THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606280176
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 71 lines
This year's Chesapeake Fourth of July Day In the Park and Parade will look as if it marched right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
The event, which will take place Thursday at Lakeside Park, will be colorful and lively with kids in watermelon seed-spitting contests, live country and gospel music performances, speeches by hizzoner the mayor, appearances by beauty queens, a patriotic parade and moms, dads, grandparents and the kids eating a picnic lunch.
The celebration is being sponsored by the South Norfolk Civic League, the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Department, the Chesapeake Sheriff's Department and the South Norfolk Ruritan Club.
The Fourth of July party will start at 11 a.m. with a parade that begins in front of Oscar F. Smith Middle School on Rodgers Street, said Joyce Coleman of the co-sponsoring South Norfolk Civic League.
``The parade will be about an hour long,'' she said. ``It goes from the middle school to Chesapeake Drive, then on to Bainbridge Boulevard and then it will disperse on Holly Street.''
This year's grand marshal will be Chesapeake Sheriff John R. Newhart, who will lead a parade featuring bagpipers, old cars, various club and organizational floats, Shriners, the Chesapeake Marine Corps League and other marching and parade units.
``I'm quite sure that this is the only Fourth of July parade in the area,'' said William ``Bill'' Butlin, president of the South Norfolk Civic League. ``The best places to view the parade this year will be along the parade route, not at the park.
``This is only our second year putting this parade together, and we're planning to have many more units join us next year. We're hoping to get several military marching units and other groups like that. But it's growing, just like our celebration.''
And Butlin wasn't just whistling ``America the Beautiful'' when he made that statement.
The celebration has been held for the past 15 years, he said. It started out as a small celebration in the park. Now it will feature two stages of family entertainment, food vendors, ongoing activities, arts and crafts exhibitions, organized games, children's activities and enough grassy space for picnics.
``This is not just a little neighborhood party anymore,'' Butlin said. ``We are now Chesapeake's Fourth of July party. It's still a family type affair. It has grown because of word-of-mouth and because of the many people working on it every year to make it bigger and better.''
Butlin said the celebration committee is headed by Jeff Rowland along with parade chairman Brenda Johnson, publicity chairman Coleman and arts and crafts/vendor chairman Carolyn Gorris.
And it isn't a Fourth of July unless you have elected officials and other notables to make a few patriotic speeches. The South Norfolk party will have that and more.
After the parade, opening ceremonies are planned for 12:30 p.m. Featured at the ceremonies will be guest speakers Mayor William E. Ward, Chesapeake city council members, U.S. Rep. Norman Sisisky and Newhart. Beth Howell, Miss Chesapeake 1995/Miss Hampton-Newport News 1996, will be on hand to sing the National Anthem.
After the ceremonies, the celebration will go into full swing until 6 p.m.
``As far as music is concerned, we'll have a little bit of everything,'' Coleman said. ``We will have a lot going on.''
Both the main and family stages will feature daylong entertainment, including live bluegrass, rock, pop, folk, country and gospel music along with dancing, puppets and continuous family games.
But there's one thing the celebration won't have and officials are proud of that.
``This has been and will always be an alcohol-free event,'' Butlin said.
Butlin said the entire celebration will end at 6 p.m. so families can drive over to Norfolk or Virginia Beach in plenty of time to see their firework displays, if they so desire. by CNB