THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996                 TAG: 9604120005
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   28 lines

TOO MANY EVENTS (EQ) BAD QUALITY

For several years, the Blackbeard Pirate Jamboree was a fun event for both children and adults. It encompassed all of Town Point Park with good music and lots of activities and room to move around.

Last year, the Pirate Jamboree was a mere shadow of its original form with everything crammed around Waterside and all activities ending by sunset.

This year the jamboree has been passed off to Nauticus and lasts only from noon to 5 p.m.

Norfolk needs to concentrate on quality, not quantity, of its downtown events. The Pirate Jamboree was an immensely popular and well-attended festival, but now it's rather disappointing. I probably will attend fewer downtown events if the quality continues to decline. Let's do away with some of the events and do a good job on the ones we keep.

TOM APPLE

Norfolk, April 9, 1996 by CNB