DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711130256

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 04   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

BANDS, FLOATS USHER IN HOLIDAYS AT OCEANFRONT PARADE SATURDAY

There'll be glitter galore.

Also school bands, high-stepping majorettes, beauty queens, politicians, floats and - of course - Santa.

It will all be part of the third annual Hometown Holiday Parade on Atlantic Avenue Saturday night.

The event, which starts at 6 p.m., is a major effort by merchants and city officials to lure visitors to the Oceanfront for one last helping of resort entertainment, shopping and eating before winter sets in.

It's also a warm-up for the third annual Holiday Lights show that begins Nov. 21 on the Boardwalk.

Top billing in the 105-unit procession, aside from Vice Mayor William D. Sessoms, who is parade marshal, goes to a mega kilowatt Virginia Power float that will cruise down Atlantic Avenue ablaze with 10,000 lights, said Priscilla Beede, chief event organizer.

Santa himself will pass in review in a separate float sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. plant in Norfolk.

The parade begins at 16th Street and ends at 27th Street. Curbside parking and parking in municipal lots at the Oceanfront will be free for the occasion on a first-come, first-served basis.

Marching or riding shoulder to shoulder will be police motorcycle and horse units, the Fire Department honor guard, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, dancers, karate practitioners, City Council members, representatives of the House of Delegates, soldiers, sailors, Shriners and Neptune princesses and Tritons.

Sharing the limelight will be Miss Virginia Beach, Meghan Shanley, and Miss Tidewater, Natasha Halsey, who will motor through the parade aboard a classic 1957 Ford Thunderbird.

After the parade, event organizers will stage the annual ``grand illumination,'' at a five-story-high Christmas tree at 26th Street and the Boardwalk, said Danielle Batdorf of Cellar Door Productions/Beach Events, which is staging the parade.

Awards for the best bands and floats will be handed out at the 25th Street reviewing stands, after the illumination ceremonies.

The Holiday lights program, beginning a week later, will follow the routine established in two previous years. This year, however, patrons will be directed onto the Boardwalk at 2nd Street and motor past 120 lighting displays to the exit at 27th Street.

The route change was necessitated by ongoing Hurricane Protection construction work along the Boardwalk.

Admission to the lights program will be the same this year, said Bill Reid, president of Cellar Door Productions/Beach Events, which oversees the operation of the show. Friday and Saturday night fees per car will be $9, and $7 for week nights. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH

Danielle Batdorf of Beach Events says the Hometown Holiday Parade

will be followed by a grand illumination.

File staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH

During the Hometown Holiday Parade, Santa Claus will pass in review.

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