THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610090139
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 85 lines
Fleet Week, a celebration of the Navy's contribution to Hampton Roads and the 201st birthday of the service, will be observed in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach this week. Locally, events at Great Bridge Locks Park will be sponsored by NSGA Northwest and the city's Department of Parks and Recreation.
``We've been holding meetings for a couple of months to get this thing ready to go,'' said Senior Chief Petty Officer Sean K. Wines of NSGA Northwest.
The event will include live musical entertainment, a star-spangled opening ceremony, festive decorations, food vendors, the NSGA fire trailer, face painting for children by the base's Child Development Center and several vessels on display.
Everything will kick off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with patriotic/military opening ceremonies, including a Navy color guard from NSGA Northwest. Special Chief Robert Cox, also from the Chesapeake facility, will sing the national anthem and lead the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
The ceremonies will continue with an invocation by Lt. Cmdr. Rick Wilkins, a chaplain from NAS Oceana, to be followed by special remarks from Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward, state Sen. Mark L. Earley and Capt. Sharon A. Peyronel, commanding officer at NSGA Northwest.
To get the crowd in more of a nautical mood, a group of eight singing Navy chiefs from NSGA, including a Canadian petty officer, who were all recently initiated into ``the khaki'' (newly promoted chiefs), will sing ``Anchors Aweigh.'' The choir consists of Canadian Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Robinson along with Navy Chiefs Frank Elmore, Barbara Carwile, Kathy McAlister, Dave Wilcox, Dale Fritchley, Jeff Evenson and Harold Moreland.
``They even learned the rarely used third verse of the song,'' Wines said. ``Now they may not be the best singers you've ever heard, but they will make up for it in their enthusiasm.''
To make it a real seafaring event, the celebration will include the commissioning of the city's fire boat by Capt. Dennis Sande of the U.S. Coast Guard; the NSGA Northwest fire safety trailer manned by the base's civilian fire department; an LCU or landing craft utility, a flat vessel with a front gate used to deliver troops on shore, on loan from the Little Creek Amphibious Base; several rigid-hull inflatable boats, like large rubber boats with outboard motors used by Navy SEALs, who will also be on hand to man a static display; an exhibit by the Navy Seabees; and live musical entertainment.
The Virginia Coast Chorus of the Sweet Adelines International, a regional women's barbershop harmony group, will perform intricate vocal harmonies, and Time Plus Ten, a jazz/pop/rock group from the carrier George Washington will offer its musical prowess.
The day's headliners will be Country Currents, a Navy band bluegrass/country group stationed in Washington. Formed in 1973, the six-member group is a specialty unit of the prestigious Navy Band. It tours the country to help promote Navy recruiting and has performed at the White House alongside such country stars as Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill and the Statler Brothers. In addition, the group has graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, the Wheeling Jamboree and the Academy of Country Music Awards Show.
The group comprises Wayne C. Taylor of North Carolina on guitar and lead vocals; Keith M. Arneson of Maryland on banjo, guitar and vocals; Patrick J. White of Maryland on fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Joseph L. Wheatley of Tennessee on bass and vocals; David Sutton of Charlottesville on pedal steel, harmonica and vocals; and John H. Emrich of Illinois on drums. They are led by Robert E. Sullivan III, the band's unit director, guitarist and vocalist.
Wines said the group's professionalism and versatility should impress the crowds at Great Bridge Lock Park. He said his base's participation should impress, as well.
``We'll have the park decorated with flags and red, white and blue everywhere,'' he said. ``We'll have sailors in uniform from the base at the park to mingle with the crowd and make them feel at home. We want the community to know where we are and who we are.'' ILLUSTRATION: Navy photo by CHRIS ERBE
The Country Currents, a Navy bluegrass/country group, will perform.
Graphic
What: Chesapeake observes Fleet Week in Hampton Roads.
Where: Great Bridge Lock Park, along the Intracoastal Waterway,
just off of Battlefield Boulevard. Callison Drive, which parallels
the Albemarle Canal at Great Bridge Lock Park, will be closed to
through traffic from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
When: From noon until 5 p.m. Saturday.
Schedule of events: 12:30 p.m. - opening ceremonies; 1 p.m. -
Time Plus Ten; 2 p.m. - Country Currents; and 3:30 p.m. - Sweet
Adelines.
Call: 382-6241. by CNB