DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997              TAG: 9704160154
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 08   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  178 lines

SLICES OF LIFE AT THE SPRING SPECTACULAR

1:50 p.m. - Commercial tent

She's been here since 9 a.m., she says, and she's still not ready for the 3 p.m. opening.

``Everything went wrong,'' she says, continuing to set out items for display. ``There was no electricity when we got here. It wasn't their fault. They just forgot.''

- Susie Stoughton

2 p.m. - At a food stand

Two women look at the display of food offerings - fried seafood, fried alligator.

``Do you have samples?'' one asks, wondering how the alligator tastes.

No, the vendor replies. No taste tests, but looks are free.

Timidly, she declines, afraid to risk it.

- Susie Stoughton

2:05 p.m. - Craft tent

His hobby consists of inserting German clock works in the center of a fine china plate, says Valuton Fraser.

He made the first, however, during a stint as chief engineer for the St. Regis-Sheraton Hotel in New York City. President Ronald Reagan was to stay at the mid-Manhattan hotel, and the general manager asked Fraser to think of a gift appropriate for the president.

Fraser came up with the unique gift that snowballed. Everytime a dignitary came to stay at the hotel, Fraser was commissioned to create another plate/clock.

He and his wife now live in Chesapeake - a beautiful part of the country, he says.

- Susie Stoughton

2:40 p.m. - Craft tent

``Where'd you get the idea for these?'' the woman asks the man selling bird houses crafted of wood, bark, moss, limbs and twigs.

``Right up here,'' says the retired coal miner, pointing to his noggin.

Years ago, he made a basket as a gift for a friend, wanting something special, he says. But he wasn't sure she would be impressed, so he also bought a sweater as a back-up, planning to return it if the woman liked his handcrafted gift.

She opened the present at church, her ``oohs'' and ``aahs'' attracting a crowd.

``I took 26 orders off that one,'' says Clayton Haye, who retired in Shady Valley, Tenn.

And the sweater?

He can't remember if he ever returned it.

- Susie Stoughton

5:45 p.m. - Fairgrounds

The balloons are out on the field; the pilot and crew mulling about.

One crew person decides to walk his pup. A balloon fest volunteer reminds him - no pooches allowed in the area.

``This is Bear,'' says the voice at the top end of the leash. ``He's our pilot.''

- Frank Roberts

6:15 p.m. - Fairgrounds

Don Slater, the WAVY-TV weather guy, is broadcasting live from the balloon fest. He is dashing off a somewhat promising forecast for Saturday for the Spring Spectacular.

Some festival volunteers round up a lot of children for background. They wave for WAVY.

- Frank Roberts

6:45 p.m. - Fairgrounds

The pilots have just been told there is too much wind; there's no way the balloons can take flight.

They seem as disappointed as the expectant crowd, until one of the balloonists comes up with an idea.

``If we don't leave the ground,'' he said, ``we can drink.''

- Frank Roberts Saturday, April 12

6:50 a.m. - Balloon launch site

The gray skies and merciless winds are causing balloon-angst, and a few of the crew members are concentrating on things more terrestrial.

Like finding a lost wedding ring.

In the tumult of taunt ropes, billows of slippery nylon and a thrashing wicker basket Friday night, a young crew member from the AC/Delco team discovered that his wedding band had slipped off.

The platinum and gold ring had been slipped on just six months before, at his November nuptials.

After a few hours of searching with flashlights Friday night, he called his new bride and broke the news.

This morning, the fresh-faced newlywed stares hard at the ground, sweeping a metal detector over the field littered with candy wrappers and peanut shells.

Later, a group of young Scouts crawls around the site where he thought the band had fallen.

The search proves fruitless. Pilots and crew members take up a collection for a new band.

Did you see anything shiny? Please call balloon miester Rene Meier at (804)694-5800.

Louis Hansen

2:10 p.m. - At a food stand

The hot barbeque is a welcome relief in the afternoon's drizzle. ``It rains a while, then it quits,'' the man says, as he hands the couple two wrapped sandwiches with slaw. ``Then it rains again.''

- Susie Stoughton

2:25 p.m. - Craft tent

The youngster grins from ear to ear, holding a dog puppet on the end of a wire ``leash'' and glancing up at his friend, Suffolk Police officer Junious H. Jackson.

`What's his name?'' asks the uniformed officer.

The little boy just grins.

``What's his name,'' Jackson asks again. ``Rover?''

``Rover?'' the youngster asks incredulously. ``No, he's going to be the same as my dog at home.''

- Susie Stoughton

4 p.m. - The Carolina Road exit

Two teenage girls are leaving, walking toward the gate in the light rain.

One is carrying a prized momento, a stuffed green dinosaur - a soggy, stuffed green dinosaur.

- Susie Stoughton

5:20 p.m. - Pizza Hut, North Main Street

A miniature hot-air balloon out front sports a sign, ``Welcome, Pilots.''

With the rain and wind this weekend, the restaurant may be a welcome refuge.

- Susie Stoughton Sunday, April 13

2:15 p.m. - Suffolk Raceway Reunion, Fairgrounds

It was a stroll down memory lane.

Two middle-aged men recall the Sunday afternoon they spent drag racing in Suffolk.

They thumb through photo albums, pointing at first one car and then another.

``I was probably there the day you took that picture,'' says Rick Holladay, a Virginia Beach attorney.

That was just before he bought the brand new 1965 Pontiac GTO he made a name for himself racing in Suffolk, he says. Paid $3,000 for it.

``You wouldn't get one for that now,'' his companion comments.

- Linda McNatt

3:30 p.m. - Suffolk Raceway Reunion

``They called me Crazy Ed,'' the man announces.

And heads turn to see who is making such a statement.

``I was driving a junior dragster rail that day,'' he says, continuing the story. ``They clocked me 9.87 seconds at 138 mph. Then, the blower belt broke - a 750 Honda motorcycle engine - blown up. Running alcohol.

``Hey, I was super-charged!,'' he continues, laughing and slapping one of his listeners on the back.

The oldtimers begin to recount special races, engines blowing, fuel lines leaking, similar catastrophies.

- Linda McNatt

5:15 p.m. - Main Stage

The rain has subsided, the sun is shining brightly, balloon kites are dancing in the wind, and the crowd is ``flying high'' to the music of Tracy Lawrence.

Families are enjoying being together, seeing old friends, eating delicious (and unusual) food, basking in the sunshine, examining the arts and crafts, and not slipping too much in the inevitable mud.

One fella sums it up, ``This is a terrific Balloon Festival, sans balloons!''

- Jo Joynes

6:30 p.m. - Behind the Main Stage

Tracy Lawrence just finished a dynamic show before a crowd of about 17,000.

So, what's thesuperstar doing? He's walking his Pekingese . Is the dog Rover, Fido, Rex? No, it's Tempe. An unsual name, but for good reason. That's the Arizona city where Lawrence met his bride, Stacie.

- Frank Roberts ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II

Friday's windy weather has balloon crews struggling to inflate and

get their craft aloft.

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