THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510130167
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mr. Roberts' Neighborhood
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Despite the sometimes aggravating weather, this year's family-oriented version of Peanut Fest was certainly the biggest yet.
Even if no one did leave the grounds with clean shoes, the new site offered plenty of room, and there was lots to do besides complain about the mud, muck and mire.
It took a few years to get straight when the event first began 18 years ago. Growing pains are to be expected.
One criticism I've been hearing over the years is that the rides are expensive. And the idea of waiting in a long line for tickets, then a longer line for the ride, isn't appealing.
Some fairs, including one annual event in Edenton, N.C., do this: You pay a few extra bucks to get in, but that includes all rides.
One thing I especially enjoyed at Peanut Fest was helping judge the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Showdown.
Milton Harkey of Asheville, N.C., travels 'round the country organizing these things, showing up with the most complicated list of instructions for the three-hour fiddlin' to-do.
Still, it was fun. After the three hours, you either like bluegrass or hate it. The event did bring a lot of bluegrass-loving out-of-towners to Peanut Fest.
A month earlier, I had the pleasure of judging the True Value/Jimmy Dean Country Music competition, an event that proved ``a little child shall lead them.''
Troy Hedspeth, 13, a very talented Garth Brooks-like entertainer, out-performed a field of about 26 at the Sports Emporium in Franklin. That was narrowed down to 10, who performed a week later at the Isle of Wight County Fair. He walked off in the top position.
If you are an IMAX enthusiast, take a look at the latest humongous screen presentation at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton.
``Wings of Courage'' is the first non-documentary movie to be presented in that format.
It is a true tale of an early aviation pioneer piloting an open-cockpit biplane that crashes in the Andes Mountains.
The storyline is thin. You follow the hero's trek back to civilization, but the scenery, the photography, makes it worthwhile. That overused word ``breathtaking'' fits here.
Be warned, it lasts only 45 minutes. A photographer friend told me that with IMAX, about 1,000 feet of film amounts to a 45 second take - one shoot on one camera requires far more editing than normally takes place.
The Air and Space Center, to take up that extra time, is double-featuring ``Wings of Courage'' with ``Speed'' - not the Keanu Reeves flick, but a fun-piece that has you involved with fast airplanes, race cars, roller coasters, etc.
Speaking of roller coasters, here's something to look forward to.
Next year, Paramount's Kings Dominion will introduce ``The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear.''
Every few years they introduce a new coaster, then Busch Gardens does the same, and so on in a game of one-upmanship.
This coaster, though, should be a hard act to follow. Completely enclosed, it catapults you about in complete darkness.
Special effects and technology are expected to add to the excitement of the 24-passenger train that will hit speeds of 53 miles per hour.
There's more. You'll be upside-down and seven stories high. Steep turns, climbs, drops and loops. I can't wait to churn the ole tummy. ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Craig Scheffer stars as pilot Henri Guillaumet in ``Wings of
Courage,'' an IMAX presentation now showing at the Virginia Air and
Space Center in Hampton.
by CNB