Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 21, 1990 TAG: 9005190215
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
One of the highlights of the weekend event, which drew an estimated 50,000, was a sports-car ob- stacle course in downtown Roanoke. As drivers snaked in and around road cones, navigators steadied a ball on top of a cake pan - on top of their heads.
Ah, those zany festival-goers.
It's been 20 years since that first Festival in the Park took Roanoke by surprise, 21 years since the Spring Market Festival planted the seed that became one of Virginia's biggest festivals.
Numbers have grown drastically; last year's crowds were estimated at more than 300,000. But the annual event that sugarcoats culture and turns picnickers into artsy types has held on tight to its theme of down-home family fun and wackiness.
"We've been steadily putting a bigger emphasis on improving the quality and expanding the children's activities," says Wendi Turner, festival's executive director.
So don't be surprised when you wander downtown this weekend and next if you spot a 60-foot-tall helium Humpty Dumpty sailing across Jefferson Street. Or a 9-foot-tall puppet troupe.
And if Humpty's a little past your time, not to worry. With a 14-page brochure of events, Festival '90 is sure to have something for just about everyone.
You can relive the screams of "Twist and Shout" with the Beatles-impersonation band, 1964. Or watch East meet West when the world-famous Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats and Magicians of Taipei perform their family-night finale.
Browse among the Arts & Crafts Show and Sale for that special painting or pottery piece. Or wax nostalgic with Blood, Sweat & Tears.
It all starts with a fund-raising kick-off gala Thursday called "An Evening Under The Stars - Fete de la Nuit," a $25-per-person event featuring the\ Woody Herman Orchestra and the Noel C. Taylor Community Choir. The gala begins at 7 p.m. at Roanoke's Fire Station No. 1, on Church Avenue.
Festival moves to Victory Stadium for its second annual opening kick-off concert on Friday with\ Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring five-time Grammy winner David Clayton-Thomas. Opening acts, which start at 7 p.m., include Kyle Davis and\ January Rose. A fireworks display, scheduled for 10:45 p.m., will follow the concert.
To be admitted, you have to wear a Festival in the Park button, which costs $1. They are on sale at area banks; buttons will also be sold at the gate the night of the concert. Festival buttons also entitle wearers admission to the festival's closing family night, as well as event-long discounts on T-shirts and cotton candy.
Look for everything, including the kitchen sink, to take to the waters on Saturday, when Festival moves to the Roanoke River for its\ annual river race from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also at the river will be an array of children's activities, a ferret exhibit and blue grass music by local performing artists. The Young Life Volleyball Tournament in Wasena Park and the\ Crestar Festival Soccer Tournament at River's Edge Sports Complex will also be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Meanwhile, back at Festival's home base in Elmwood Park, the\ Arts & Crafts Show and Sale will kick off at 11 a.m. Handmade crafts - quilts, baskets, jewelry, weavings and more - will be displayed on the front lawn of the Roanoke Public Library. The show continues through May 28, Memorial Day.
Local Band Night is Saturday night from 6:30 to 11 p.m. in the Elmwood Park Amphitheatre and features the groups Rascal, Echoes Farm, Kindred Spirit and Diamonds.
A variety of children's activities will be held Sunday, including a\ Children's Parade at 4 p.m. - that's where giant-sized Humpty Dumpty and Casper the Ghost come in.
New to the scene this year will be Sunday night's\ WYYD/True Value GMC Truck Country Showdown, during which country music bands from across the region will compete on the amphitheatre stage for the honor of moving on to the national play-off in Nashville later this year.
Memorial Day takes off spinning when the\ WDBJ-7 Festival Cup bike race speeds through the streets of downtown Roanoke, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Food and music by area residents will continue throughout the day, in addition to children's theatre and entertainment - activities that will carry over to Festival's second weekend, June 1-3.
It's enough to make even veteran festival-goers thankful for the four days of rest between week-ends.
The second weekend's activities kick off with Lunch in the Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 1. Later that evening, Roanoke's own\ Jane Powell takes to the amphitheatre stage in an evening of music that spans from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m.
June 2 gets off to a running start with the\ Dominion Bank Festival Classic 5K and 10K Road Race, from 8 to 10:15 a.m. And the\ 32nd Annual Sidewalk Art Show, the forerunner of all festival events, begins in Elmwood Park and Colonial Plaza at 10 a.m., continuing through the afternoon of June 3. It features paintings, graphics, sculptures and photography by more than 200 artists.
That night, the group\ 1964 as the Beatles will bring the British Invasion to Elmwood Park at 9 p.m. with a full-color laser show following.
And as Festival '90 begins to wind down June 3, activities will spin-off back to Victory Stadium for a Family Night Finale, featuring the\ Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats and Magicians of Taipei. Kids will also enjoy the troupe Bits 'N Pieces, featuring a play performed by 9-foot-tall puppets.
Memo: correction