THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605100212
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARK YOUNG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
IF YOU'RE LOOKING for a Memorial Day weekend event that has something for everybody, the Pungo Strawberry Festival has most of the ingredients.
In addition to a bake-off, a rodeo (happening today), a jazz concert, foot races, a golf tourney, a carnival, a parade and lots of strawberry goodies to eat - the festival now boasts its own website on the Internet.
It was also announced Thursday that Frank Craft has been named honorary Mayor of Pungo, his wife Beverly is the First Lady of Pungo, JoAnne Stutzman is the Witch of Pungo and Rep. Owen B. Pickett will be the parade grand marshall.
The 13th annual two-day event - May 25 and 26 - will include 4-H clubs, Filipino-American beauty queens, step dancers from Oceana, a troupe of cloggers, Civil War re-enactors and enough country and gospel singers to start your own opry.
The festival of family fun, strawberries, sunshine and Virginia barbecue will be held in downtown Pungo (just past the traffic light) from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., both days. Jammed into those two days and a few square miles of Pungo is all the fun. The stars of it all are the strawberries themselves, available in every form known to man, and the friendly folks of rural Virginia Beach.
While the festival's sponsors promote it as a festival for the family, its beneficiaries go far beyond the thousands of grinning faces at the weekend's events. More than 80 school groups and community organizations as diverse as the Arrowhead Elementary School Art Department and the Virginia Beach 4-H Eyes for the Blind were recipients of funds raised last year.
Organizers are hoping for a record turnout of 150,000 over the Memorial Day weekend. People are invited; dogs, bikes and roller skates should be left at home.
In a departure from past years, no shuttle buses will run from the Courthouse area. Festival-goers may drive right up to abundant on-site parking in well-marked lots off Indian River and Princess Anne roads. All-day parking is $4 per car. As usual, Princess Anne Road between Indian River and Muddy Creek roads will be closed to traffic during festival hours.
Among the biggest additions to this year's festivities will be a huge crane that will be raised by the Navy Seabees displaying dozens of nautical flags, more than 25 cars from the NASCAR circuit, and NHRA dragsters. Virginia Beach's own Monster Fire Truck will also be on hand.
The parade will be Saturday at 11 a.m. and feature more than 70 entries including the Oceana Community Center Steppers, Bobby the Clown, at least four horse-riding groups, elements of local Police and Fire departments as well as the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, and someone from SPSA dressed as a 7 1/2-foot-tall kangaroo.
In addition to its usual on-site activities the festival has spun off into a wide variety of associated events.
Today at 2 p.m. is the last day of its third annual World Championship Rodeo at Princess Anne Park. The golf tournament will be Friday at Red Wing Golf Course.
May 24th at 7 p.m., the festival sponsors the free Strawberry Jam Jazz Concert at the 24th Street stage at the Oceanfront, featuring The Joe Sinnett Trio. On May 26, the 5K and 1 mile Strawberry Festival races will be held on Flanagan's Road in Pungo. MEMO: The website address is http://www.pinn.net/pungo-strawberry-festival.
For more information call 721-6001.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Christian Snow samples a strawberry during the press conference.
From left, Frank Craft is honorary Mayor of Pungo, his wife Beverly
is First Lady and JoAnne Stutzman is Witch of Pungo.
Jake Jacocks is the festival chairman.
Dianne Lawlis, left, hugs Beverly Craft, honorary First Lady of
Pungo.
by CNB