rated Texas style
Seafest offers students
a memorable holiday
By LAURI REESE
Staff Writer
WHAT: Spring Break 1984.
WHERE: South Padre Island.
WHEN: March 11-17.
Throughout the week, Seafest,
a division of the Port Isabel-
South Padre Island Chamber of
Commerce, and Anheuser-
Busch, Inc., brewers of Bud-
weiser, Budweiser Light, Mich-'
elob, Michelob Light and Natu
ral Light Beers, will sponsor
activities and special attractions
to give college students the ba
sics for a memorable holiday.
“We want students to be able
to look back on their Spring
Break with fond memories,” Ed
Bell, Anheuser-Busch Texas di
vision manager, said in a news
release promoting the festivi
ties.
“If they stay away from the
excesses — too much sun or al
cohol, or not enough sleep —
and if they partake in the pro
gram we have developed just
for them, I’m sure the students
will experience a wonderful va
cation,” he said.
It all starts with the free Sea
fest Welcome Picnic on March
11 at the Pavilion from 12 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Bill Pfeiffer’s prize
winning chili will be served
along with hot dogs, potato
salad, brownies and iced tea.
From 7,000 to 9,000 people
are expected to attend the pic
nic, Suzanne Monroe, a rep
resentative for Budweiser, said.
New to the Spring Break pro
gram at South Padre will be a
special tips section on “enjoying
tne week responsibly,” which
will be published in the Spring
Break Guide.
A highlight of the week will
be “Surf City USA,” a free out
door concert featuring Jan
Berry and Dean Torrence of
Jan & Dean on Thursday,
March 15, at 2 p.m. in the Caba
nas Beach area.
Berry and Torrence began
singing together in the shower
after football practice when
they were in high school.
Between 1958 and 1%6, Jan
& Dean obtained top chart sta
tus for 25 songs, with seven of
them in the Top 10.
Their career was halted
abruptly when Jan was involved
in a near-fatal accident. He had
to learn to read, write, walk and
talk all over again at the age of
26.
After a 12-year absence from
the stage, their surf tunes resur
faced thanks to a 1978 feature
television film, “Deadman’s
Curve,” which told the story of
Jan 8c Dean to millions.
The group joined the Beach
Boys in a 1978 summer tour
and went out on their own in
the following summers.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds,
a regional band from Austin,
will open the concert.
The Confederate Air Force
will present a one-hour air show
before the concert. “Wings
Over Padre” will focus on the
agility and grace of combat air
craft fronr 1939-1945.
The all-volunteer, non-profit
organization originally set out
to preserve authentic aircraft of
the World War II era when they
formed in 1957.
The collection of combat air
craft was completed in 1972,
but members continued to ex
pand their fleet by adding
transports, trainers and a
World War II helicopter. The
organization also added fight
ers, bombers and trainers of the
Royal Air Force and German
Luftwaffe, and a fleet of replica
aircraft of the Imperial Japa
nese Navy.
Headquartered at Rebel Field
in Harlingen, the CAF now con
sists of 120 aircraft and 7,000
members.
Members of the “Ghost
Squadron,” as it is often called,
tour the country every spring
and summer, participating in
more than 100 airshows each
year.
Free evening dances at South
Padre will feature different
bands including The Pengwins,
Johnny D and The Rocket 88’s,
and Art Marvel.
Students can redeem empty
aluminum cans for tokens to
use in video games and for An
heuser-Busch merchandise, like
visors, shirts, umbrellas, beach
towels and beach balls.
At the Seafest Message Cen
ter, students can make free
long-distance calls, limited to
three minutes each, from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m.
The University of Budweiser
Glee Club, also known as the
Angoras, is a three-woman
acappella group that will sing at
different locations around the
island.
Vicky Wiedman, Sharon Ku-
sey and Patti Forbes formed the
Angoras in 1980. Wiedman is
an actress who formed her own
band in the mid-1970s. Kusey,
an accomplished painter, at
tends the Massachusetts College
of Arts. Forbes has made tele
vision commercials.
The group sings various
songs including “Crazy Little
Thing Called Love,” “Rockin’
Robin,” and “Why Do Fools Fall
in Love?”
A new video called “Tapper,”
made by Bally Manufacturing
Corp., can be found at the Sea
fest Welcome Center at the Pa
vilion.
For more information about
the South Padre Island pro
gram, call the Chamber of
Commerce at (512)943-2262.