THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610090146
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: MR ROBERTS' NEIGHBORHOOD
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
LENGTH: 69 lines
A trumpet fanfare, please, for the opening of Peanut Fest.
Forget anything troublesome, and get yourself to the Municipal Airport just for the fun of it.
The star of the event, which runs through Sunday, is Martina McBride. Her biggest hit is ``Independence Day,'' and others include ``My Baby Loves Me,'' ``Wild Angels'' and ``Safe in the Arms of Love.''
It is safe to say she will draw a large crowd from across Hampton Roads, Sunday at 4 p.m. While she did not win any Country Music Association awards, she was nominated in three categories - and that's quite a feat.
So is this: 20 albums in 23 years and retention of a good-sized following all the while. It's The Marshall Tucker Band, six South Carolinians who know how to mix it up - country rock-rhythm and blues-jazz.
They appeared at Peanut Fest in 1994, and drew a large crowd. This year, they will be on stage at 9:30 p.m. Friday.
There isn't room in this column to talk about all of the Fest entertainers, but let me tell you about three of the national performers:
The Byrds Celebration celebrates at 7:45 Friday, with the classic American rock 'n' roll sound of the original group.
The act has the blessing of the originals. Michael Clarke, drummer with The Byrds from 1964 to 1967, and again in '72, asked singer/songwriter/guitarist Terry Jones Rogers to carry on their rockin' tradition.
The Byrds Celebration includes some new material, but the favorites are sure to be such classics as ``Mr. Tambourine Man,'' ``Eight Miles High'' and ``Turn, Turn, Turn.''
The Delevantes are a couple of guys you probably don't know, but take a look at this Entertainment Weekly review:
``The duo's songwriting sets them apart from the roots-rock rabble; they can write hooks all day long, and their tunes stick like tobacco juice on a wool rug.''
That's a colorful description of the talents of Bob and Mike Delevante of Hoboken. They worked in Nashville - not the country places, but the rock rooms. They will be at Peanut Fest at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Some local folks are getting in on the act. The Suffolk Fine Arts Center's musical group, ``FACES,'' will be dressed as such familiar characters as Pocahontas, Uncle Sam and the Mad Hatter; Chesapeake's Flatland Cloggers and Suffolk's Peanut City Cloggers will clog, of course.
DO feed the animals. It will cost you, though - like taking them to a restaurant.
The Petting Zoo will have special food available for its four-legged attractions. For a small fee, you can serve a servel, a hungry South American bobcat.
A llama and a potbellied pig also are waiting to be fed, along with some other animals.
You also get a camel to walk you. Climb the stairs, get on the platform, then get onto Henry. For comfort, sit between the humps.
The Polish Sausage King, Doug Baker, will again be at Peanut Fest, after a visit to the State Fair.
``I'll never sell in Richmond,'' he said. ``There are more than 100 vendors, and 50 of them are selling sausage. It should be called the Food Fair instead of the State Fair.''
Well, ours is called Peanut Fest. Go! Enjoy! ILLUSTRATION: File photo
The Marshall Tucker Band will perform Friday at the Peanut Fest. by CNB