaded white Elvis jumpsuit and steel-rimmed shades, Wise belted out Presley standards such as ``Jailhouse Rock,'' bringing cheers and whistles from the crowd. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
Although Sterling Riggs, 33, of Chesapeake, has been a Presley
impersonator for just a year, he won the $300 first prize in a
lookalike contest Saturday during the Viva Elvis weekend at Virginia
Beach. Riggs was one of seven contestants.
by CNB