under the sun
THE BRUNSW1CK#KAC0N
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1993
B:
INSIDE THIS SECTION:
Sports , Pages 10-15
Fishing report , 1 6
STAFF PHOTO BY LYNN CARLSON
SHENNA JOHNSON of Shell Point
keeps warm at Sunday's gospel sing
by bundling head to toe in a grown
up's parka.
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
A WARM SEAT is just what 2-year
old Savanna Merklinger of Var
namtown was looking for at the
craft shown. She found it at Don
Woodgeard's unfinished furniture
display.
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STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
RESOURCEFUL teenagers find a way to amuse themselves , even in a driving rainstorm. This youth group from Seaside United Methodist Church made the best
of a visit to the Festival By The Sea Saturday afternoon by sliding down a concrete embankment under the Holden Reach bridge. Pictured are (from left) Scott
Walters of Sea Trail, Christine Muller of Calabash, Jackie Fazekas of Copas Shores, Joshua Truesdale of Seaside, Kerry and CJ. Loomis of Calabash and
Donald Proctor of Ocean Isle Beach.
'Even The Weather Couldn't Stop It'
W ash- Out Saturday, Frigid Sunday Fail To Deter Festival-Goers
A downdraft crushed some vendors' tents.
And just before the parade would have taken
place, the sky opened up over Holden Beach and
unleashed such a squall that you couldn't see
across the road. It happened again just before the
street dance and the trick-or-treating would have
begun.
Then sometime in the wee hours of Sunday,
the skies dried up and Old Man Winter came call
ing, bringing with him a near-gale-force north
wind.
But the vendors stayed and the shoppers
shopped ? not in the kind of Festival-Bv-The-Sea
numbers organizers have seen in recent years. But
they came, and they didn't make a fuss, marveled
festival coordinator Jim Lowell.
"There was lousy weather and terrible fore
casts, but they came and they didn't complain,"
he said.
About half the vendors persevered despite
Saturday's daylong deluge. The runners ran and
the horseshoe pitchers pitched, the sand sculptors
sculpted and the singers sang ? not all according
to plans, but in keeping with the festival tradition.
Longtime Holden Beach residents and festi
val founders said they couldn't remember another
festival Saturday having been rained out in such
spectacular style. But they spoke well of the spirit
of cooperation and the sheer grit it took to brave
weather like that to keep the festival tradition
alive.
"People traded fajitas for sweatshirts," Lowell
said. "They gave away coffee and food to help
each other stay warm. I've never seen that kind of
commitment in my life."
Lowell, who admits to being something other
than objective, says last weekend's turnout in the
face of adversity proves that the North Carolina
Festival By The Sea "is getting to be the best in
the area. Even the weather couldn't stop it."
Friday night's Halloween carnival got in un
der the weather wire, continuing as planned and
drawing hundreds of kids for its costume contest,
games and goodies.
While the parade and street dance were rained
out on Saturday, the road race went off as
planned, and the horseshoe tournament and sand
sculpture contest were moved to Sunday.
Meanwhile, retail merchants and restaurateurs
said the inclement weather boosted their business,
as it sent festival-bound revelers looking for other
ways to amuse themselves.
By the way, Lowell adds, if you still want a
festival T-shirt, there are still plenty around...
3P
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
THE COASTAL VOICES gospel singers fill the chilly air with heart
warming songs at the Festival By The Sea Sunday afternoon.
STAFF FHOTO BY DOUG R UTTER
CRAFTS EXHIBITOR Otis Patterson of Carthage and
friend Copper try to stay warm Sunday afternoon.
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PHOTO Br ERIC CARLSON
HOT COFFEE provides a dose of welcome warmth for a pair of
hardy vendors as chilly winds whip through the craft fair Sunday af
ternoon. Gretchen (left) and l.orna Hock said they had enough busi
ness to make the trip from South port worthwhile.
STAFF PHOTO BY LYNN CARLSON
SCARY WITCH Shannon Sova (right) and Natasha Locklear
get ready to drop pennies into a shot glass inside a glass barrel
at Friday 's Halloween Carnival. The penny drop was to raise
funds for Supply Elementary School with chances on a free
trip on the Mega Elite. Both girls later won prizes in the cos
tume contest.