DATE: Sunday, November 23, 1997             TAG: 9711230049

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   71 lines

CITIES RING IN THE HOLIDAYS PARADE TURNS NIGHT TO LIGHT

Any doubts that Santa's pending rounds are much anticipated were dispelled by a jovial crowd of hundreds of thousands lining downtown streets Saturday as the Portsmouth and Norfolk skylines twinkled to life in a halo of holiday lights.

``Oh, it's beautiful,'' said Vickie Meeks, 19, of Chesapeake as she craned her neck to take it all in. ``I'd been afraid that having all the stores done up for Christmas so soon would spoil my spirit. But this has brought it back.''

The 13th annual Holidays in the City parade stepped off at 7 p.m. from Dominion Tower, this year accented with several helium balloons - small cousins of the larger ones that have been a mainstay of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York City.

They were a big hit with children all along the route. And it was quite a handful for those holding the lines to maneuver them through downtown - especially Jack Kendall, 34, of Virginia Beach.

Not only was he trying to hold tight to one of several lines guiding a giant Santa head, but he had his wide-eyed, 21-month-old daughter Lindsay perched on his back.

``There's quite a bunch of wind and my back is starting to get sore,'' Kendall said. Not a good combination, given that the parade had just started. But he held in with a grin, and by parade's end, declared: ``Let's go again.''

Some of the balloon teams quickly mastered their craft and became adept at a variety of maneuvers - including the pole duck: pulling tight to dip tall balloons safely under traffic lights and causeways.

The crowd helped: ``Bring him up!'' hundreds shouted as a toy soldier, almost on his back, made it under a barrier. As he stood to attention, the crowd roared its approval.

The parade, intended for the children of Hampton Roads, appeared to please most of them, whether they were camped out on curbs or perched on parental shoulders.

Devon Voorhees, 4, of Norfolk provided his mother, Stacey Voorhees, a running commentary of parade highlights.

``There's a pumper,'' he said as a Portsmouth fire truck passed. ``There it goes. It goes: `Wooo-wooo!' There's a sailboat. You put it in the water and it works!''

And some of the youngsters had a different perspective, riding floats in the parade.

``It's more fun to be in the parade,'' Justin Dutton, 5, of Norfolk said as he marveled at all around him on the mayor's float. Earlier, he'd gotten to meet Santa.

Justin, the guest of Norfolk Councilman Randy Wright, said he was hoping for a robot and a GI Joe.

While there were no official crowd counts, several police officers and parade participants who have been a part of the event for years said this was easily the largest turnout ever.

In front of the NationsBank building, the crowd stood 30-deep. And even toward the end of the route, where crowds have normally thinned in the past, this year there wasn't an open space to be found.

Despite large signs announcing the end of the route, thousands of people stood for more than two blocks beyond. Some bands and floats made it past them, but others turned off, among them, the float carrying Santa Claus.

Hundreds of disappointed children were left with only a brief glimpse of the lights atop Santa's float - and no sight of the jolly old elf himself. But Santa sent word that even though he'd not had a chance to see them, he wouldn't forget them.

``That is,'' he cautioned, ``so long as they've been good.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot

Jack Kendall of Virginia Beach, far right, was one of a half-dozen

people giving Santa a hand Saturday night.

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