DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709180360

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                    LENGTH:   74 lines

ARTS COUNCIL STEPS OUT WITH SHOW THIS WEEKEND'S EVENT WILL BE THE FIRST OUTDOOR DISPLAY IN ELIZABETH CITY. SHOW:

When the Pasquotank Arts Council holds its first outdoor art show this weekend it will also be the largest art show ever held here.

Expectations are great and so is the pressure.

``It's been a major undertaking. A lot of professional artists will not touch a first-year show,'' said Valerie Carpenter, lead organizer of the event who reluctantly has become a public relations specialist.

Carpenter has advertised in numerous media outlets and has mailed 2,000 brochures to cities from Norfolk to Raleigh. She expects about 3,000 people to come.

``Two things you have to have is quality art and buyers,'' Carpenter said.

After landing the endorsements of a few strong artists, Carpenter recruited 33 accomplished artists from North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.

The artists will set up their works at Waterfront Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The show coincides with the Ninth Moth Boat Regatta sponsored by the Museum of the Albemarle. The whole presentation of boats, art and entertainment has been titled ``A Day on the River.'' Organizers hope the combination of events will help draw larger crowds.

Christened the Waterfront Fine Arts Festival, the show is styled after the popular Stockley Gardens show in Norfolk, Carpenter said.

The artists will be set up along the waterfront while the moth boats race around the course in the Pasquotank River.

Carpenter has made special efforts at hospitality. The artists are to arrive at the Holiday Inn in Elizabeth City on Friday, where they will be greeted by local volunteers. The volunteers will help the artists set up at Waterfront Park the next day.

Lee Strickland, a watercolor painter from Virginia Beach, appears in several shows in Hampton Roads, including Stockley Gardens and the Neptune Festival, which draws as many as 150,000. She'll bring her landscapes, seascapes and paintings of flowers to Elizabeth City Saturday.

``Every art show is a risk, particularly the outdoor shows because of the weather,'' Strickland said. ``I do this for fun. To me it's an adventure. Of course, I hope for some sales.''

The Pasquotank Arts Gallery also is offering prizes. Best in show receives $400. Second and third places receive $200 and $100, respectively. Artists' choice will receive $100.

``In my experience art shows are a very big plus in terms of attracting business, as well as the good feelings they produce,'' said Denver Lindley Jr., an artist from the Outer Banks who will be a judge at the Waterfront Fine Arts Festival. ``This area of North Carolina and Virginia has many very good artists. People will come from a great distance for a show like this.''

To volunteer to work one-on-one with the artists, call Carpenter at 331-2558.

Here are some of the other activities:

Actors from Encore Theatre will dress and act as characters from the area's history. They will roam through the park.

Mime Doug Berky will perform at the Main Street Stage at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The puppeteers from Cann Memorial Presbyterian Church will perform at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.

A Latin music band will perform outdoors during the festival.

A jazz quartet will perform at 12:30 Sunday at Main Street Stage.

A gospel chorus will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday at Main Street Stage.

Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts will be signing their book ``Lighthouse Lover,'' at Bracy Books on Main Street, Friday from noon to 5 p.m.

The annual Landmark Art Show will be on display at the Pasquotank Arts Council gallery on Main Street. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Art festival organizers, from left, Jane Von Schaaf, Mary Cherry and

Valerie Carpenter have recruited more than 30 artists for the

Waterfront Fine Arts Festival that will run Saturday and Sunday.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu