THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606280168
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Summer Sun Days
SOURCE: BY GREG BURT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 66 lines
As America turns 220 Thursday, many will take advantage of a four-day weekend to celebrate and visit family and friends out of town. But if you want want to take it easy and beat the holiday traffic, there will be plenty of entertainment and fireworks here so you can express your patriotic feelings at home in Virginia Beach.
For starters the Parks and Recreation Department and Eagle 97 are sponsoring ``Family Fun Day'' at Mount Trashmore July 4th from 3 to 10 p.m. There will be live ``on stage'' entertainment, a dog drill team, games, free face painting, karaoke and a fireworks show by Pyroshows of Tennessee commencing at 9:30 p.m. ``This is the best thing at the Beach,'' said Parks and Recreation spokesperson Victoria D. Magee.
This year's celebration features a new attraction, ``The Human Bowling Ball,'' which Magee believes will be a hit with kids and their parents. For $1 children and adults can roll each other down a 30-foot lane toward oversized bowling pins. They'll be strapped securely into a 4-foot-diameter steel ball. A strike will be rewarded with a free roll.
Another new attraction will be the Velcro wall. After strapping on a special suit, participants leap off a small cushioned pad plastering themselves onto a Velcro covered wall.
For those worried about a repeat of last year's traffic problems, Magee said provisions have been made. Parking at Pembroke Mall is available and TRT shuttle buses will be transporting people to and from Mount Trashmore for a round trip fee of $1. Parking will still be provided at Mount Trashmore for $5 per car, $10 per bus. Magee warned, ``You need to get there by 4 p.m. if you want a spot.''
If you want to spend America's Independence Day with a British beat, the Oceanfront's 17th Street stage is featuring a free, three-night, open air music concert dubbed ``The British Invasion.'' The first concert on July 4, starting at 6 p.m., features what promoters are calling one of the world's best Beatles look-alike groups, ``1964'' The Tribute.
``By the end of the show people will think they have really seen the Beatles in concert,'' said coordinator Danielle Batdorf. Complete with English accents and early Beatle garb, the group will preform two hours of pre-1964 Beatles tunes.
The next two nights will feature performances from Welsh rock star Spencer Davis and rock group Badfinger.
If a more cultured atmosphere is to your liking, the Virginia Beach Amphitheater is featuring the Virginia Symphony performing a variety of patriotic works, Tchaikovsky's ``1812 Overture'' and different selections of John Philip Sousa. Tickets run from $8.50 for lawn seats to $20 for Gold Circle seating. Children 12 and under are free for every adult lawn ticket purchased. The concert will conclude with a fireworks show.
And for those just looking for some fireworks on the beach, Virginia Beach Resort Hotel at the corner of Shore Drive and Great Neck Road will be providing a display at 9 p.m. Parking at the hotel will be scarce, but spaces may be available in nearby neighborhoods. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
ABOVE: On July 4, one of the world's best Beatles look-alike groups,
``1964'' The Tribute, will perform two hours of pre-1964 Beatles
tunes at the 17th Street stage.
LEFT: The next two nights will feature performances from Welsh rock
star Spencer Davis, left, and rock group Badfinger. by CNB