DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710150208

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 1E   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  128 lines

GREEN SEA FESTIVAL IS FIRST TO FOCUS ON SOUTHERN WATERSHED

It's called the Green Sea Festival, it takes place Saturday at Northwest River Park and it's been created to celebrate the Southern Watershed area.

The Southern Watershed? Is that a new Chesapeake housing development?

Hardly. The area in question is in Southeastern Virginia, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Great Dismal Swamp on the west and lies in both Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, two of the co-sponsors of Saturday's festival.

The area is made up of three primary watersheds: Back Bay in Virginia Beach, Northwest River in Chesapeake and the North Landing River, which lies in both cities.

The area contains a wealth of natural and cultural resources unique to South Hampton Roads that will be celebrated at the festival. The region also contains a variety of agricultural operations, a state park, two natural wildlife refuges, the drinking water supply for the city of Chesapeake and rural, residential and preservation areas overseen by the state and the Nature Conservancy.

This inaugural festival debuts in Chesapeake. Next year's moves to the Beach.

According to Cindy Butler, one of Saturday's organizers, the event has been christened the Green Sea Festival based on a historical account of William Byrd. He surveyed the area in 1728 and described what he saw as a ``green sea,'' thanks to the huge expanses of tall, green reeds indigenous to those waters.

Butler said the festival has been organized to explain the area's importance, it's beauty, culture and history as well as highlight the need to preserve and conserve the area for future generations.

This will be done through entertainment, displays, demonstrations and exhibits from artisans, conservation groups, businesses, city and state agencies and volunteer service organizations.

Entertainment will include cloggers, folk singers, artisans, bluegrass performers and exhibits pertinent to the Southern Watershed area. The planned entertainment will take place on a Main Family Stage and a nearby Children's Stage.

``We have many creative displays and exhibits planned,'' Butler said. ``When we were in the planning stages and sought help from individuals and groups to make the festival a success, many came forward.

``I think they will creatively emphasize the importance of protecting and preserving this wonderful area and promote its many recreational opportunities. I think the exhibitors will present a very complete and well-rounded look at the Southern Watershed area and its significance.''

The 28-foot Chesapeake Bay Mobile Marine Lab, provided by the Virginia Marine Science Museum, will offer free tours to both children and adults.

And for hungry festival goers, Butler said the Great Bridge Kiwanis Club will be on hand to sell food and beverages.

Butler said it was decided to hold the festival's debut at Chesapeake's Northwest River Park because it's an integral part of the Southern Watershed area and because of the park's natural, unspoiled beauty.

If the festival events aren't enough to keep folks interested, the park also offers tram rides, paddle boat rides, picnic areas and shelters, hiking trails, a playground and a lush garden with benches and walkways.

``Northwest River Park is a hidden treasure,'' she said. ``For many it's hard to believe it's 763 acres. The park is a wonderful, natural showcase for our festival.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

GREEN SEA FESTIVAL

The First Annual Green Sea Festival - sponsored jointly by the

cities of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, the Virginia Coastal

Program of the Department of Environmental Quality, the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Hampton Roads

Planning District Commission - will take place Saturday from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. at Northwest River Park, 1733 Indian Creek Road, off South

Battlefield Boulevard (Route 168).

EVENT SCHEDULE

MAIN STAGE

10 a.m. - Flatland Cloggers

11 a.m. - New Dominion Bluegrass

12:15 p.m. - Presentation of awards for Watershed Education

Contest.

12:30 p.m. - Performance of the ballad ``The Lake of the Dismal

Swamp'' by George Wallace.

1 p.m. - Slightly Bent, acoustic guitar group.

2 p.m. - Bob Worley and the Squaredancers.

2:45 p.m. - Stingrays, oldies rock and roll.

4 p.m. - Amy Ferebee, folk singer.

CHILDREN'S STAGE

11 a.m. - Storyteller Susan Corbitt, interactive stories and

songs about birds, turtles, fish and featuring ``The Journey of a

Raindrop.''

Noon - ``Pollution Solutions'' game with the Virginia Coastal

Program of the Department of Environmental Quality.

1 p.m. - The Berenstain Bears will present ``Don't Pollute

Anymore.''

2 p.m. - ``Chessie The Manatee,'' a musical puppet show by the

Virginia Marine Science Museum.

3 p.m. - ``Pollution Solutions.''

4 p.m. - Reprise of ``Chessie The Manatee.''

OTHERS PARTICIPATING

These groups or individuals will offer displays, exhibits,

handouts or demonstrations:

Richard Pelletier, Dulcimer maker/performer

Joseph Lee, water fowl decoy carver

Tony Dungara, herpetologist

Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries

Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

The Nature Conservancy of Virginia

Chesapeake Mosquito Control Commission

Southeastern Public Service Authority

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Virginia Canal & Navigations Society

Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners

The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Division of

Natural Heritage

Hampton Roads Water Efficiency Team

Norfolk County Historical Society

Chesapeake Stormwater Management

Tidewater Weavers Guild

U.S. Coast Guard National Strike Force

Department of Environmental Quality's Virginia Coastal Program

Virginia Dare Soil and Water Conservation District

Pure Water World, Chesapeake Bay Youth Conservation Corps

Virginia Marine Science Museum's Chesapeake Bay Marine Lab

Virginia Marine Science Museum's Stranding Center

Junior Girl Scouts No. 193

Tidewater Blacksmith Guild

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