DATE: Thursday, May 8, 1997                 TAG: 9705070158

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   56 lines

SUFFOLK'S HISTORY IS CENTER OF MAIN STREET PARTY MAY 18 THERE WILL BE TOURS - EVEN BOAT TOURS - ACTIVITIES, FOOD AND FUN FROM CONSTANT'S WHARF TO THE OLD POST OFFICE.

History will be on display May 18, as Suffolk observes its first Historic Preservation Day.

Continuous tours and activities will take place from noon to 6 p.m. on Main Street - between Constant's Wharf and the old Post Office.

The goal of the event is to show off Main Street attractions that have been restored and to point out the potential for more restoration.

Five churches - First Baptist Mahan, First Baptist, Suffolk Christian, St. Paul's Episcopal and Main Street United Methodist - will be open for tours, along with Riddick's Folly and the former post office. The old Seaboard Railroad station, which is scheduled for restoration, will be open for a peek inside.

All of the open tour sites will host special events, and food will be abundant.

A guided walking tour of the district will be part of the observation. Brochures will provide information on numbered sites.

Boat tours will be offered from Constant's Wharf, at Main Street and Constance Road. The area also will host children's activities.

At Cedar Hill Cemetery, where some graves predate the Civil War, visitors may make rubbings of tombstones and see a horse-drawn hearse.

Most activities are free, but there is a cost for some:

Boat tours - aboard one of the taxis that usually run between Waterside and Portside. $5 for adults, $3 for children under 12 and accompanied by an adult.

Riddick's Folly workshops - Registration, with payment, must be completed by Wednesday.

``Victorian Splendor: A Legacy of the Romantic Age'' - 1:30-2:30 p.m. Penny Birdsong of Birdsong Interiors and Suzanne Marion of Decorative Painting will discuss the Victorian home, featuring period wallpaper, fabrics, faux painting and papier-mache. Free.

Georgian & Victorian flower arranging, 3-5 p.m. Alvis Winslow of the Nansemond River Garden Club will demonstrate how to create Georgian and Victorian floral arrangements. $20 for materials.

``Hoop It Up,'' 19th Century toys and games for children 7-years-old and up, 3-5 p.m., $10. Participants will make 19th century toys and games.

``School Days - A Children's Workshop,'' copy books and study from McGuffy's Reader, for children 7-years-old and up, 1:30-2:30 p.m., $5.

Suffolk authors Elgin Lowe and O. Kermit Hobbs Jr. will sell and autograph their books at Riddick's Folly.

Spaghetti dinner - noon-1:30 p.m., Suffolk Christian Church, eat in or take out, tickets by May 11, $5. Call 539-9182.

The event coincides with National Historic Preservation Week, which begins Sunday. MEMO: For more information, call 925-6386 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,

Monday through Friday. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

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