King Neptune in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach's newest attraction is King Neptune, a colossal 34-foot-high bronze statue that rises from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean at 31st Street & Atlantic Avenue, overlooking Neptune Park.

Volunteers with the popular annual Neptune Festival wanted a statue that honored the festival — now in its 33rd year — as well as the City of Virginia Beach and its citizens. They raised private funds and commissioned Richmond artist and sculptor Paul DiPasquale, who not only designed and created the massive statue, but accompanied it to China, where it was cast in bronze.

"Soaring into the Virginia Beach sky, it is the largest cast bronze figure erected in the United States since the US Marine Corps (Iwo Jima) Memorial in Washington, DC," as described on the Festival's Website.

The documentary, "King Neptune: The Making of the Myth," produced by Paul Michels with Coastal Training Technologies Corporation, aired on Richmond's WCVE and Charlottesville's WCNV.

The film takes viewers "halfway around the globe and back with amazing footage of an artist's rustic foundry in China and the myriad of logistical challenges that must be overcome to bring the King Neptune dream a reality," said Michels.