Dinosaurs in the park? Virginia Beach under Jurassic invasion
Scott Hillman was heading to the Boardwalk with his family Thursday evening when a couple walking past them suggested they take a detour.
“They said, ‘Hey, there are dinosaurs over there; hang a right and go check it out,’” Hillman said.
Oceanfront residents and visitors stumbled upon the prehistoric display on 19th Street and Arctic Avenue Thursday. They rode bikes and golf carts through the grass to snap pictures with their cellphones.
Kaiden Buffington, 10, was walking to dinner from a hotel with his family when he spotted a nest of dinosaur eggs.
“It looks a bit life-like,” he said.
The dinosaurs are part of a yet-to-be announced summer attraction in Virginia Beach: “The Jurassic Encounter,” created by local residents Alfred and Cheri Garr.
The Garrs produced a similar event a couple years ago in Virginia Beach’s Town Center and took it on the road to other cities.
Now, they’re bringing it back home on a block of city-owned land surrounded by houses and slated to become a surf park.
“I think it’s a pretty cool offering that we got for families with young children,” said Lisa Bleakley, who runs the city’s resort management office. She helped pull together the permit quickly with the summer season ramping up.
A crew started unloading trailers filled with dinosaur parts on Thursday morning and will continue to assemble the outdoor displays this week. Some of the dinosaurs will make sounds and their tails will move. A fence with a gate will be installed. Faux rocks and plants will fill empty spaces.
“It’s a perfect location,” said Alfred Garr. “We’re so excited to be here.”
The show opens on Wednesday and will run through Labor Day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Merchandise and refreshments, including dinosaur popsicles, will be available. Tickets are $17.50; ages 2 and younger can enter for free. Visit feeltheroar.com.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
