DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710020303

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY GREG GOLDFARB, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:  127 lines

THREE WEEKS OF FUN AND GAMES A LITTLE RAIN DIDN'T STOP THE CROWD FROM WRAPPING UP THE NEPTUNE FESTIVAL ON A POSITIVE NOTE. FROM A WINE FEST TO THE SANDCASTLE CLASSIC, A GALA TIME WAS HAD BY ALL.

ALTHOUGH RAIN washed out much of the Neptune Festival's final day, Damon Farmer didn't let the disruption dampen his spirits.

``This is the biggest event in the world,'' Farmer said Sunday, after winning his sixth Sandcastle Classic master's sand sculpture competition in 10 years. ``Nothing compares to it. But, this is also probably the worst weather I've seen in all the years I've been here.''

Nevertheless, Farmer, whose home is in Versailles, Ky., transcended the elements last weekend to win back-to-back championships by creating what he called ``A Galaxy of Televised Games,'' dovetailing with this year's festival's theme, ``Neptune's Galaxy of Games.''

And even though Sunday's wet weather may have kept the crowds down, people still milled around for hours on the Boardwalk, gazing at the 15 sand sculptures the competition's ``masters'' had created and that remained standing in good form hours after the rain had passed.

``That's something people don't understand,'' said Farmer, who stood near his work, taking the time to speak with fans, some of whom drew sketches of the various sculptures in little notebooks. ``The rain usually doesn't wash the work away. They'll stay up until someone or something tears them down.''

Farmer's original work consisted of a wild-faced ``King Neptune'' sitting in a chair, with ``Mother Neptune'' and their mermaid-tailed offspring while they all watched a sand-sculpted television set.

From the Boardwalk, you could see the family staring intently at the television. Farmer said he was especially happy to win again this year because while he was working by himself on his two-day, 16-hour project, he suffered a complete collapse of ``Mother Neptune'' and had to modify his creation at the last-minute.

``I'm delighted to have won again. I'm delighted the judges appreciated my work and my comeback after a major collapse,'' said Farmer, 48, who, in addition to making professional sand creations, is a commercial computer animation artist.

For his prize-winning piece, Farmer won a certificate and a check for $2,500. Plus, for the first time this year, all of the master's class competitors were given $250 in expense money and a free motel room. Total purse money for this year's Sandcastle Classic was the largest ever - $6,000, up from $3,500 last year.

``It's the purse. It's the prize money that brings all of the artists here and is making this one of the best sand-sculpting events in the world,'' said Farmer, who has placed in the top three in all the 10 years he has competed in Virginia Beach, and, who was also the winner of last year's Sand Sculpting World Championships at Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada.

Donna Tate, Sandcastle Classic chairwoman, said that in all, there were 13 business entries in the competition, 15 master entries, 24 school entries and five freelance.

Sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot, BB&T Bank, Ramada Inn and Mahi Mah's, five cash awards were presented, ranging from $500 to $2,500. At least 10 states were represented at the classic, including, Washington, Hawaii, New Jersey, North Carolina, California, New Hampshire, Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Each paid a $75 entry fee.

``It's amazing, the number of people from out-of-state who will return here year-after-year to see the classic,'' said Tate.

In its 24-year history, the Neptune Festival has never been completely rained out, said Nancy Creech, festival president, but it has lost a whole day from time-to-time.

Fair weather prevailed for most of the 24th annual Neptune Festival, which began early in September and featured its first ever wine festival as well as the always popular air show at Oceana Naval Air Station, a gala ball, the Sandman Triathlon, a prayer breakfast, country fair day, surfing, cheerleading, volleyball, fishing and soccer competitions, music, food, games for children and Boardwalk entertainment. City Councilman William D. Sessoms Jr. reigned as King Neptune during the fall festival.

Despite the weather Sunday, Farmer will probably be back again next year.

``I don't think my family will let me not come back,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff color cover by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH

Staff color cover by TING-LI WANG

ABOVE: Ed Moore puts the finishing touches on his sculpture, ``Fish

Bowling,'' during the Sandcastle Classic last weekend. AT RIGHT:

Leroy and Virginia Gardner take a food break on the Boardwalk near

the 24th Street Park.

Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT

Meredith Messmer creates her fourth-place sculpture as a crowd

watches. Never before has a woman placed in Master's.

Ocean Lakes students used a clay model, foreground, to help them

shape the second-place sculpture in the high school category.

Frank Miranda's wooden fish sculptures were just a small offering of

the arts and crafts spread from 18th Street to 28th Street on the

Boardwalk last weekend during the 24th annual Neptune Festival.

Photo by TING-LI WANG

Undaunted by the rain, spectators gathered on the Boardwalk Sunday

to watch the sand sculpting competition.

Jeffrey Garber competes in the menehune novice division of Arby's

Surfing Classic.

Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT

Gary Moore, left, of New Jersey, tries to block a shot by Chris

Swyers of Virginia Beach.

Graphic

CASTLE WINNERS

Winners of the Sandcastle Classic at the 24th Neptune Festival

were:

Master's division - first, Damon Farmer, Kentucky; second, Chuck

Feld, Pennsylvania; third, Robert Schocht, Yorktown; fourth,

Meredith Messmer, Florida (the first female to ever win in the

master's competition).

Business division - first, Clark Nexsen Architects and Engineers,

Norfolk; second, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas Inc.,

Norfolk; third, Mogul Ski Club, Virginia Beach. The winning T-shirt

design was by Langley and McDonald, Virginia Beach. Neptune's Choice

went to John Gowdy of New Jersey.

School division. Elementary - first, Windsor Oaks; second,

Arrowhead; third, Virginia Beach Friends School. Middle school -

first, Virginia Beach Middle School Future Homemakers of America;

second, Great Neck; third, Kemps Landing Magnet sixth grade. High

schools - first, Green Run; second, Ocean Lakes; third, Virginia

Beach Friends School; and freelance, Windsor High School, Windsor.

Neptune's Team Spirit Award went to W.T. Cooke Elementary.

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