This year's Harborfest will offer new attractions, organizers say

NORFOLK

As a holiday weekend of oh-so-many backyard barbecues wraps up, it's time to start thinking ahead to the region's biggest family party: Harborfest.

The 32nd edition of the riverfront festival is June 6-8, and if folks think it's going to be same-old, same-old, hold on to your funnel cake, organizers promise.

There's a lot that is new to complement the traditional.

First, the Parade of Sail will arrive at 5 p.m. on the opening day Friday instead of at noon as in the past.

That should allow more people to enjoy the grand procession, which will feature the nation's newest tall ship, the 141-foot Spirit of South Carolina, making its first Harborfest appearance.

It will join Uruguay's Capitan Miranda; the Godspeed from Jamestown; the Serenity from the Eastern Shore; the Kalmar Nyckle from Wilmington, Del.; and Norfolk's own Schooner Virginia.

Those vessels will be among more than 700 vessels of every size and sort expected along the waterfront.

Harborfest also will feature its usual grand fireworks show and more than 130 hours of live entertainment on six outdoor stages.

This year's lineup includes Marc Cohn, Deana Carter, The Wailers, Virginia Coalition and The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.

These activities will be new to Harborfest:

The Bahama Village, next to Waterside, will feature the return of Colours, an award-winning 150-member Bahamian Junkanoo Band and youth club.

It will be joined by a delegation from Nassau, which will offer visitors a chance to experience culture and history.

There also will be Bahamian artists and crafters, a Junkanoo costume museum, a costume workshop and plenty of Bahamian food and beverage, served island-style.

In the village square, festival-goers will find Junkanoo dancers, drummers, fire dancers, limbo dancers and musical entertainment by the Rake & Scrape Band, Ambrash and Tropical Depression.

Costume and mask making will be available for children and adults who participate in one of the twice-daily "Junkanoo Rushout" parades.

Dancing with the Latin Stars will feature dance instructors from Norfolk's Mambo Room for hot salsa, meringue and tango moves on the dockside dance floor next to the tall ship Capitan Miranda.

Later, the Uruguayan ships' crew - which enjoys a well-earned reputation as being one of the most spirited crews at every port it visits - will perform the Latin dance "Candome," performed with their thunderous "tamboriles" drums.

The Z104 Gamerbus is a 37-foot customized RV loaded with 16 system-linked Xbox 360 gaming stations and 23-inch, hi-def, widescreen TVs that allow gamers to play their favorites against each other.

Games available include "Blazing Angels," "Gears of War," "Star Wars: Battlefront II," "Forza Motorsport," "MotoGP '06," "Amped 2," "MX vs. ATV Untamed," "Counter Strike," "Call of Duty 2," "Call of Duty 4," "Flat Out," "Monster Madness," "Halo 2" and "Halo 3."

The Lazy Lizzy River Anything That Floats But a Boat Race. This competition is expected to feature backyard engineers competing for $2,000 in prizes.

Teams of four or eight people will build something - just not a boat - they can paddle, float or just let drift along the Elizabeth River.

There is no fee to enter, but teams must register by Friday. Call James Scruggs with Festevents at (757) 675-1146 or e-mail scruggsj@festevents.org.

The Downtown Corporate Olympics will pit office workers in a series of contests with cash prizes to go to area charities.

Teams will compete in synchronized office-chair swimming, juggle-the-workday races, tug of war, paperclip art, phone message relays, an office eggspert toss and office chair blindfold obstacle course races.

Registration is open through Friday. The entry fee is $100 per team or $10 per person with a limit of 10 people per team.

The Pirate Idol Contest will feature Blackbeard the Pirate and his Little Scallywag Crew with Jacoby and Koehler, who recently starred in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

A panel of pirate judges will select the 2008 Harborfest Pirate Idol winner, whose "talent" will then be debuted on the stage.

Pirates On Parade will feature all the little scallywags and swashbucklers of the region who want to don their finest pirate gear and swagger along with Blackbeard, his cousin Jolly Roger, and "Pirates of the Caribbean's" Jacoby and Koehler as they strut through the festival grounds.

Blackbeard's Pirate Den, on the docks behind Waterside all weekend, will offer tales of pirate lore and gore.

The Little Scallywag Pirate School is where lessons in the art of pirating will be taught by The Pirates of the Moody Crewe.

After class, they can stop in at The Goose and Bull Tavern, where they and their parents can experience a pirate's daily life, including what they ate and drank and join The Pirates of the Press Gang, singing sea chanteys and ditties.

To make certain no one forgets the "harbor" in Harborfest, there will be numerous water events.

There will be a new demonstration created by the region's fireboat crews and marine incident response teams.

A water stage will feature Airtime Water Sports with wakeboarding, wakesurfing and kite boarding shows. Experts, including professional wakeboarder Adam Fields, who has placed first in 34 events since 2001, will

perform flips, waves, spins, big air moves and much more.

The 2008 Crew Competition Cup will test sailors' skills and speed in knot tying, a bollard rope toss, bucket brigade relays, tug of war and dingy racing.

In addition to a variety of fare, including seafood, burgers, barbecue, roasted corn, turkey legs and funnel cakes from more than 50 vendors, folks will be able to kick back in the shade at Harborfest's dockside clubs, the Hard Rockfish Café and the new Monkey Fist Bar, a floating party bar.

The Made in Virginia Wine Tastings will offer a variety of wines for sampling from James River Cellars, Rebec Vineyards and Rockbridge Vineyard.

A Dockside Art Gallery will feature original nautical art from The Chesapeake Bay Art Association, including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, pottery and other forms of nautical artwork.

Local boaters are invited to join the festival and spectator fleets for the Parade of Sail on June 6.

To join, vessels must be registered online at www.festeventsva.org or by calling the maritime manager at (757) 441-2345. The deadline is Sunday.

That Web site and phone number can also be used to find information about events, including hours, park regulations and parking.

Steve Stone, (757) 446-2309/2319, steve.stone@pilotonline.com