9/11 memorial exhibit

9/11 memorial exhibit brings educational experience to Peanut Fest

BY GREG GOLDFARB CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For the first time ever, people attending the Suffolk Peanut Festival may pay Get great service & their personal respects to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks by visiting the 9/11 Never Forget mobile memorial exhibit Get great service & great rates. and museum. Following a grand parade down Main Street, the 35-ton patriotic attraction will open its doors for free to the public from great rates. noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 on festival grounds at Suffolk Executive Airport.

The four days of family fun actually starts on Thursday, Oct. 6, and runs from You know we’re always here with Good Neighbor service. But we’re also 10 a.m., to 10 p.m., each day. Although there are no known 9/11 here with surprisingly great rates for everyone. Call us for a quote to victims from Suffolk, the memorial see how much you can save. You might be surprised.is expected to attract long lines and thousands of people during its stay in You know we’re always here with Good Neighbor service. But we’re also here with surprisingly great rates for everyone. Call us for a quote to see how much you can save. You might be surprised. Get great service & Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® Individual premiums will vary by customer. All applicants subject to State Farm® underwriting requirements. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® Individual premiums will vary by customer. All applicants subject to State Farm® underwriting requirements.great rates.

Suffolk, before moving on the following week to Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, for the Greene County Tribute to Heroes.

Owned and operated by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the traveling museum debuted in 2013, serving as an emotionally-stirring, touring ovation to those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, including 343 members of the Fire Department of New York who made the ultimate sacrifice, saving and protecting others, while in the line of duty.

Featuring a high-tech body and chassis, the colorful red, white and blue rig transforms into an 83-foot long, 30-foot wide, 70,000-pound, 1,100 square-foot gallery that educates citizens across the country about the events of that tragic day. It also has interactive education stations, steel beams from the towers, artifacts from ground zero, documenSee MEMORIAL page 5

You know we’re always here with Good Neighbor service. But we’re also here with surprisingly great rates for everyone. Call us for a quote to Patty Rhodes, Agent 1018 Armory Drive see how much you can save. You might be surprised. Franklin, VA 23851 Bus: 757-562-2020 patty.rhodes.rfpj@statefarm.com Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®

Vincent Insurance Agency Inc Sherry Vincent, Agent 15423 CARROLLTON BLVD CARROLLTON, VA 23314 Bus: 757-238-7071

Individual premiums will vary by customer. All applicants subject to State Farm® underwriting requirements.

Patty Rhodes, Agent 1018 Armory Drive Franklin, VA 23851 Bus: 757-562-2020 patty.rhodes.rfpj@statefarm.com

State Farm Bloomington, IL 2001876 Vincent Insurance Agency Inc Sherry Vincent, Agent 15423 CARROLLTON BLVD CARROLLTON, VA 23314 Bus: 757-238-7071

Proudly Serving The Families of South Hampton Roads & Northeastern North Carolina!

Laminate, Carpet, Hardwood,Tiles & Vinyl Flooring.

www.familyflooringstores.com

300 N.Battelfield Blvd.

(757) 548-4545

3916 Portsmouth Blvd.

(757) 673-8960 12 Months Financing Approved Credit

COME SEE US AT THE COME SEE US AT THE PEANUT FESTIVAL! PEANUT FESTIVAL!

Necklaces - Earrings Bracelets and Rings..

407-739-2492 | www.divasbling.net DIVA’S BLING, LLC.

MEMORIAL continued from page 4 tary videos, recordings of first responder radio transmissions, and interactive guided tours from FDNY heroes.

It takes up to two hours and six people to set up and will be located at the festival near the Dominion Energy Peanut Family Stage and the Arts and Crafts Tent. The exhibit’s first festival appearance is the result of a Dominion Energy $20,000 donation.

“The support from Dominion Energy is truly amazing,” said Theresa L. Earles, Suffolk tourism development manager and promotions coordinator for the festival. “Not only have they been a longtime sponsor of Suffolk Peanut Fest, but they have gone above and beyond for 2022. Their donation for the 9/11 exhibit just further demonstrates their commitment to community and country, their pride in our armed services and first responders, and the desire to connect with citizens and visitors.”

Dominion Energy’s director of media relations, Bonita Billingsley Harris, said the company jumped at the chance to bring the unique exhibit to the festival, which it has financially supported for the last 10 years, and supported with manpower and equipment for the last 40 years.

“This is the first time that it’s been in Hampton Roads. It’s a pretty big deal, and a coup for the peanut festival,” said Harris. “We love the Suffolk Peanut Festival and look forward to it every year. Our employees, especially from the Chuckatuck office, have been involved for more than 40 years. The children especially love the ‘Touch a Truck’ opportunities with the Dominion Energy bucket trucks.

“This year was especially meaningful for us to support our first-responders through the Tunnels to Towers museum

We Empty your Tank not the Bank Goodman’sSepticTankService 757-504-5261

U Dump It We Pump It

Cell: 757-377-7673 Low Rates, Fast Service

GARY BARNES SERVICE MANAGER

A Stitch Above

Custom Boat Covers, Tops, Enclosures & Interiors

NAPA AUTO CARE CENTER & AAA APPROVED REPAIR CENTER Latest Technology In Wheel Alignment with Heavy Duty Lifting Capacity

320 CAROLINA ROAD, SUFFOLK, VA 23434

Commercial and Residential Sewing: Outdoor Furniture, Barstools, Restaurant Booths, Any Loose Cushion Items 357-0748

1802-B, S. Church St., Smithfield www.astitchaboveinc.com

OCTOBER 6-9, 2022

Suffolk Executive Airport SuffolkPeanutFest.com

/SuffolkPeanutFest

MEMORIAL continued from page 5 exhibit,” continued Harris. “In the last 10 years, our company has donated about $50,000 to the festival, plus volunteers and equipment. The Suffolk Peanut Festival has always been a highlight for us and our communities.”

The trailer is expected to arrive at the festival on that Friday at about 10 a.m., following a procession down North Main Street, beginning at 9:30 a.m., on Prentis Street. It will be escorted to the festival, led by a 1936 Seagrave fire truck, and units from some 30 regional fire departments, along with motorcycle escorts, such as, the Patriot Guard, the Red Knights, the Blue Knights, American Legion Riders and Abate of Virginia.

Upon arriving at the airport, the Virginia Tattoo and Patriot Guard will lead it through the festival grounds before stopping to raise an American flag; there will also be live music and public comments during the festivities.

Plans to bring the exhibit to the festival go back to last spring when 2022 Festival Chairman Richard Bradshaw, along with Suffolk Festivals’ vice president, Tiny Andrews, and Wayne Boyce, coordinated their intentions and efforts with Dominion Energy, foundation leaders, and the Suffolk fire and police departments, respectively.

“We were at first concerned that we couldn’t make it down in time to load in before the festival opened, due to a visit at a middle school in New York earlier in the week,” said Jackie Eaton, a spokesperson for the exhibit and the foundation. “However, (we) got creative and moved things around to enable our escort to take place on Friday morning into the festival.”

In light of public concerns, ranging from the pandemic, to the economy, to the war in Ukraine, festival organizers decided that this year would be a good one to welcome and embrace the remembrance exhibit.

“(We) wanted to convey gratitude for our military services personnel and our first-responders,” said Earles. “We can’t imagine a more thoughtful way to do so than to recognize those who gave their lives, both civilian and otherwise, on Sept. 11, 2001; and to evoke the feeling that swept the country immediately following that terrible day, one of unity and strength and patriotism.”

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which uses its proceeds to build mortgage-free smart homes for catastrophically-injured U.S. Armed Forces veterans and first-responders who were wounded in the line of duty on or after Oct. 7, 2001, has a goal to deliver 1,000 mortgage free homes by the end of 2022.

The firefighter after which the foundation is named is Stephen Stiller, who on Sept. 11, 2001, was assigned to Brooklyn’s Squad 1, had just finished his shift and was on his way to play golf with his brothers, when he got word over his scanner of a plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Upon hearing the news, Stephen called his wife, Sally, and asked her to tell his brothers he would catch up with them later. He returned to Squad 1 to get his gear and drove his truck to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel entrance, but it had already been closed for security purposes. Determined to carry out his duty, he strapped 60 pounds of gear to his back and ran through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others.

Now in its 44th year, this year’s peanut festival offers its attendees many fun, family activities, such as, concerts, amusement rides, contests and competitions, a demolition derby, peanut cup race, motorcycle rally and fireworks.

With the theme of, “Broad Stripes, Bright Stars and Patriotic Guitars: A Tribute to our Hometown Heroes and the Red, White and Blue,” general admission tickets are $10 per person; children 10 and under are admitted for free; parking is free.

The first Suffolk festival celebrating peanuts was held in January 1941 and included a parade, dances and balls and coronation of a queen. Some 10,000 people turned out for it, with attendance rising to 50,000 by the time the event was held again in October 1941. The modern predecessor of today’s festival was celebrated in September 1978 in downtown Suffolk. Called “Harvest Fest” and produced by the local Chamber of Commerce, the event featured a parade, a hot-air balloon event, a carnival, dances, concerts and a festival queen. It was a downtown tradition until the event moved to the municipal airport in 1981. For four days each October, Suffolk Peanut Fest draws some 125,000 people and has won the accolades of professional festival organizations and national magazines.

There are no plans to bring the attraction back again for the 2023 festival, said Earles, but it is possible that it could return sometime after that. In the meantime, she expects this year’s exhibit to be well-received.

The Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit is not just a museum, it’s an interactive, immersive experience that highlights the bravery and selflessness of our first-responder community,” said Earles. “It bears the scars of our country’s past, while honoring the people who persevered in the face of danger and uncertainty, those who survived and those who gave their lives trying to save their fellow New Yorkers; it’s a testimony to America and the heart of its citizens.”