Chilean sail training vessel Esmeralda to visit downtown Norfolk waterfront Sunday,

Aug 6-10

PressRelease NORFOLK,VA TheChileanNavy’ssail training tall ship ESMERALDA returns to Norfolk,Virginia,Sunday,August6through

Thursday, August 10, 2023 This will be the ship’sonlyU.S.portstopduringit’s2023sail trainingcruise

Arriving at 10AM on Sunday, August 6, 2023, the 372’ vessel will dock at Otter Berth next to the Waterside District at 333 WatersideDrive,ontheDowntownNorfolk Waterfront.

The ESMERALDA will be open to the publicforfreetours:

„ Sunday,August6,20232PM 6PM

„ Tuesday,August8,20232PM 6PM

„ Wednesday,August9,20232PM 6PM

The ship will depart Norfolk at 4PM, Thursday,August10,2023.

The ESMERALDA was launched in 1953 and serves as the training ship for the Chilean Navy During her visit to Norfolk she willcarryacrewofnearly300midshipmen, enlistedsailors,andofficers Shehasvisited more than 300 ports worldwide, acting as a floating embassy for Chile The ship has participated in numerous international maritime festivals, including OpSail 1964, 1976 and 1986. ESMERALDA has been a frequent visitor to Norfolk, with its last visit being in June 2017 as part of Norfolk Harborfest FormoreinformationabouttheESMERALDA tall ship visit, as well as additional eventsthroughouttheyear,includinghours, park regulations and parking, please visit Festevents.orgorcall757-441-2345

ESMERALDA’s visit is sponsored by Norfolk Festevents Ltd., and the City of

The Gathering

from Page 1 it must have been a whole bottle of scotch intomebecauseIwassodrunk,thenextday too It was horrible horrible He did that to me Also,withtheplanecrashin1975 afterwards, Ric and I were in the same hospital room. With his back broken the way it was, he would ask my wife Valerie to move the sheetjusttogettoadifferentposition

Y: I’m gonna get a little bittersweet here. It’ssadthatyourbrotherJimCrockett,God Rest his Soul, is not with us anymore. God bless you for convincing him to do Conrad Thompson’s Starrcast IV event a few years ago How did he react when he saw all the loveandsupportfromthefans?

DC:Hewastotallyamazedandwhenthe fansstartedaskinghimquestions,talkingto him asking for autographs and pictures, he said, “I don’t believe this I always thought thatwefailed.”andIsaid,Well,insomeways we did, but treating the fans the right way, we did the very best job The fans love us Theylovedwhatwedid.Theywishthatwe had kept it up but we did not, and he just couldn’t get over how the fans treated us in Baltimore. I said, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for years I miss him and wishthatwe’dworktogetherinsteadagainst each other Again, that’s in the past, I can’t liveinthepast.

Y:AndthankstoyourandConrad’skindness,Jimmy’swillingnessandConradbringing both of you in, you guys did have the happyendingthereattheend

DC: Yes we did. And I pushed Jimmy because he didn’t want to do it. And he did thatgreatinterviewwithConrad.Iwaswith Jimmyhislastday,upuntiltheygavehimthe morphine, and he went to sleep and never wokeup

Y:YourdadJimCrockettSenior GodRest his Soul started Jim Crockett Promotions back in 1931. Did you always wanted to be anannouncer?

DC: Oh no, I didn’t start out to be an announcer I wanted to be behind the camera We were taping our shows at the WRALTVstudioinRaleigh,NorthCarolina. Jim Goodman, who at that time was Executive Vice President, came to us and said, “You guys need to start your own television production You’re taking up a good 3 days ofallofourtapemachines,personnel,andso forth,andtheycouldmakealotmoremoney onhavingwhattheycalloneoffs.”

Itookthatassortofmarchingordersand

I started learning about behind the camera andtheTVcameraitself,audio,lightingand how to run the graphic machines I learned from Wayne Daniel who was a master in the tape room, how to do replays on the tapemachines Hewouldputupadotandit wouldrewindbacktothatdotandthat’show he created the ins and outs of our program, going into commercial break, going into an end que Eventually we found a truck in eastern North Carolina that was for sale. It belongedtoanevangelist.Weboughtit,tore everythingout,puttapemachines,andthen reallyoneinch,halfinch 3quarterinchAttachi Panasonic and Sony. And then we had aboutfive,twoinchmpexmachinesbackat our building, and several other three quartermachines Whenwecamebackatnight, wehadlikeanumbilicalcordfromthetruck that would go in We hooked it up to all the machines and spent the night dubbing We wouldthenputinterviewsintothetapesfor the different cities and send them out by 4 o’clockthatafternoon.Itwassomething

Y: What interested you the most about whatyouweredoing?

DC:Iwasmoreinterestedinthehands-on portion of it, then the theory behind it and learningwhatthemachinecando,whatthe

Norfolk, with support from the US Navy, USCG, Virginia Pilot Association, Robins Marine LLC, W.F. Magann Corporation, WatersideMarina,andCityCruisesNorfolk NorfolkFestevents,Ltd.,basedinNorfolk, Virginia,isaprivate,not-for-profitorganizationdedicatedtocreatingthemostdynamic camera can do. I even started working with an Attachi handheld. And you’re expected to have your right hand up working on the lens. It was a job, And we started with four camerasandeventuallywehadfive.

At one point we just used light zones on Jenny Towers to light the ring and we were producingtheseshowsinhighschoolGyms Rec. Centers small arenas to get our audience.Wealsowantedthefanstoleavehappy, sowehadmaineventsforthembesideswhat we taped. We did our interviews down at ringside Keeping an audience became a problem.Ihadamotive,becausepartofthe company was mine, so I had to figure out thequickestandbestwaytodoit,anditwas baptismunderfire.

Y: Where were you born and what are some of your early recollections working withyourfatherinthefamilybusiness?

DC: I was born here in Charlotte, and baptized by my grandfather He and my grandmother were missionaries in Korea. MymotherwasborninRobins,NorthCarolina but grew up in Korea with them Eventually they went to Bristol Tennessee and that’s where my father was from and that’s how they met. What I remember is that my parents would run restaurants along with wrestling and other entertainment When school was out, I would get to go with my father to the restaurant early in the morning and help buss tables. I remember the first time I was bussing and picked up this money that was on the table He slapped my hand, oh my word He said, “That’s not your money that’s for the waitress. I was five at the time and the highlight for me for wrestling was on Saturdays we would go to Lexington, South Carolina at the YMCA I was a fan so I was yelling and screaming at thewrestlersinthering Comingbackhome, wewouldstopatabarbecueplace,getsome food, and I would be asleep before we got backtoCharlotte,neverabletostayawake.

Y: You actually wrestled for a bit. How did your parents feel about it who trained you, and what was that like? Did the boys takecareofyouordidyouhaveto“payyour dues”?

DC:IwastrainedbyGeneAnderson,Ole some, Johnny Heidemann, and Rip Hawk didsome,notawholelot.Peopledon’trealizehowhardthatringis Thoseropeswith the steel cables in them, wow I was just a preliminary guy and the boys beat on me Daddy said that nobody in our family was on the other side of this I was an amateur wrestler,IwasnotmarriedsoIwasaround Thunderbolt Patterson, Jerry and Jack Brisco and that group I wrestled Johnny Heidemann, Gene and Ole Anderson, Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson. Wrestling Swede was something He would say, “slam me slam me,” he tried to get me to slam him five or six times I was blowing up I was at HighPointforTV,itwasBruteBernardand SkullMurphyandIwasoneofthejobguys for their match and Brute Bernard said to me, “No one has ever done a better job for me.” I took that as a complement.

Y: After your dad’s passing, how was it decided who would handle the many responsibilities of Jim Crockett Promotions and what were those responsibilities foreachone?

DC:Jimmywastheboss HewasthePresident of the company. You need a dictatorship That’s the way dad had it. You can’t have many bosses. Sometimes in a family you don’t listen well to each other so there weretimesthatyouwouldgoouttotheback ofthebuildingandsettleit.

Y:YoumeantotellmethatyouandJimmy andJackiewouldhavesomeshootmatches?

DC:Iwouldn’tcallthemmatches.Lol.

Y: On a serious note, later on, during and after the sale of JCP to Turner, there was a period of time when you and Jimmy were urban waterfront community in America throughinnovativeprogrammingandimaginativeusesofitshistoricwaterfrontspaces Norfolk Festevents has garnered international acclaim for its advocacy for public access to waterfronts, outstanding quality programming and development of public spaces, transforming Norfolk into one of themostprogressive,fun,andlivablewaterfrontcommunitiesinthecountry Residents, workers, and visitors to Norfolk and The 757areinvitedtoexperienceallthefunand excitementofthe2023season,whichmarks NorfolkFestevents’41stSeason! notthebestofterms Whatbroughtthetwo ofyoubacktogetheragain?

DC:Lifeisjusttooshort,that’swhy.Heis my brother and I love him. I don’t see how people can hold grudges the way they do Everyone knows I fought tooth and nail not to sell to Turner and yes, I always had a bad taste in my mouth I just didn’t like it, anditfurthersplitthefamily That’sanother conversation

Y:Wouldyoumindexpandingonthat?

DC: The family was split before that.

Dusty Rhodes and my brother Jimmy went to Texas, when Jimmy bought the Mid-South territory from Bill Watts That justopenedacanofwormsasfarasthedebt thatBillhad.Wedidn’tdoourgooddiligence and then people would start doing crazy things like at some of our events we would have David Allen Coe, Wayland Jennings and Hank Williams Junior Why are you doing this? It’s a wrestling event and you’re paying them $100,000 more plus production for just one or 2 songs If that’s what you want, then do a concert and separate thetwoout

Y:Howdidthatconceptevenstart?

DC: It started with the Rock and Roll Express. We did the Rock and Roll Express Tour They were on a bus, we went to high school stadiums and wrestled, we had the cheerleaders ride on the bus with chaperones and the radio station sponsor and it was a hit. So they said, why can’t we do this for our big event “The Great American Bash.” It was in the spring and the summer and it really was good. Of course we didn’t go national with it but in the Carolinas and Virginia,itreallyworked.Butwhenyoutake it to high cost cities your cost triples And outside is risky business, you know, in the springandsummer,becauseoftheweather

And when Jimmy purchased the second plane, he named it Stardust and I think you could only seat six So who’s gonna suck up towhomtogetonthejet.Now,I’dratherfly commercialunlessIreallyhadsomethingto do Butyeah,thatreallystarteditanditsplit thefamily,itsplitthewrestlers.Whogetsto rideandwhodoesn’t Itwasn’tright.

Youknowthat’swhyIdecidedlastyearat this time to do Ric Flair’s Last Match event withConrad,sowecangooutinafittingway.

Y:Whataneventitwasandwewillcover thatinournextinterview.

Yiorgo is an arts, entertainment and sports writer A stage, TV and movie actor, he is also a sports entertainer, educator, motivational speaker, writer, storyteller and columnist