ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230007
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN ADAMS STAFF WRITER
MERRYMAKERS arise! The yearly frolic known as Roanoke's Festival in the Park has arrived. It's bigger, it's better. It's like a giant conga line weaving through the city.
Now in its 27th season, this cooperative effort has, with the help of more than 3,000 volunteers, assembled dozens of community elements and scattered activities hither and yon.
Where else can you see a ballet, inhale cotton candy, bop 'til you drop, wander through a maze, laugh at a puppet show, fold origami, bike up a mountain, get a makeover, cheer a parade and pet a llama - all in one day?
A spangled Mardi Gras gala will launch the whole shebang this evening at the Patrick Henry Hotel, complete with New Orleans cuisine, casino and jazz. Dress is formal or costumed - meaning that feathers, masks and beads are optional but recommended (to ``GAR-ON-TEE'' a good time).
Ten bright and boisterous days follow, starting Friday.
Kids - and kids at heart - will be delighted by the new attractions this year. For sheer originality, there's a duo of stilt-dancers known as Friends in High Places who will perform their altitudinal show of ballet, tap, jazz and even tango on June 1.
Little Red Riding Hood will sing her way into hearts - little and big - also on June 1. This lively children's opera comes to the Festival courtesy of the Virginia Opera Educational Programs.
Tuesday is Salute to Seniors Day, a new attraction in honor of senior citizens. Special activities include a health and fitness fair, breakfast walk, tai chi, croquet, an ice cream social, a bake sale and more.
And, as tradition would have it, there's art throughout to satisfy every taste. During the Festival you can view art, buy art, make art, wear art and even eat art.
This year's NationsBank Festival Fine Arts and Crafts Show and Sale will be held the first weekend. Potters, ceramists, weavers, painters, sculptors, photographers and others will display their goods in the shade and bustle of Elmwood Park.
This is not to be confused with the Sidewalk Art Show, sponsored by the Docent Guild of the Art Museum of Western Virginia (held in the City Market area the second weekend of Festival). Established in 1959 by local artist John Will Creasy, the Sidewalk Art Show is returning to its original location to be near the museum and to allow its 204 participants to spread out.
Also new this year is the GTE Mobilnet Wearable Art Show, featuring artsy clothing, jewelry, accessories and more. This juried show, held in Elmwood Park, will complement the Sidewalk Art Show and ensure visitors a weekend filled with art from block to block.
Do not - repeat: do not - forget your dancing shoes. Friday night is ``Country Night'' at Victory Stadium, which opens with Clint Paxton and his band, Country Thunder (Paxton is a 1976 graduate of Lord Botetourt High School). They'll be followed by Dealer's Choice and headliner Aaron Tippin. The Grand Finale on Sunday, June 2, will bring you The (now classic) Boxtops.
In between, there'll be a night of rocking and rolling on Friday, May 31, when local band Radar Rose opens the gates. The lineup also offers Survivor and headliner The Guess Who.
You'll want to hold someone's hand when the music of the Beatles comes to life on Saturday at the Amphitheatre in Elmwood Park with ``1964: A Tribute.''
At St. John's Episcopal Church on Saturday, June 1, a brass and organ concert will feature Top Brass, Voices of Deliverance, Emily Owens and Frank Allen.
Four stages will offer more music throughout the Festival.
For those who really can't sit still, there will be a host of athletic events to get (and keep) the blood pumping.
The daylong River Race, held on the Roanoke River at Smith Park on Saturday, is a hilarious test of will and courage. Nonmotorized crafts of every design will do their best to stay afloat.
For real kicks, the Crestar Festival Soccer Tournament will be held this weekend at River's Edge Sports Complex and other parks. Also serving up fun will be the Young Life Volleyball Tournament at Wasena Park.
Players and spectators alike will have a ball at the Fourth Annual Festival Softball Tournament (sanctioned by the United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association), to be held June 1-2. (If enough teams sign up, they'll play May 31, too.) The main site is the Moyer Field Sports Complex in Salem.
You can test your biking moxie on Sunday during the ROC Hill Climb, a time-trial bike race on Mill Mountain. And, if you can still move the next day, try your luck again on Monday in the Saturn Festival Cup bike race. Sanctioned by the United States Cycling Federation, the races will offer more than $17,500 in prizes.
For the fleet-footed, the AEP/1st American Bank Festival Classic 5K and 10K Run, now in its 15 year, will take off on Jefferson Street on Saturday, June 1.
New this year is the Star City Grand Prix in-line skating criterium, which will start and finish downtown on Sunday afternoon, June 2.
Come one, come all to what may be the littlest - but perhaps the best - show on Earth. The Festival's 10th annual children's parade will skip, scuff and scurry down Jefferson Street on Sunday, May 26, at 4 p.m., rain or shine. This year's parade is a ``Sensational Circus Caravan,'' which will float giant balloons like those in Macy's Parade. Special lofty guests will be Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent (47 feet long), the Honey Bee (42 feet) and Bimbo the Dog (40 feet). A 17-foot clown's head will be in there somewhere, too.
There will be children's doings galore at the Kaleidoscope Theatre with storytelling, puppets, magicians, sing-alongs and science safaris. Kids can have their faces painted and can make pasta pictures, creative hats, paper bookmarks and candle holders. At the river on Saturday, they can also leap in the fireman's foam from Sweden (swimsuits recommended). Children also can bring their best friends to the Pet Dog Contest in Elmwood Park on Saturday.
For the big kids, there's, like, way cool stuff to make (hats, friendship bracelets, candleholders, T-shirts and picture frames). Get a makeover and - perhaps thus encouraged - hop on stage and try karaoke.
During the week, bring a picnic and enjoy a Festival lunch. Lunch in the Park this year honors Head Start and Greenvale preschoolers on Wednesday and children with special needs on Thursday, with performances by juggler Jonathan Austin on both days. At Century Plaza on Friday, May 31, the gentle music of Luteman & Brown will fill the lunch hour. Soft drinks will be available each day.
A visit to the Festival isn't complete without a leisurely, mouth-watering stroll down Vendor Alley.
Most activities are free. The concerts at Victory Stadium on both Friday nights, however, require a button for admission. Buttons are $3 in advance, $6 at the door. A button will also get you reduced admission to Roanoke Ballet Theatre's Olympic Dance Festival at Virginia Western Community College on Friday. Festival buttons can be purchased citywide.
Daily drawings will win button-wearers everything from cellular phones to a free visit to the Hotel Roanoke. The grand prize is two round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the continental United States. Radio stations Arrow 94.9 FM/WFIR will award prizes to select button-wearing festival goers and merchants will offer discounts.
FRIDAY, MAY 24
Victory Stadium: Country Night
Gates open: 6:30 p.m.
Admission: Festival button ($3 in advance, $6 at gate)
6:30-11 p.m.: Beer, soft drink & food. (I.D. required for beer)
6:45 p.m.: Clint Paxton & Country Thunder
8:00 p.m.: Dealer's Choice
9:30 p.m.: Aaron Tippin
Festival at Roanoke Ballet Theatre Company
``Olympic Dance Festival''
8:00 p.m., VWCC Whitman Auditorium
Reduced admission with Festival Button (must be purchased in advance)
SATURDAY, MAY 25
Festival on the River
Smith Park
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
River Race:10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Concessions: 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Waterfront stage
11 a.m.: Kilowatt Kowboys
1 p.m.: Broken Reins
2 p.m.: Radar Rose
Children's activities: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Wasena Park
Young Life Volleyball Tournament 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
River's Edge Sports Complex and other parks
Crestar Festival Soccer Tournament 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Elmwood Park
9:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Concessions: 9:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
NationsBank Festival Fine Arts and Crafts show: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Kroger Product & Service Exhibit Area: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Children's activities: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Festival Terrace
Noon - 10 p.m.
I.D. required for beer and wine
Te Deum School of Music Strolling Violin
11 a.m. near the Gazebo
Universal Kempo Karate
Karate Demo with Chris & Tracie Ragone
11:30 - 12:15
SUNDAY, MAY 26
Elmwood Park
11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Concessions: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
NationsBank Festival Fine Arts and Crafts show: Noon - 6 p.m.
Kroger Product & Service Exhibit Area: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Children's activities: Noon - 5 p.m..
Festival Terrace
Noon - 10 p.m.
2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Music by Transcendent
I.D. Required for beer and wine
Wasena Park
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
PERFORMANCES AT AMPHITHEATRE AND GAZEBO STAGES FROM 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Young LIfe Volleyball Tournament
River's Edge Sports Complex and other parks
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Crestar Festival Soccer Tournament
Mill Mountain Park
1 p.m. - 8 p.m.
ROC HillClimb: Time Trial Bike Race
Especially for Teens
Elmwood Park Noon - 5 p.m.
Caged area at top of hill behind library
Makeovers
T-Shirt design contest
Hats for Teens
Picture Frames
Friendship bracelets
Candle holder creations
6p.m. - 8 p.m.: Karaoke by Don Taylor
Amazing Maze
Bag-A-Face
Boxes in Motion
Bubblemania
Button Art
Candle Holder Creations
Creative Hats
Computer Art
Design a Stamp
Face Painting
Festival City
Finger & Thumbprint Art
Foam and Fire Truck
Go Fish
Jumpin' Jack and Jill
Let's Make a Friend
Marble Tracks
Marbleized Paper Bookmarks
Memo Magnets
Miniature Air Force Jet
Nigerian Dwarf Goats & Llamas
Olympic Wall
Origami
Paper Bag Puppets
Paper Dying
Pasta Pictures
Pennant Flags
Pennant Pictures
Race Car
Stamp Art
String Art
Torn Paper Designs
Pet Projects
Puppet Factory
Indian Rock Designs
Dream Catchers
Temporary Tattoos
Edible Art
Festival Windchimes
Wearable Pasta Art
Chess Challenge
MEMORIAL DAY
Elmwood Park
8:45 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Concessions: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
NationsBank Festival Fine Arts and Crafts show: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Kroger Product & Service Exhibit Area: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturn Festival Cup: 8:45 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Children's activities: 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Children's Parade
4-5 p.m.
Theme: Sensational Circus Caravan
Jefferson Street, from Albemarle Ave. to Franklin Rd., ending at Crestar Plaza
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LENGTH: Long : 259 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: color map of festival.by CNB