THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996              TAG: 9607170484
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK 
        STAFF WRITER  
DATELINE: ROANOKE ISLAND                    LENGTH:   43 lines

LOST COLONY WILL RECEIVE $2 MILLION FOR RENOVATION

State and federal funds totaling $2 million have been appropriated for the Lost Colony.

U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C., has earmarked $1 million for renovation of Waterside Theatre, the venue for the nation's oldest outdoor drama.

The funds will be matched in a spending bill in the North Carolina Senate, president pro tem Marc Basnight, D-Manteo, said Tuesday.

The 2,000-seat amphitheater on the north end of Roanoke Island was last renovated in 1961. Built in 1937 on the site where Sir Walter Raleigh's colony lived more than 400 years ago, the theater is deteriorating and in need of repair. It also has to be brought up to state building code standards.

Faircloth worked with Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., to have the appropriation put in the 1997 U.S. Department of Interior budget, said Harris Vaughan, Faircloth's legislative aide.

The federal budget must be on the president's desk Oct. 1.

``It's very, very wonderful what's happened, and we're certainly hopeful that this comes to fruition,'' said David Bundy, the director of development for the Roanoke Island Historical Association, the producer of the Lost Colony.

Vaughan said that barring unpredictable ``political calculations'' killing the appropriation, he is hopeful that the funds for Waterside Theatre will remain intact in the final spending plan.

``We're committed to it,'' Vaughan said. ``It wasn't a hard decision to make, simply because the facility itself re-enacts one of the most important historical events in the United States. And it's right there on the Carolina coast.''

Bundy said the historical association hopes to complete renovation of the theater by the 60th anniversary of the Lost Colony production next summer. He said the work is expected to cost $2.3 million.

``The Lost Colony for years has entertained millions of tourists coming to the Outer Bands to hear the story of the first English child born in the New World and the mystery of the settlers to Croatan Island,'' Basnight said in a statement. ``This drama is truly a tremendous asset to the state and I fully support it.'' by CNB