THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506040071
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
Two outdoor community celebrations featuring food and entertainment took place on the Outer Banks on Saturday - but that is where the similarities ended.
While folks flocked to Manteo's waterfront for Dare Day, a down-home festival complete with face-painting, local crafts and a Barney ``moon walk'' for the kids, others attended a $150-per couple music festival in Corolla.
The unofficial menu for Dare Day featured hotdogs and funnel cakes, while an elaborate buffet was served at the 7th Annual Ships Watch/Buck Island Beach Music Festival in Corolla.
The Corolla music festival featured shag and beach music, while Dare Day sounded of country and raw Elvis soul.
``Dare Day is about people getting together,'' coordinator Lynda Midgett said. ``It's like an old-fashioned family reunion. Many people who have moved away all come back home to see one another and have a good time.''
That good time was dampened to some extent by Saturday's rain.
Crowd members moaned at about 10:20 a.m. when thunder rumbled and the wind intensified. Vendors frantically draped plastic sheets over their merchandise while people raced to duck beneath waterfront overhangs.
The steady rain that followed for 30 minutes was not enough to scare away Nelda Wescott of Nags Head, who came to watch her granddaughter dance.
``I don't think I'll melt,'' Wescott said, smiling beneath her umbrella.
Dare Country recreation dancers, who were performing when the rain started, ventured back to the damp street. Ballerinas in white costumes twirled to Elton John's ``Can You Feel the Love Tonight,'' while trying to keep their slippers out of the puddles.
The concerts of headliners Ronnie McDowell, an Elvis soundalike, and Outer Banks native and country singer Katie Cudworth were moved to Manteo Middle School.
But rain is nothing new to Dare Day, said Midgett, adding it has rained for all but about six celebrations since the event began 25 years ago. The celebration even confronted a hurricane one year.
``Whenever people ask me if there is going to be a separate rain day, I tell them, `No - and bring a lot of plastic,' '' she said. ``I'm drip-dry, and I expect everyone else to be, too.''
Joe Geppi of Kitty Hawk said the rain added to the occasion.
``Look at all those people over there,'' Geppi said, pointing to a group of people huddled beneath a sandwich shop overhang. ``They are talking and laughing - the rain is bringing people together.''
But the sun glistened brightly on the Buck Island development swimming pool by the time the Corolla music festival kicked off at 4:30 p.m.
Guests wearing sundresses and dress slacks - compared to cut-offs and flip-flops at Dare Day - mingled on the Buck Island deck. At least one limousine brought guests to the event.
Jane Moseley, an event coordinator, said people attended the music festival for a good cause. The proceeds benefit the Nags Head Woods Nature Conservancy. This year's event, which about 1,400 people attended, raised about $50,000.
Not only that, but the music festival is fun, Moseley said, calling it ``the best and biggest party on the beach.''
It's also one of the most expensive.
Gail Culpepper, who said she ``came to hear good music,'' received a free ticket from someone she knew.
When asked if she would have paid the $150-per couple to attend, Culpepper shook her head: ``No, probably not.''
Two outdoor community celebrations featuring food and entertainment took place on the Outer Banks on Saturday - but that is where the similarities ended.
While folks flocked to Manteo's waterfront for Dare Day, a down-home festival complete with face-painting, local crafts and a Barney ``moon walk'' for the kids, others attended a $150-per couple music festival in Corolla.
The unofficial menu for Dare Day featured hotdogs and funnel cakes, while an elaborate buffet was served at the 7th Annual Ships Watch/Buck Island Beach Music Festival in Corolla.
The Corolla music festival featured shag and beach music, while Dare Day sounded of country and raw Elvis soul.
``Dare Day is about people getting together,'' coordinator Lynda Midgett said. ``It's like an old-fashioned family reunion. Many people who have moved away all come back home to see one another and have a good time.''
That good time was dampened to some extent by Saturday's rain.
Crowd members moaned at about 10:20 a.m. when thunder rumbled and the wind intensified. Vendors frantically draped plastic sheets over their merchandise while people raced to duck beneath waterfront overhangs.
The steady rain that followed for 30 minutes was not enough to scare away Nelda Wescott of Nags Head, who came to watch her granddaughter dance.
``I don't think I'll melt,'' Wescott said, smiling beneath her umbrella.
Dare Country recreation dancers, who were performing when the rain started, ventured back to the damp street. Ballerinas in white costumes twirled to Elton John's ``Can You Feel the Love Tonight,'' while trying to keep their slippers out of the puddles.
The concerts of headliners Ronnie McDowell, an Elvis soundalike, and Outer Banks native and country singer Katie Cudworth were moved to Manteo Middle School.
But rain is nothing new to Dare Day, said Midgett, adding it has rained for all but about six celebrations since the event began 25 years ago. The celebration even confronted a hurricane one year.
``Whenever people ask me if there is going to be a separate rain day, I tell them, `No - and bring a lot of plastic,' '' she said. ``I'm drip-dry, and I expect everyone else to be, too.''
Joe Geppi of Kitty Hawk said the rain added to the occasion.
``Look at all those people over there,'' Geppi said, pointing to a group of people huddled beneath a sandwich shop overhang. ``They are talking and laughing - the rain is bringing people together.''
But the sun glistened brightly on the Buck Island development swimming pool by the time the Corolla music festival kicked off at 4:30 p.m.
Guests wearing sundresses and dress slacks - compared to cut-offs and flip-flops at Dare Day - mingled on the Buck Island deck. At least one limousine brought guests to the event.
Jane Moseley, an event coordinator, said people attended the music festival for a good cause. The proceeds benefit the Nags Head Woods Nature Conservancy. This year's event, which about 1,400 people attended, raised about $50,000.
Not only that, but the music festival is fun, Moseley said, calling it ``the best and biggest party on the beach.''
It's also one of the most expensive.
Gail Culpepper, who said she ``came to hear good music,'' received a free ticket from someone she knew.
When asked if she would have paid the $150-per couple to attend, Culpepper shook her head: ``No, probably not.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Caught in a downpour, Sheriee and Greg Alker of Manteo wheel their
23-month-old baby across Queen Elizabeth Avenue during Dare Day on
Saturday. Many people at the festival ran for cover, but the steady
ran ended after 30 minutes.
by CNB