
DATE: Saturday, August 9, 1997              TAG: 9708090029

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS 

        STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   96 lines

A FAIR TO REMEMBER

MOM AND HER son gnawed on matching turkey drum sticks, caring not for the grease that covered their well-tanned cheeks.

``If I wasn't here, I'd be skateboarding or at the beach,'' 11-year-old Tyler Brooks said between bites.

He was munching away, and he looked pretty content for a guy whose stomach was doing summersaults. A midway ride called 1001 Nachts did it to him.

The device looks like half of a bus on a long arm. It rotates, right-side-up, all the way around a few times in each direction, doing its best imitation of a toddler tossing about a cereal box.

His stomach finally calm, Brooks was half-finished with his drum stick by the time he was making room for dessert. Only a funnel cake would do, he said. With lots of powdered sugar on top.

The Fair at the Beach wouldn't be worth its name without funnel cake.

Across the midway in Virginia Beach last week - with Tuesday being perhaps the strongest attendance night of the fledgling event - tender scenes painted a panoramic portrait of the fair in much the same way Norman Rockwell might have captured it.

A little girl tugged on Dad's right arm, jumping up and down. She couldn't wait to ride the bumper cars.

Two boys, eager to find the next game to conquer, balanced fuzzy green snakes and assorted other ``small'' prizes. Game operators posted signs offering children the chance to play to win for the basic price. One boy took at least a half-dozen shots at a basketball hoop 12 inches away before sinking his winning shot.

Across the way, while his girlfriend watched, a young man tried to honor her with a prize. He was too old for the play-to-win offer, and he futilely tossed plastic balls toward toilet seats suspended against a wall.

His girlfriend kissed him anyway.

Behind them, the sun set behind the 72-foot Jolly Giant Ferris wheel. The fairground lights beamed a milky glow across the sky above Camp Pendleton.

Eric Addesso, 26, wrapped his arm around his 2-year-old son, Tommy, as they enjoyed the whirling Fire Chief ride - for the second time.

``It was great,'' Addesso said as he put Tommy back in his stroller. ``He loved it. I couldn't get him off. We had to ride it twice.''

Addesso and his wife, their son and other family members attended the fair Tuesday instead of sitting in front of their television.

``The fair is great,'' he said. ``Great for the family.''

That's what State Fair officials had in mind when they decided to send smaller versions of their annual Richmond event on the road.

General Manager Kieth T. Hessey said he and his colleagues expected the Fair at the Beach to draw about 10 percent of the Richmond fair's usual attendance.

By Hessey's estimates, roughly 20,000 people visited the 9-acre fairgrounds the first weekend.

Monday was slower, Hessey said. But with Tuesday night's strong crowd - and a big final weekend planned - the people putting on the fair still expect to reach their goal of 60,000 visitors.

``The community involvement has been very impressive,'' Hessey said. ``It would be a shame for the fair to be in the South Hampton Roads community and not have the people take a day off and come visit.''

Whether they had skipped work or turned off their TV sets to show up, people were having plenty of fun with the more than 50 rides, games, craft booths, live music, diving show, food and agricultural demonstrations.

A 10-foot-tall, banjo-playing Uncle Sam strolled around. Best friends sat next to each other on fast-spinning, looping and noise-inducing contraptions.

Teens made out. Grounds crews picked up trash. Carnies urged people to play, to ride, to play and ride again.

``I was born and raised with the shows,'' said Mary Stevens, a game operator. ``We thought it would be a pretty big fair. It's picking up now.''

During the day, the carnival workers from Annapolis, Md.-based Jolly Shows hit the beach, the golf courses, the area shops and attractions.

``When it's slow,'' co-worker George Flickinger, 25, said, ``we wait for our customers. You try to call them in and give them a good ride. I love my job. As long as the kids are happy, I'm happy.''

And they were Tuesday night.

Little kids and big kids.

``That's a lot of fun,'' 50-year-old Theresa Storey said as she exited 1001 Nachts. ``But the Zipper over there - that's a killer ride.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]

PHILIP HOLMAN PHOTOS

Dressed as Uncle Sam, Jim Herrington of Ozark, Mo., wanders the

midway on stilts, serenading fair-goers with his banjo from a lofty

10-foot height.

Theresa Storey, left, and Bobby Hoff, both of Norfolk, check out the

view across the fairgrounds at Camp Pendleton from atop the Ferris

wheel.

IF YOU GO

GRAPHIC

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]

Thirteen-year-old David Damico, left, of Virginia Beach chats with

ride attendant George Flickinger of York, Pa., while awaiting a turn