Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 4, 1993                   TAG: 9310070400
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CONCERT WAS A SUCCESS BY MOST MEASURES

Sunday's Spring Fest '93 reached its supervisors-mandated sale of 4,000 tickets and gave hours of enjoyment to enthusiasts of rock 'n' roll nostalgia. The food ran out early - around 6 p.m. - and the portable toilets were a healthy hike away. But aside from those and other logistical issues, things seemed to go smoothly.

``There was a lot of traffic around the cove there,'' said W.Q. ``Quint '' Overton, the Franklin County sheriff, on Monday, ``but we didn't have that much problem, really.''

The concert featured the Platters, or a latter-day incarnation of the fabled rhythm and blues group, and Bill Pinkney and the Original Drifters. It was held on a gently sloping meadow beside the lake.

Listeners brought blankets and folding chairs to a large area enclosed by orange plastic fencing.

Concert promoters and Bernard's Landing officials hoped to draw a 35-and-up crowd, including some people with their children, and they appeared to succeed. Adult ticket-holders were limited to four beers or cups of wine during the entire five-hour event. Food was available from two barbecue stands in one corner of the enclosure. The last hot dog was sold at 6:03 p.m., about two hours before the show's conclusion. The last piece of barbecued chicken was sold shortly thereafter. This prompted some complaints and caused a rush on the popcorn stand.

Joe Baraty, the community's general manager, said the barbecue concessionaire started selling as soon as he set up, around 1:30 p.m. That, he said, might have led to the early exhaustion of his supplies. The concert started at 3 p.m.

``It went real well for the first time out,'' Baraty said. ``I can't be disappointed. There were a lot of little things that we'd probably do differently to keep it well organized.''

``It was good for the first time out of the chute,'' said Joe Medina, president of the Homeowners Association. ``We might add a couple of staff people here, move a fence over there, move the bathrooms closer, bring more food. ... We talked to Bill Pinkney from the Drifters, and he said it was the smoothest outdoor concert he'd been to in years.''

One woman was upset because she thought the event was a beach party, and showed up in her swimsuit, ready to swim. One man was heard complaining about the shortage of food and about the long hike he had to make to get in, once he docked his boat behind the stage.

The county supervisors limited the crowd to 4,000 because of concerns about security and because of memories associated with the Willie Nelson concert-that-wasn't at Franklin County Speedway in 1980.

``The biggest thing we wanted to prove was that there was an adult market for what we're trying to do, and that it could be a squeaky-clean affair,'' said Sherman Helms, the promoter.

The event benefitted the Pskov Sister City group in Roanoke. Baraty said he and other officials were meeting this week to determine the financial figures and talk about seeking permission for another low-key show, either late this summer or next year.

``Not on a regular basis,'' Medina said, ``because we like the beauty of the place and the serenity. Possibly in the future [we'll do it] a couple of times a year.''