That’s how long it’s been since Carolista Baum stood in front of a bulldozer to stop a developer from turning the East Coast’s biggest sand dune into a bunch of condos — and helped create Jockey’s Ridge State Park.
gohunt rearview
This April, just a half-century later, Outer Bankers found themselves standing up in its defense once more. Only, instead of a pile of sand, it was a Coastal Resources Commission meeting; and instead of blocking a piece of equipment, they were battling a bureaucratic machine. One that’s been trying to undermine protections for our coast’s “Areas of Environmental Concern” (AECs) since last October, when some legislative slight-of-hand allowed the “NC Rules Revision Commission” to simply eliminate all the rules — including ones governing Jockey’s Ridge.
When the CRC responded by adopting 16 temporary rules, the review commissioner answered by voting to end them, too. It was a move so bold it even caught CRC chair Renee Cahoon off guard.
“These rules have to go through periodic review every ten years,” says the former Nags Head mayor. “So, they have been readopted at least three times. But this is something that nobody knew was even possible, because it wasn’t possible before the last [legislative] session.”
Which is how what should have been a sleepy CRC meeting saw some serious public comment. Over the course of an hour, impassioned community members all spoke up in favor of keeping the AEC protections in place for Jockey’s Ridge. The speakers ranged from municipal leaders to working moms. Local authors to loveable surf bros. All made salient points. But it was Samantha Simmons’ closing query for the rules committee that struck me most.
“Why?” she asked. “Why are you fighting so hard to unravel these protections?”
That’s the same question that haunted me throughout the making of this issue, as we put together pieces celebrating the Outer Banks’ bounty of protected spaces. And you’re not going to like the most likely answer. Because, when you look at the public comment concerning Jockey’s Ridge, of the hundreds of stakeholders who wrote to keep protections in place, only two wrote in favor of eliminating them: NC Homebuilders Association and a legal team for a Southern NC developer. And that’s who the rules committee sided with, 8-to-1.
That’s bad news for our few remaining unspoiled areas. Because while the CRC may have ultimately acted to reinstate Jockey’s Ridge’s AEC status — the rules committee
could still say “no.” And though the General Assembly may be considering a bill to “enshrine” Jockey’s Ridge’s AEC protections, other AEC rules won’t be impacted. Rules that, as The Virginian Pilot reports, “cover topics including coastal energy development, permitting authority, processing Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) permits, review of major development and dredge and fill applications, standards for work plats and more.”
Well, no wonder NC Homebuilders is ready to rip up the rule book.
Anyone who lives or visits here can see we’ve pretty much maxed out our buildable space. Get rid of some CAMA codes next, and suddenly you can fill some marsh, make more lots — and rack up a few extra million. (And you thought “drain the swamp” was just a political catch phrase.)
“ AND YOU THOUGHT “DRAIN THE SWAMP” WAS JUST A CATCH PHRASE.
Alarmist? Maybe. But considering the last budget’s legislative surprises that stepped on Dare County’s municipal rights, the General Assembly hasn’t done much to earn our trust. And if a natural wonder the size of Jockey’s Ridge can end up in the mix, what’s that mean for the hidden nooks and crannies that don’t have its high profile or state park protections?
Besides, when it comes to saving our home’s last vestiges of raw appeal, I’d rather sound the alarm loud and early than get caught sleeping.
Which is why I also argue that now is the time for every Outer Banker — every North Carolina citizen, coastal and otherwise — to channel their inner Carolista and get in front of this issue before it can move an inch further. Write your respective town reps, county commissioners and state legislators and ask: What’s the reason for eliminating these rules? Who gains and who loses if they go away? Even better, demand Raleigh enact legislation that “enshrines” all our AECs with protections — not just Jockey’s Ridge.
That’s the beautiful thing about the Outer Banks’ protected spaces: they represent our community’s commitment to preserving our natural features for future generations. The troubling part? Anything manmade can also be unmade.
But only if we let it happen. — Matt Walker
Thank you for reading Outer Banks Milepost. We hope you enjoy it. If not — before chucking this issue into the nearest dumpster — please consider one of the following equally satisfying ways of expressing your disgust: cut up some letters for a crafty sign screaming Save our Sand Bar! Cut out all the purty pix of natural spaces and send them to the CRC’s Rules Commission with a note saying, “Don’t Tread on Me!” Or just toss it on that six-month stack of newspapers you’ve yet to recycle. (Trust us, you’ll feel better.) Then, send any and all feedback — positive, negative or just plain confused — to: editor@outerbanksmilepost.com. We promise to find some way to re-purpose them.
Sign of the times?
Photo: Callaway Ramsey
“Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” ― Theodore Roosevelt “This land was made for you and me.” — Woody Guthrie
Issue 13.2
Summer 2024 Cover: Paguroidea Lampoonis.
Photo: Danny Pinch
Reader You Brushes & Ink
Carnell Boyle, Stephen Brewer, John Butler, George Cheeseman, Marcia Cline, Carolina Coto, Kim Cowen, Cloey Davis, Michael J. Davis, Fay Davis Edwards, Mary Edwards, Laine Edwards, Marc Felton, Travis Fowler, Adriana Gomez-Nichols, Amelia Kasten, Chris Kemp, Nathan Lawrenson, Dave Lekens, Tim Lusk, Elisa McVearry, Ben Miller, Dawn Moraga, Ben Morris, Holly Nettles, Stella Nettles, Rick Nilson, Barbara Noel, Holly Overton, Stuart Parks II, James Perry, Charlotte Quinn, Willow Rea, Meg Rubino, Shirley Ruff, Noah Snyder, Rob Snyder, Janet Stapelman, Alyse Stewart, Kenneth Templeton, Stephen Templeton, Shane Thomas, George Tsonev, CW, Christina Weisner, Chris Wheeler, John Wilson, Mark Wiseman, Bri Young, Mike Zafra Lensfolk
Nate Appel, Matt Artz, Nathan Beane, Chris Bickford, Russell Blackwood, Mike Booher, Don Bower, Aycock Brown, Mark Buckler, Jon Carter, Garnette Coleman, Rich Coleman, Marc Corbett, Kim Cowen, Chris Creighton, Mere Crockett, Benny Crum, Jason Denson, Amy Dixon, Susan Dotterer Dixon, Lori Douglas, Julie Dreelin, Tom Dugan/ESM, Roy Edlund, Bryan Elkus, Ben Gallop, Cory Godwin, Treveon Govan, Chris Hannant, Katie Harms, Bryan Harvey, David Alan Harvey, Ginger Harvey, Bob Hovey, Biff Jennings, Jenni Koontz, Daryl Law, Mike Leech, Anthony Leone, Jeff Lewis, Jared Lloyd, Matt Lusk, Ray Matthews, Brooke Mayo, Mickey McCarthy, Nic McLean, Roger Meekins, D. Victor Meekins, Richard L. Miller, Dick Meseroll/ESM, Ashley Milteer, David Molnar, Rachel Moser, Ryan Moser, Elizabeth Neal, Rob Nelson, Candace Owens, Anne Snape Parsons, Crystal Polston, Daniel Pullen, Cal Ramsey, Ryan Rhodes, Terry Rowell, Cyndi Goetcheus Sarfan, Katie Slater, Tom Sloate, Wes Snyder, Aimee Thibodeau, David Thomas, Ed Tupper, Eve Turek, Chris Updegrave, Dan Waters, Kati Wilkins, Cyrus Welch, Jay Wickens, Cody Wright Penfolk Ashley Bahen, Madeline Bailey, Sarah Downing, Ty Evans, Laura Gomez-Nichols, Jim Gould, Steve Hanf, Sam Harriss, Dave Holton, Sarah Hyde, Catherine Kozak, Katrina Leuzinger Owens, Dan Lewis, Michelle Lewis, Terri Mackleberry, Fran Marler, Amanda McDanel, Maggie Miles, Matt Pruett, Mary Ellen Riddle, Peter Graves Roberts, Arabella Saunders, Sandy Semans, Shannon Sutton, Kip Tabb, Emmy Trivette, Kathleen Wasniewski, Hannah West, Clumpy White, Sharon Whitehurst, Natalie Wolfe, Michele Young-Stone Pointing/Clicking
Jesse Davis
Sales Force
Laurin Walker
Big Mouth In Chief
Matt Walker
Blame It All On
Suite P Inc. PO Box 7100 • KDH, NC 27948 Office: 252-441-6203 • Sales: 949-275-5115
is published quarterly (sorterly) by Suite P Inc. All contents are the property of Suite P Inc. and do not reflect the opinion of advertisers or distributors. Nor do their contents reflect that of the creative types (who would never, ever sell out). Comments, letters and submissions are usually welcome. Please include SASE for return delivery of all snail mail, however, Milepost and Suite P Inc. still aren’t responsible for any unsolicited materials. And don’t expect much else to move much faster than IST (Island Standard Time). Oh yeah: if you reprint a lick of this content you’re ripping us off. (Shame on you.) To discuss editorial ideas, find out about advertising or tell us we blew it – or just find out what the waves are doing – call 252-441-6203 or email: editor@outerbanksmilepost.com; sales@outerbanksmilepost.com.
By Cody Wright
“I really enjoy big, sweeping landscapes. And I spend a lot of time on Jockey’s Ridge. So, when I went up to shoot the sunset one day and saw this monolithlooking thing in the distance, I was kind of worried, like, ‘What is that?’ But then I went and checked it out — and it’s actually really cool. Most people just see this giant sand dune; they may not realize that it’s also part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which starts all the way over in the Smoky Mountains. Not that Jockey’s Ridge needs any more validity, but it’s one more reason never to encroach on it. And I like that it’s subtle. It shows you can do things to commemorate a landmark — besides putting a giant building on it.” — Cody Wright
03 StartingPoint Slippery slope.
06 UpFront
CAMA ramps up, Carova airs down, and Billy rocks out.
18 QuestionAuthority
Raise your hand if you’re confused about “Voluntourism.”
20 Read This Article or the Hermit Crab Dies! Lifelong pet — or six-month death sentence? The choice is yours.
29 This Land Is Your Land
Mother Nature made these Outer Banks refuges — people kept them that way.
40 Graphic Content
Make dumb jokes, win dumb prizes.
42 This Land Was Made For You And Me...
A photographic free-for-all — of spaces that are free for all.
59 GoSurf
You should have been here last century.
60 GoDive
A deeper look at the NC Shipwreck Project.
63 FoodDrink
Duck’s favorite veggie stand feels the squeeze. 64 SoundCheck
You say “lawn seats” like it’s a bad thing. 66 ArtisticLicense
Endangered critters make for engaging reads.
69 OutThere
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.
70 EndNotes
The Waterfront Shops ~ Duck
An endless supply of summer events.
“Jockey’s Ridge”
@imapictureman
FIFTY AND FIT
Stronger beach access. Slimmed-down skylines. How a half-century of CAMA has kept the Outer Banks looking good.
It took a year of heated debate at hearings up and down the shoreline, but the Coastal Area Management Act was finally made law in 1974. Fifty years later, CAMA is arguably the reason that North Carolina is synonymous with beautiful beaches.
And it’s why we’re all here on the Outer Banks, with bragging rights to (relatively) wide beaches and a wealth of wellmaintained public beach accesses (at least south of Southern Shores), and all with free parking, thanks to funding provided by the act’s administrator, the state Division of Coastal Management.
“The towns have done a really good job getting those CAMA grants,” says Donna Creef, Government Affairs Director with the Outer Banks Association of Realtors and now-retired Dare County Planning Director.
“That’s why we’re so popular. So, people can go to the beach and enjoy our natural resources like God intended us to do.”
To those who see CAMA as a classic bloated bureaucracy, it’s probably good to consider what the statute’s first sentence says about the genesis of North Carolina’s most consequential environmental law:
“It is hereby determined and declared as a matter of legislative finding that among
North Carolina’s most valuable resources are its coastal lands and waters.”
The rest of the regulatory language is centered on appreciation and preservation of that value.
Consider what our coast would look like without CAMA.
“Well, parts of the Outer Banks would probably be more exclusive,” says Bill Holman, a senior advisor with The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit. “The public would have greater difficulty getting to the public beach. And then other parts might look like Myrtle Beach —high rises and stormwater puddles on the beach.”
One of the more enlightened aspects of CAMA that sets the Outer Banks and the rest of North Carolina’s beaches apart from coastal locales like Miami is its ban on seawalls, jetties and other hardened “erosion control structures” that steal sand and starve beaches. North Carolina was the first coastal state in the nation to prohibit these structures in 1985.
Veteran Duke University coastal geologist Orrin Pilkey pegged it the “Jerseyfication” of shorelines, referring to seawalls and groins at skinny Garden State beaches lined with tall rows of hotels.
“Seawalls are quite successful at preventing property damage if they are built strongly enough,” Pilkey and seven co-authors wrote in The North Carolina Shore and Its Barrier Islands: Restless Ribbons of Sand. “The problem is that such protection comes at a very high price: the eventual loss of the recreational beach.”
Holman, who had served for decades in various roles at environmental nonprofits,
agencies and the private sector, recalls that, after CAMA was first introduced in 1973, there was little support for the law in the state’s 20 coastal counties, including Dare. That is, until David Stick, the late Outer Banks author and historian, put his considerable charm and persuasive punch behind it.
“He was a very influential figure in basically bringing people along,” Holman
remembers. “There was a lot of work, a lot of listening to the people who live there, to gain their support and trust. David Stick was one of the key people who did that.”
Stick later served on the Coastal Resources Commission, the then-15-member body that enforces CAMA rules and regulations.
Late state Senator Marc Basnight, however, was initially a critic of the law, Holman recalls.
“A real turning point came in his first legislative session,” he says of the Manteo Democrat, who was elected in 1984 and served until 2011. “There was an effort to designate Buxton Woods as a coastal area. And at that time, that’s where the water supply for Hatteras Island came from.”
After meeting with people and learning about the importance of the site to water quality, Basnight worked to get Buxton Woods designated as a state reserve. He soon became not only a CAMA convert, but a powerful advocate for clean water and environmental protections. The subsequent explosive growth of the Outer Banks’ tourism industry, and Dare County’s transformation from a coastal backwater to a wealthy resort has, not coincidentally, had much to do with its reputation for clean waters and wide beaches.
In 2003, after the CRC granted a variance for the seawall ban that allowed sheet pilings along NC 12 in Kitty Hawk, Basnight muscled a bill through the legislature that strengthened the ban. But legislators later weakened the law to allow small jetties on the state’s beaches.
Whether regarded as a community lightning rod, reviled resource regulator or savior, CAMA can be a non-entity to most citizens until they want to, say, build a dock, or relocate some beach sand. If the permitting process goes awry, frustration mounts and criticism brews. Lawsuits are often filed against CRC decisions and restrictions.
But CAMA is intended to preserve and protect the land and surrounding ocean, inlet and sound waters of the state’s 20 coastal counties. As important, the law is also meant to manage development that promotes responsible growth, a healthy environment, and a robust economy.
“I think you’re always going to have people complain about government regulations,” Creef says.
Even so, she continues, the law anticipated disagreements about rules by building in the ability to petition the CRC for variances. And Creef says that Coastal Management has been responsive when serious issues are brought to its attention. For instance, she says the land use planning process for local governments had been “extremely cumbersome,” often taking 1218 months for reviews.
As a result, she says, “They changed the rules.”
A notable strength in the law is that it created a powerful incentive with what is known as its consistency provision, Holman says. Essentially, the provision requires the federal government to respect state decisions, although it can be challenged.
That was the stance the state took, and ultimately lost, with Mobil Corporation’s proposed natural gas exploration off Cape Hatteras in the late 80s and early 90s. (Mobil ultimately lost interest in its plan.)
“BEFORE CAMA THERE WAS BARELY ANY PLANNING IN THE TOWNS.
CAMA’s setback rules on the oceanfront were initially controversial, but also important in balancing development with the environmental conditions.
“It’s actually hard to believe now, but it was quite innovative then that you would consider the erosion rate and then the setbacks,” Holman says. “That was a very wise policy.”
Before CAMA, he adds, there was barely any planning in the towns. But the state stepped up and helped them develop and adopt plans.
“I think that those plans have led to better land use decisions in the coastal area,” Holman says.
The commission designates areas of environmental concern, or AECs, certifies land use plans, and adopts rules and policies for the coastal region.
Projects that involve docks, groins in estuarine and public trust waters, canal
and channel excavations, bulldozing, and installation of freestanding bird poles all require CAMA permits.
In fact, nearly any proposed action on the coast will almost always intersect with CAMA regulations that require its consultation and probably a permit, including fisheries management, water quality surveys, dredging and beach nourishment projects, and any emergency beach stabilization work such as dune restoration or sandbag installation.
“Coastal management plays a really important coordinating role to try to get all the agencies on the same page about the impacts of a project, and whether the impacts are mitigated enough to allow it to go forward,” Holman says.
Considering the looming crisis created by climate change, he says, the challenges for CAMA in the next 50 years will only grow.
“With increasing sea level rise and coastal flooding, how do we adapt, how do we plan for what’s coming?” Holman asks.
But progress is being made, he says, and the state has developed a coastal resilience initiative that is providing funding to communities to start planning.
“That’s very important,” he says. “But that’s going to have to be scaled up, because even wealthy communities, even Dare County, are going to need assistance from the state and federal government to adapt to climate change.” — Catherine Kozak
FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED
ALL RUTTED OUT?
For decades, Currituck Bankers drove the beach to VB. Until they couldn’t.
ADVENTURE AWAITS
Just fifty years ago, Currituck’s beaches remained largely undiscovered. Maybe 150 people resided in the mid-banks village of Corolla north of Dare County. A few more lived closer to the state line in Carova — a blend of Carolina and Virginia. Yet, there were still no public roads on the Currituck Banks. When it came time to reenter civilization — say, sell a load of fish, visit the doctor, or shop for groceries — everyone simply followed the sandy ruts north to Virginia Beach or Norfolk.
The trip was much quicker than driving 100 miles through Kitty Hawk and up the mainland. Likewise, Virginians four-wheeled south, many in souped-up, homemade beach buggies, to enjoy the pristine Currituck beaches for surfing, fishing, or a relaxing day in an undeveloped natural environment.
However, during the 1970s, changes came to that stretch of sparsely settled sand when the U.S. Department of Interior put on the brakes.
Officials at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach noticed an uptick in recreational vehicles crossing refuge beaches. Between 1961 and 1971 the number of travelers over the federally owned property jumped from 10,000 to 348,000.
It was noted that, on weekends in prime season, dozens of beach buggies per hour headed south from the Little Island Coast Guard Station near Sandbridge — a family beach separated from the resort of Virginia Beach by the Dam Neck Mills Naval Station. One weekend, 1,400 vehicles were counted crossing the refuge.
The increase in traffic was reflected in the degradation of the natural environment. So, to increase protection for shore birds, sea turtles, ghost crabs, and native plants, restrictions were placed on beach driving, starting in 1973, when officials limited traffic and access to between 6am and 9pm.
Aggravation station. Photo: Michael O’Brien/N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina
Then, in 1975, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge did away with vehicular access across the refuge beach. Only a handful of locals were allowed passage through the refuge via a permit system. Approximately 50 passes were distributed to those living on the Currituck Banks and who commuted to Virginia for work. To make matters worse, a year earlier, southern access via a private road through to Dare County was revoked by Coastland Corporation, developers of the Ocean Sands subdivision and Pine Island Development. A gate was installed to limit traffic.
Emotions reached a boiling point when additional limits went into place in 1976, and driving hours reduced to two threehour “shifts” per day — 6am-9am and 5pm-8pm — with only one trip per family allowed. Furthermore, new requirements granted passage only for those who owned a primary residence on the Currituck Banks. That left anybody living in county or federal housing out of luck.
Federal officials went to great lengths to catch offenders who didn’t meet residency requirements or travelled over the refuge during unauthorized hours.
Barbara Haverty Pardue has deep ties to the Currituck Banks.
“My mother was born on the banks — Wash Woods — in the keeper’s galley at the Coast Guard Station,” she said recently.
The septuagenarian also has first-hand knowledge of the refuge permit system and the federal officials’ efforts to limit them.
“My relatives all lost their permits,” Pardue recounted. “One of my aunts, she was a hairstylist in Sandbridge, and she lived at Swan Beach, but she lost hers. My oldest cousin, Marguerite Hogge, she had one, too.”
Hogge made headlines after she was surveilled for eight days in Virginia Beach by federal agents who claimed she didn’t
maintain a permanent residence in Currituck County. She, along with five others, lost their permits after being tailed.
“
BETWEEN 1961 AND 1971, THE NUMBER OF TRAVELERS JUMPED FROM 10,000 TO 348,000.
“It was like she wasn’t up there permanently; it was like she was traveling back and forth,” Pardue explained. Hogge, whose husband worked as a magistrate in Virginia Beach, was documented spending overnight hours away from Currituck Beach.
“They kept their eye on her, and she lost it,” Pardue said.
A 1979 feasibility study by the North Carolina Department of Transportation
suggested ferries and a mid-county bridge as options for reaching Currituck Banks, along with state acquisition of the private road that ran from Duck to just south of Corolla. Today, it is part of Highway 12. The permits that were issued back in 1975 are nontransferable. Most of those in possession of them have died, and only a handful of people can still make the trip to Virginia by way of the beach.
— Sarah Downing
Sources: “Access Laws Make Corolla a Prison,” News and Observer June 13,1976; “Beach Buggy Owners Oppose Refuge Closing,” Jack Dorsey, Virginian Pilot, undated clipping, scrapbook in possession of Barbara Haverty Pardue; “Currituck, Where Natives War the Naturalists,” The Robesonian, Lumberton, NC, May 6, 1981; Elizabeth Powell, Daily Advance; “Decision on Back Bay Beach described as ‘Cooperative,’” Virginian Pilot undated clipping, scrapbook in possession of Barbara Haverty Pardue.
Photo from the N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina. Photo copyrighted by the News and Observer. Illegal to use without express permission from the N&O.
roadmap
MAKING THE GRADE
It ain’t all “Pomp and Circumstance” for local grads. This spring, we learned that Newport News Shipbuilding is certifying COA’s Welding Technology Program as Marine Trades Training, creating a more direct pipeline into the workforce. And that Dare County announced plans for an “early college high school” to help fast track kids toward an associate’s degree — complete with a statefunded $25mil addition to our COA campus. And, finally, that COA prez Dr. Jack Bagwell was named 2024 President of the Year by the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges for “Achievements in furthering higher education within North Carolina.”
ALGONQUIAN GARDENS?
Talk about fertile soil for historic finds. In March, First Colony Foundation
Fresh Off The Hook & Ready To Cook
content
archaeologists digging at the Elizabethan Gardens discovered evidence of a farmstead belonging to the village of Roanoac, including pottery shards and a copper ring dating to 1584 — the year Sir Walter Raleigh’s explorers first arrived.
KILLER FASHION
Forget tan lines. And start sweating them chalk lines! In March, we learned that Dare County ranks 13th in the nation for pedestrian fatalities — with seven deaths between 2017 and 2021. And we’re one of only two in the top 20 that aren’t cities. Better look twice before crossing the beach road, or the summer’s hottest look will be body bags and toe tags.
THIS DOESN’T BLOW
Lighter-than-air litter will be on the decline thanks to some new local actions — and the work of Ban Balloon Release, which aims to stop folks from celebrating by sending plastics into the stratosphere, only
to have it pollute land and sea. In April, Duck voted to ban the practice, while KDH and Southern Shores passed resolutions. And while all recognize enforcement might be difficult, they insist the goal is to broadcast a wider message that today’s floating, feel-good phrase is tomorrow’s eyesore and threat to wildlife.
NO FAD DIETS!
Intermittent fasting is a trend — food insecurity is a crisis. And it’s worse than ever, as the Beach Food Pantry saw a 70 percent increase in demand from 2022 to 2023. And their Summer Food for Kids Program that helps kids 18-andunder during the high season? That grew by almost 200 percent. Sadly, the causes — the end of COVID-era assistance, decreased child tax credits, the reinstatement of student loans, inflation, and sky-high rents — aren’t exactly temporary either. And that’s a recipe for disaster for struggling families.
Open Books—Open Minds!
SO, THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED A “FOREVER STAMP”
Had trouble getting and sending mail in a timely fashion? Did it start around last July? Because that’s about the time some genius decided to move all 279 zip codes from the Rocky Mount, NC processing facility to Richmond, VA, where, according to Axios, an audit by the Inspector General found chronic understaffing, misplaced letters and packages, and other issues that made it the nation’s worst for on-time delivery.
WINDS OF CHANGE
Starting August 15, Eastern NC can look forward to better tropical intel, as NOAA will begin experimenting with adding inland hurricane watch/warning notifications to their “cones of uncertainty” in order to better communicate risk beyond the shoreline. And with Colorado State University’s scientists calling for a hyperactive season of 23 named storms
and 11 hurricanes — the highest number of hurricanes ever predicted in an April forecast — we’re certain they’re gonna need it.
FLAMMABLE WATERS?
What’s got Hatteras Island fuming? A toxic blend of petroleum pollution and bureaucratic red tape. When storms exposed an old Navy diesel tank over the winter — leaking stinky petrol and closing parts of Lighthouse Beach — folks figured the federal government would get to work cleaning up ASAP. Instead, the Army Corps issued a Press Release full of finger pointing and excuses. At press time, the Corps finally announced that they would remove an exposed pipe and test the surrounding soil, but they’re still insisting that removing the remaining infrastructure is not their responsibility. Meanwhile, the beach was still closed, the NPS remains caught in the middle, and frustrated locals are fixin’ to explode.
MOVE IT, SLICK!
But even the oiliest sheen can emit a shimmering rainbow. And in this case, it’s the formation of the Buxton Civic Association, which is already greasing the wheels of government gridlock with some good ol’ fashioned community activism. But they can use every visitor and resident’s help to apply maximum pressure. Go to www.buxtoncivic. com, where you can sign petitions, email decisionmakers, then follow their Facebook page. Together, we can get this issue cleaned up ASAP.
For detailed reports on these stories and breaking local news on a daily basis — plus plenty of local discussion — visit www.outerbanksvoice.com, www. islandfreepress.org, www.obxtoday. com, www.coastalreview.org, www. SamWalkerOBXNews.com, and www. thecoastlandtimes.com.
SMART-ASS COMMENT OF THE MONTH
“As a member of the balloon industry, I feel deflated.” — Charles “Duck Council votes Unanimously to Ban Balloon Release,” OuterBanksVoice.com, April 3, 2024
WHADDYA RECKON?
We got questions — you got answers.
Megan Tuell, 48 Distributor of Watery Delights Manteo
“I always forget my sunscreen — and keep forgetting, right up until I get my first sunburn.”
Matt Joyner, 35 Distilled Molasses Magician Kill Devil Hills
“Since I’m outside a whole lot more, I forget to charge my phone.”
“I forget my flipflops and end up with third-degree burns on my feet from the sand.”
content outthere gohunt gosurf
Natalia Gonzalez, 25 Red Carpet Roller-Outer Grandy
“I forget that I was supposed to workout during the winter months.”
It’s the first day of summer: what are you forgetting?
Egan Mansfield, 22
Cookie Monster Grandy
“I forget that I need to leave for work an hour early.”
Lisa Trevorah, 42 Slinger of Souvenirs Columbia
“I forget how long it takes the traffic lights to change once they switch to the summer schedule.”
Caleigh Radogna, 19
Finder of Epic Tomes
Kitty Hawk
“I always forget how refreshing the ocean is when it’s hot outside.”
James Marx, 29
High Octane Hustler
Kill Devil Hills
“I forget that it’s even summer. It’s like, one day it’s winter and then, all of a sudden, it’s packed.”
Interviews and images by Tony Leone
upfront soundcheck
MADE YOU LOOK
Identify this essential summertime machine — win four tix to Sanctuary Vineyards’ Crabdaddy Seafood & Wine Festival!
What’s in store for your tasty summer? Chances are it won’t get moving without this shiny contraption.
It’s where booze cruises first fuel up — and BBQs beef-up.
How working stiffs bring home the bacon — and summertime partiers stock up on suds.
Where the squeaky wheel gets grease — and good times roll in the aisles.
Think you’ve bagged the right answer? Email your guess — along with a name and phone number — to: editor@outerbanksmilepost.com by July 29. We’ll drop all the correct ones in a paper sack and fish out one winner who’ll score four free tix to Sanctuary Vineyard’s Crabdaddy Seafood & Wine Festival on Oct. 5 — a fun-filled afternoon of live tunes, tasty libations and All You Can Eat crabs. (Learn more at www. sanctuaryvineyards.com.)
PS: Congrats to Billy Griffin for winning last month’s eye-popper: a Keurig K-cup coffee pod holder.
Girder your loins?
Photo: Stan LeSteele
LIVE MUSIC AT JACK BROWN’S • SUMMER 2024
Yacht
7/2
7/29
8/1
8/2 THE
8/3 KING DJANGO
8/3 HOT SAUCE
8/4 KING DJANGO
8/5 SOUL ONE
8/9 HOT SAUCE & JBB
8/10
8/10
8/11 THE CAROLINA SWEATERS
8/11
8/16 ANDREW SCOTCHIE & THE RIVER RATS
8/17 HOT SAUCE
8/17 ANDREW SCOTCHIE & THE RIVER RATS
8/19 SOUL ONE
8/24 THE MORONS
8/26 SOUL ONE
8/29 REGETTA 69
8/30 REGETTA 69
8/30 HOT SAUCE
8/31 THE DANIEL JORDAN BAND
8/31 THE CASSIDAY CONCOCTION
Care to walk a shelter dog? Or just pick up beach trash? The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau’s Lee Nettles explains how “voluntourism” can strengthen communities.
We all know the Outer Banks runs on tourism. As of 2022, Dare County’s $1.97 billion industry accounted for 45 percent of all jobs — and offset every resident’s taxes by $3,700. At the same time, more people means more problems, especially for a destination built on relaxing beach vacations. How does a community feed that economic engine but still maintain its unvarnished appeal?
That’s been the focus of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau ever since COVID brought in record numbers — and a few more headaches — resulting in a Long-Range Tourism Management Plan and 19-member Task Force. Their 10year vision? By 2033, “the Outer Banks will be idyllic island communities where residents and visitors coexist and thrive thanks to thoughtful efforts to balance and sustain quality of life with quality of place.”
One of the task force’s earliest and most visible efforts is a push for “voluntourism,”
where they invite visitors to pitch in with local nonprofits. Besides spreading awareness, they’ve worked with the Outer Banks Community Foundation to establish and promote a nonprofit directory that allows folks to directly engage with 90-plus organizations.
“It seems like we’re increasingly running into groups or families that are asking if there are any projects or things that they can get involved in while they’re here,” says Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Executive Director, Lee Nettles. “In thinking more about ways the influence of tourism can do more tangible good in the community, it occurred to us that we’ve got the relationships with the nonprofits already — what if we could connect the visitors directly?”
We asked Nettles to help us better understand how nonprofits, volunteering and tourism fit together — and how the Outer Banks can benefit as a whole. — Terri Mackleberry
OUTER BANKS MILEPOST: How exactly did this concept of “voluntourism” come about?
LEE NETTLES: It was literally me and a couple of my staff folks sitting around a table talking about how we can use the power and influence of tourism to do more good in the local community. By working with nonprofits, we’ve been able to highlight opportunities where visitors could actually volunteer, whether it’s at an event or for a specific project, like a beach cleanup. It doesn’t cost us anything extra, but it helps our nonprofits, and it helps visitors get a deeper understanding of the place, and a more enriching experience. So, it’s just a win-win-win.
Did it factor into your planning that helping nonprofits would also change some of our locals’ views of the visitors bureau?
We were hopeful about that. You know, we’ve always had these grant programs, and the tourism board has contributed millions of dollars to all these great [nonprofit] projects. But all that stuff is just talking about money in big numbers. It’s hard to make it real.
But the perception of the visitors bureau and the tourism board is a byproduct. The main thing is that we’re able to do what we do best, which is communicate with hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of visitors and make them aware of the nonprofits and get them involved. If we could do that, it would make a profoundly good impact on our community. And, we were able to stay focused on our legislative mandate of promoting overnight visitation with an emphasis on less-than-peak months.
What responses are you seeing?
We’ve grown the nonprofit directory to over, I think, around 90 organizations. When we started off, there were only a couple that had [posted] volunteer opportunities. And now if you go there, there are quite a few of them. And as we go along, hopefully, more and more folks will have ideas about how to utilize visitors coming into the market in a good way.
That was one of our questions for you. Are nonprofits equipped to handle visitors helping?
Yeah, I realize that it is somewhat of a burden for the nonprofit to figure out how to bring in this new crop of people and train them for what they do and all that. Operationally, it’s a little tricky to get initially, but once you figure it out, then you’ve got this system in place, and we’re promoting it for free.
But there are some logistical questions. On the site, it feels like the onus is on the user to create the opportunity. You have to go to The Elizabethan Gardens and fill out their paperwork, or to the
aquarium and fill out their paperwork. It seemed like people could get frustrated.
Yeah, so I get that. I think there’s definitely room for improvement. And part of that’s on the visitors bureau, too. I think that we can do more. There is different software, for instance, that better coordinates volunteering efforts. So, we’ll stay active and look into that and see if we can help bring our partners along. And another part of the puzzle is the potential for connecting the for-profits into this effort. Because we live in a really generous community. Practically every for-profit business in the tourism industry has nonprofits that they support. I think that we can quickly get to a place where rental companies, for instance, are developing travel packages that include projects and things like that.
Are there any thoughts about having some volunteer opportunities that are already lined up? Then people can sign up directly instead of having to find a volunteer activity for themselves.
“IT DOESN’T COST US ANYTHING EXTRA, BUT IT HELPS OUR NONPROFITS, AND IT HELPS VISITORS.
Ideally, I’d like to get to a point where we have volunteer opportunities that are being sorted by date, time or interest. Maybe I don’t like going outside — maybe I’m more of a history and culture person, and I want to contribute in that way. Or a lot of times music festivals have green teams where you get free tickets for giving up some of your time to clean or help out. But I agree with you completely. It’s clunky right now; it’s got a ways to go. But I think that the interest is there from all sides, from the nonprofit, from the for-profit, from us, from the visitor.
Can you give some examples of what volunteers are actually doing and a few examples of what is needed?
So, beach cleanups. Several of those have been listed. You could do seagrass planting. You can go to The Elizabethan Gardens and work on their grounds, plantings and things like that. The SPCA has dog walking. And you can help out with an event or fundraiser if you’d like to.
How are you tracking success with the program?
We’ve seen the number of nonprofit entities on the directory increase, we’ve seen the volunteer buttons increase dramatically since that inception, and we’re just
talking to people and nonprofits to see how it’s going for them. So the short answer is, most of it is just anecdotal.
If there wasn’t more success, something that would be metrically trackable, would you just stop doing this?
I don’t think that it has a beginning, middle and end, necessarily. It might be idealistic, but I want to change the culture of what tourism means on the Outer Banks. It can be a positive thing, I believe, and we’re a small enough community to make that happen. So, I don’t see it as being, like, a two-year marketing campaign. I think it’s a fundamental change in the way that we do business.
Are you marketing [the nonprofit directory and volunteer opportunities] to locals as well?
Yeah, certainly. I mean — and kind of getting back to one of your earlier questions — you asked, “Is this intended to change the perception of the visitors bureau and the tourism board?” I would kind of step back even further and say part of our intention was to just close the gap between residents and visitors and even non-resident homeowners. And what better way to do that than when you’re standing side-by-side with somebody and you’re both, you know, sticking your hands in this project and trying to make it better.
What would you say to the cynical person who might say, “Okay, this is just another marketing ploy for the visitors bureau to make them feel better about bringing more people here?”
If getting more volunteers and potential donors for our nonprofit organizations is a bad thing, then we’re happy to be guilty as charged. It is marketing, but it’s marketing with a purpose. And it’s not just pimping the destination; it’s recognizing and celebrating what makes this place so great. And it’s also giving visitors the tools and the understanding to be better stewards of this place, and to just appreciate who we are living here.
The visitors bureau and the tourism board were created through state legislation. My organization exists to promote overnight visitation to Dare County, so I can’t not do that. But what I can do, also, is rethink how we do that so that it manages the negative impacts. And if I can get more people, more hands, more dollars involved in helping to take care of it, I’ve got to believe that’s a good thing. That’s satisfying the law, but it’s also just redirecting the power of tourism for good and community.
To learn more about how to help local non-profits, go to www.outerbanks.org/voluntourism/
The preceding interview was edited for length, clarity and flow. You can find a complete transcript at www. outerbanksmilepost.com.
By Matt Walker
THE HERMIT CRAB DIES!
THE HERMIT CRAB DIES! article or...
POOR LITTLE SPIDERMAN…
When Catlin Canipe came across the tiny hermit crab in a Nags Head driveway during her weekly pool run, he was hunkered down inside his red-and-blue shell, hiding and half-cooked as the sunbeams turned his plastic carrier into a portable sauna. Like any compassionate human, Canipe took the critter home, cursing the heartless souls who left him behind like a forgotten pool noodle, busted beach chair, or some other disposable summer memory.
But the truth is, being discarded was the best thing that could have happened to Spiderman. Because if that same family had taken him home and showered him with daily care — cleaning his storebought carrier, soaking his store-bought sponge, feeding him storebought pellets — Spiderman still would have croaked by Christmas.
“Most shops don’t sell the products that crabs actually need,” Canipe explains. “That’s why they always die so fast. But then, hermit crabs and their mistreatment in the pet industry is quite the rabbit hole you can go down. So be prepared.”
Too late. By the time I’d reached out for the Colington local’s perspective, I was already neck deep in details so gruesome they read like a Stephen King novel for tiny crustaceans: stolen from Caribbean beaches; stuffed into canvas sacks and cages; surrounded by decaying corpses; fed poison pellets; cracked by vices; slowly suffocated by their so called-caregivers.
By some estimates, as many as half of all hermit crabs sold in the US perish within months — when they should be living for decades.
Why? Because from day one, hermit crabs have been marketed and sold not so much as long-term pets but as vacation souvenirs — and because the public has never known anything different.
As hermit crab advocate Larisa Meeks notes in her YouTube presentation, “The Sordid History of Hermit Crab Keeping”: “Showmen and promoters are exactly who led the charge to keep hermit crabs as pets… opportunists, the ill-informed, and the uninformed have continued the practice.”
8.8 on the Beach Road, (Next to Ten O Six)
PRO TIPS: FROM THE LOCALS!
Welcome to Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo!
We wish you and yours a safe and happy visit!
Turn off your outside lights and any unnecessary inside lights at night; this will make star gazing better. It’s safer for the turtles, too!
If our roads are flooded, slow down, don’t make a wake, and watch for ditches when turning onto side roads. The water is mixed with saltwater which is very damaging to vehicles.
Please pay attention to the 35MPH speed limit, the road, crosswalks, and sidewalks.
Non-street legal Golf Carts are NOT permitted to run along Highway 12 (on it, nor next to it). It is illegal, and highly dangerous. SLOW DOWN, RELAX, BREATHE IN THAT SALT AIR, AND REMEMBER - THAT’S WHY YOU’RE HERE.
CRACK...
ANY OUTER BANKS HISTORY BOOK, THEY’LL WAX ROMANTIC ABOUT THE YEARS AFTER WORLD WAR II.
Back when an expanding economy, new cars, and fresh pavement delivered young families to coastal towns in record numbers from Maine to Miami. It’s against this backdrop that the modern beach vacation was born, and that the hermit crab industry’s story begins.
According to Meeks’ research, “In 1953 in West Palm Beach Florida, Vince and Ginny Klobe began selling pet hermit crabs at their Sea Shell Shop. In addition to taking credit for being the first to sell pet hermit crabs, he also claims to have invented the wire cage, made to the exact size of a Maxwell House Coffee can lid.”
Meeks goes on to talk about how the Sea Shell Shop would hire marine research labs and sea shell harvesters to ramp up supplies to meet increasing demand. In time, they had opened new locations in Ocean City, Maryland, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and — you guessed it — Nags Head, North Carolina.
Simultaneously, in the 1960s, there was a push to teach kids responsibility through “starter pets.” Caged and tanked animals, from fish to gerbils to turtles especially, began turning up in homes and classrooms across the country. (According to Meeks, by 1975, there “were reports of 13 million turtles being sold.”)
Hermit crabs were still barely a blip by comparison. But then, in the mid-70s, a series of events would set the stage for an impending boom: a nationwide salmonella outbreak stopped the sale of turtles under four inches, a New Jersey shop called the Sea Shanty began selling hermit crabs in wholesale numbers, and Pet Rocks became the nation’s number-one fad.
When families flocked to East Coast beaches for 1976’s bicentennial celebration, many bought hermit crabs as souvenirs, helping spark a national craze. More distributors moved into the market and staged PR stunts. Soon you could buy “moving pet rocks” and “crazy crabs” from comic book and department stores. Ads suggested covering shells in paint or rhinestones.
In 1977, a trade mag called hermit crabs “the merchandising idea of the year.” At the height of the boom, another wholesaler — American Crab Company — was selling 15,000 animals every day.
While hermit crabs lost some of their appeal in the 80s and 90s, a 2000 article on the Sea Shanty in The New York Times notes that a million hermit crabs were still being sold each year — mostly in beach towns. Today, the critters remain a staple at coastal souvenir shops that use the same half-
century-old sales tactics and care tips that were designed to move product — not maintain the animal’s well-being.
“I came to this from a consumer advocacy standpoint, more than as an animal activist,” says Meeks, an avid homeschooler and Bible study teacher. “I kept meeting kids that had hermit crabs but didn’t anymore. And it really bothered me, the misinformation that they got from stores — not telling them that they needed extra shells; not telling them about molting, really. Just throw this food at them. And that’s not how you care for them at all. My adult children laugh at me because I say hermit crab keeping has been one of my most humbling learning experiences.”
Go into any beach store, you’ll probably find a giant wire cage full of hermit crabs. Often with shallow dishes of water or little sponges that do no good. (That was another fad inspired by Nerf Balls.) Some huddle in corners. Others cling to the top, wrapping the bars with their claws like tiny prisoners. But the biggest indignity are those goofy paintjobs in the style of kiddie cartoons or Marvel superhero colors, like Spiderman. Occasionally, a googly eye is glued on for good measure. It’s all costuming designed to make kids squeal with delight — but it also literally drives the hermit crabs crazy.
“That was the first thing I learned,” says Canipe. “So, the first thing I did was give Spiderman options. He changed shells overnight. I mean, he was out of there.”
No wonder: you don’t find many SpongeBobthemed shells in the wild. So where do they come from? In some cases, the shops simply leave the crabs no other choice when it comes time to
gills; they have to stay moist in order to breathe, otherwise they will slowly suffocate. So, most of the time, when people get them from the beach stores, they die within six months.”
Even tap water’s chlorine is fatal over time. That’s why hermit crab enthusiasts always create their own “crabitats,” a complex mix of aquarium and terrarium that fulfills the creature’s every need.
They’ll supply plenty of dechlorinated freshwater for drinking and saltwater to moisten their gills and swell their bodies for when it’s time to shed. Instead of gravel, they line the bottom with a deep layer of substrate made from sand and coconut fiber, so the crabs can bury themselves when they’re ready to molt — and plenty of larger shell options to try on when they emerge. Heaters keep the temp at 80 degrees; inverted aquariums called “toppers” keep in humidity.
Owners also make sure to provide plenty of space. The standard rule? Ten gallons per crab. Because a healthy hermit crab will keep on growing for the rest of its life.
“When I got mine, they were the size of maybe a quarter,” says Manteo “crab lady” Lisa Sharp. “And now my biggest one is over the size of a baseball.”
Despite the name, hermit crabs are also social animals, so most owners’ crabitats are a minimum of 20 gallons per pair. And from there, the options are endless. Go online, you’ll find stacked tanked structures that rival major aquariums. They’re filled with climbing logs, rope ladders, fake plants and bubbling oases. Don’t forget the occasional toy.
In 1977, a trade mag called hermit crabs “the merchandising idea of the year.”
molt and find bigger shells. But there are more gruesome methods.
In 2016, PETA posted a video from inside Brelean, a hermit crab wholesaler in Florida. What looks like a giant screened-in porch swarms with crabs crawling the wires and covering the concrete. Then comes the worst part: the camera pans to a woman placing a live crab in a table-vise.
“Then, with the crab still inside, they crank it down ’til the natural shell shatters,” says Stacy Griffith, president of the Land Hermit Crab Owners Association (LCHOS). “Then they just toss the naked crab into a bin of painted shells. So, the crab has no choice but to put on one of these shells, because if it’s not in a shell, it dies.”
It’s not just uncomfortable for the crab — the paint itself can be toxic. But then so is most everything that beach shops sell.
“Lots of times, if you buy these wire cages or plastic carriers, you get the crab for free,” says Mary Akers, founder of Hermit House, a 501 C3 working to end the capture of live hermit crabs. “But hermit crabs are cold blooded creatures; they need heat. They also need humidity. They have modified land
“My current set up is six feet wide and almost six feet tall,” says Meeks, who has six crabs. “Inside, there are actually two five-anda-half-gallon pools for freshwater and saltwater. But the first thing I wanted to do was buy a hamster saucer for them to just run on — hermit crabs love the saucers and the wheels.”
That’s because these nocturnal scavengers are used to traveling miles in search of food every night. In fact, Canipe says one of hers puts in so many hours on her wheel, “We have to replace it every few months.”
Obviously, these set-ups go way past 20 bucks of cheap plastic. Meeks estimates she’s spent close to $1,000. But Canipe says that with the help of Facebook Marketplace and some hermit crab hand-me-downs, she filled her first 40-gallon set-up for about $150.
“But then food is a big thing, too,” she says. “Because the stuff they sell in the pet stores and at the beach shops is basically junk food.”
Actually, it’s even worse than “junk food.” Many times, it’s pure poison, as the pellets contain ethoxyquin, a preservative that keeps the crab from molting — yet another slow, painful death sentence. Luckily, as scavengers, they’ll eat just about anything. Canipe feeds them a mix of table scraps and powdered foods she dehydrates herself.
“So, if you’re on a budget,” she says, “you can definitely afford to take care of them.”
If not, you can spoil them rotten and curate a specialized diet on Etsy, where $30 buys a buffet of portioned baggies filled with options like sun dried fish, organic walnuts, popcorn, and rose petals.
“They can be sort of bougie pets,” admits Meeks. “That’s why I call them a ‘challenge pet’ — not a ‘starter pet.’ But the more you learn to enrich their lives, the more you get hooked.”
Just be ready: because it’s an addiction that can last a lifetime.
DRESSED
HOW LONG...
DO YOU THINK A HERMIT CRAB SHOULD LIVE?
A year? Six months? A beach week? Just long enough for your kiddo to grasp the concept of death?
“These 30-year-old moms don’t realize that their nine-year-old’s not going to be able to take these hermit crabs when they go to college,” says Meeks. “They might even still be here when their grandchildren are born.”
In 1976, Carol Ann Ormes went to Ocean City, Maryland, and came home with two hermit crabs: Jonathon Livingston Crab and his partner, Kate. Kate passed away in 2012, at 35. When Jonathon Livingston Crab died in 2021, at 45, he was officially the world’s oldest living crab in captivity.
In the wild, they’ll live even longer. For Akers, that’s the biggest travesty.
“They’re like parrots or giant tortoises or elephants, for heaven’s sake,” Akers says. “The beach stores will often say they only live about six months, which is a huge disservice to these creatures that can live 40-50 years, form complex colonies, and have several important roles in the tropical environment. They clean up stuff. They eat up poop that would otherwise be everywhere. They dig in the ground and aerate the soil. My goal is to help people understand more about hermit crabs and realize that they shouldn’t be taken from the wild in this way.”
While a writer by trade, Akers spent years living in Dominica, where she helped found a marine ecology school. When she adopted her own pair of crabs from a family friend, those skills came in handy as she researched and built them a crabitat, inching them ever closer to their natural environment. But there was one addition she didn’t count on.
“One year, I made all those improvements, and I happened to see something in one of my crab’s shells that shocked me,” she recalls. “I thought it was a tumor, or a growth, or something. But I did more research and realized it was eggs. And I was like, holy cow!”
Keep in mind, at the time, hermit crabs weren’t supposed to reproduce in captivity. In fact, their lack of libido was considered a selling point compared to rabbits and gerbils. (It turns out, when you’re cramped, cold, starved, and suffocating, sex isn’t high on the list of biological urges.)
“If they’re happy enough to do this, what now?” she recalls thinking. “I became interested in seeing if I could breed these creatures.”
And, just like that, Akers was down a whole different rabbit hole. Because
while the adults live on land, they spawn in the sea, where they release 10,000 eggs into the swirling swash. From there, every grain-sized larva spends a month in the ocean. The lucky fraction of survivors will go through five stages before finally finding a tiny little snail shell and scooting up on to the beach.
“How do you duplicate that in your house?” Akers gasps.
In 2017, with the help of special tanks, creative feeding, and some trial and error, she successfully got two babies to “land.” The second time, it was 200-plus. By the third year, she’d yielded 726 hermit crabs from two different spawns.
“That was huge,” she says. “But then it was like, “What now? I certainly didn’t want to give them to pet stores or beach stores to sell them for $5 and die in six months.”
That was when Akers founded her nonprofit, Hermit House — and also created an annual convention for hermit crab enthusiasts called Crab Con. While the original goal of Crab Con 2019 was to gather as many experienced hermit crab owners in one place in hopes of rehoming her babies, the convention has since grown into an annual event for sharing the latest advances and tips.
Some years they meet near her home in Virginia; other years it’s a virtual event. But they always stream the presentations so they can reach enthusiasts around the
Last year’s in-person event featured 42 presentations, including a live talk by American University biology teacher,
“The
researcher, and leading hermit crab expert Dr. Christopher Tudge. Tudge has studied the species for over 30 years, and he still learns new things each time he attends.
“When I started interacting with the group, I realized they were telling me things about crab biology that I’d never seen published in any paper,” Tudge says. “And scientists had bred them in the lab, but nobody raised them to become adults to survive, so the fact that Mary was able to do this in her house in a couple of little fish tanks — literally on the kitchen counter — is stunning. But then, this entire community has contributed significantly to the welfare of these crabs.”
CRUSHED...
EGOS, HURT FEELINGS, AND BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS.
There’s lots of reasons to hate on social media. But if there’s a categorical case of the internet making lives better, it just might be hermit crab awareness. From Facebook to TikTok to Crab Central Station’s YouTube channel, any would-be parent can now learn how to raise their pet properly. And it all began in 1999 with the Land Hermit Crab Owners Society’s userdriven Yahoo page.
“It was just hermit crab owners trying to figure out the correct care,” says Stacy Griffith, LCHOS president and author of The Complete Guide to Land Hermit Crabs and Their Care. “People realized that what they were being told wasn’t making sense. And they were observing different behaviors. So, they were coming together to say, “My crab is doing this, have you guys seen this?’ Or, ‘I did this and saw positive change.’ Everyone was just kind of helping each other.”
“On Facebook, 15,000+ page members share observations and ask for advice.”
Twenty five years later, LCHOS has its own website and news outlet — The Crab Street Journal — so that any novice can get the basics of care. But its greatest resource may be its Facebook page, where 15,000+ approved members share observations, videos, and advice, posting everything from potential breeding methods to “My Hermie is naked! Is he molting or dead?!”
It’s a hivemind of info that’s helping the whole species, from scientific advances — users are helping Tudge document behaviors for long-term research — to giving would-be owners a way to adopt. Provided they can prove being good parents.
“You have to show that you have an existing setup that meets our basic requirements,” says Griffith. “And then, if there’s hermit crabs available near you, we’ll put you in touch with those people.”
It’s worth noting that they do not encourage folks to “rescue” crabs and put them up for adoption.
And what about activism? Sadly, this is where the hermit crab movement has found less traction.
While major retailers cut ties with Brelean in the wake of PETA’s video, and will promote heated terrariums over plastic cages, many of the user guides still give bad advice. (PetSmart warns they live 10 years — and need five gallons of space.) The smaller beach stores have been more resistant to change.
“A year ago, I printed off a lot of information, put it in these little plastic displays, and took them to several places out here,” says Canipe. “But they basically walked me right out the door. So, unless they pass some sort of law, nothing’s going to change. The best we can do is pull people’s heartstrings so that they don’t just give their kids this cheap pet that’s going to die because they’re not willing to give it the care it needs.”
So, instead of fighting profit motive head-on, LCHOS leans into raising awareness among the public. Two years ago, billboards warned Jersey Shore visitors not to believe the hermit crab hype. And at this July’s virtual Crab Con 2024, Akers is offering a special free session to “empower pet store employees to become hermit crab care champions.”
“It’s all about how to make a difference within the structure of a pet store,” says Akers. “Because corporate has rules, but employees can still educate customers at the point of sale. So, they can do a lot of good work as well. Because once people understand something, they start to love it? Or maybe it’s the other way around; maybe they start to love it, then they want to understand it and then they start to value it.”
One thing’s clear: these folks love, understand and value their crabs as much as any other pet owner on the planet, each one able to prattle on about unique behaviors and personalities with the passion of the craziest cat lady.
Griffith calls her Ecuadorian crabs, “perpetual toddlers that annoy everyone else in the tank.” Apparently, Jonathon Livingston Crab and Kate were “fussy eaters” that would follow Carol Anne Ormes down the hall of her apartment building; two of Canipe’s crabs constantly fight over their wheel.
Perhaps the most touching story comes from Lisa Sharp, another long-time LCHOS member who’s discovered her little Baldwin is a major league sun worshipper.
“This is gonna sound crazy,” Sharp says. “But in summer, you can see the sunset from my crabitat. And every evening, he’ll come up like clockwork and watch the sunset. He’ll find the tallest climbing apparatus, then he reaches out a claw. It’s kind of heartbreaking, but I like to think he’s happy.”
It’s not just heartbreaking. It’s the kind of detail that opens a host of larger ethical questions. Like, is 40 years in any cage a salvation — or a prison sentence? Is breeding them any more of a solution? Should any wild creature be a pet at all?
“I don’t think they should,” Akers says. “But they’re here now. And I can’t give them the life that they deserve in the wild, where they walk for miles and climb trees and swim in the ocean. But I can do my best.”
Want to know the right way to raise hermit crabs? Just curious about their habits? Buy a copy of Stacy Griffith’s The Complete Guide to Land Hermit Crabs and Their Care: Changing the Mindset of Hermit Crab Keeping — then Google the Land Hermit Crab Owners Society’s website and join their Facebook page. Or sign up for July 12-14’s virtual Crab Con 2024 — the International Annual Hermit Crab Convention and Adoption Event — at www.crabcon.org.
This Land Is Your Land
The Outer Banks is blessed to boast an abundance of protected open spaces. Some were crafted out of urgent need — some, keen foresight. Here are the origin stories behind just five of our most precious pieces of public property.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse the Outer Banks’ original flagship attraction.
Coast Guard celebration, Aug. 8, 1948. Photo: Outer Banks History Center
PEA ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
THE STARS ALIGNED TO PROTECT PEA ISLAND IN 1938. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression. Land was cheap. And President Franklin Roosevelt was on a land buying binge. (From 1932 to 1939, the federal wildlife refuge system added 96 new sites; by the end of the decade, the country had 141 areas protecting wildlife.) He also needed more projects for his Civilian Conservation Corps program, which paid out-of-work men to improve and protect natural resources.
And Pea Island was certainly “natural.”
At the start of the 1930s, there wasn’t any road between Rodanthe and Oregon Inlet. Residents simply drove on sand. When a hurricane reopened New Inlet in 1932 — and driving to any of the villages south of New Inlet was no longer possible — the State Highway Commission moved quickly, and, by 1935, opened a wooden trestle bridge. It was the only state road construction project on Hatteras until the 1950s, when NC12 was created. (The remains of that trestle are still visible to the west of the Richard Etheridge Bridge.)
So, when the CCC moved to shore up Pea Island, they weren’t worried about moving traffic on land — but protecting the countless birds that used our waters as a rest stop along the Atlantic Flyway.
Or, as a 1936 Dare County Times article described the roughly 14 miles of coast south of Oregon Inlet, this “area of marshes and small islands…make up one of the finest migratory bird refuges that could be possibly established along the coast of North Carolina.”
The following year, 1937, Congress appropriated funds for the purchase of Pea Island.
partners claimed the government had shorted them. Twice.
First, they claimed the acreage they owned “… contains 3,415 acres [not] 2,702.26.”
The partners also took issue with the $5.25 per acre condemnation fee they were paid, telling the paper that the property “has a reasonable market value of $15 an acre, or more than $50,000.”
In the meantime, the CCC kept at it. They worked seven days a week, taking only Sunday afternoons off. By the time they went home as WWII loomed, they had erected more than 3 million feet of sand fencing along the whole of the Outer Banks.
On April 3, 1938, the Independent reported, “Civilian Conservation Corps boys doing development work on the Pea Island Migratory Wildfowl Refuge…have done a good job says Dr. Ira Gabrielson, Chief of the U. S. Bureau of Biological Survey.” (The US Bureau of Biological Survey became US Fish & Wildlife in 1940.)
AT
THE START OF
THE 1930S, THERE
WASN’T ANY ROAD BETWEEN RODANTHE AND OREGON INLET.
Working from camps on Roanoke Island and Buxton, the CCC built sand fences from timber and brush, then planted beach grasses to stabilize the dune. They also built North Pond and South Pond and a system of dikes to regulate water levels in the impoundments.
But not everyone was keen on the idea. Particularly hunters, who’d grown used to harvesting waterfowl on Pea Island.
In fact, a 2006 PINWR Conservation Plan notes that “an impact area assessment conducted in 1979 concluded that there were [once] numerous hunt clubs on the refuge.”
The owners of at least one such club felt they were treated unfairly when the Federal Government moved to condemn their property.
According to a May 4, 1937 article in the Elizabeth City Independent — “Simpson and Midgett Reply to Government In Condemnation Petition” — the two
Five days later, on April 8, Pea Island officially became part of the Wildlife Refuge system by Presidential Executive Order 7864. There were 4,000 acres in the refuge at that time.
Today, PINWR includes 5,834 acres of land and 25,700 acres of Proclamation Boundary Waters. The dike impoundments that attract thousands of waterfowl remain a testament to the CCC’s efforts; other than occasional maintenance, they remain mostly the same as when work wrapped up 1941. The dunes? Not so much. Overwash plagues sections of NC 12 during winter storms, costing the DOT millions, isolating residents for days at a time, and impacting the various bird species they’re designed to protect.
“Rising sea levels…erosion and ocean overwash are putting our freshwater impoundments at risk…(and) threaten (NC)12, critical infrastructure that provides access to communities on Hatteras Island as well as to visitors to the refuge,” Sarah Toner, Visitor Services Manager for the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Complex, wrote in an email.
However, the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in 2022, is providing funds to mitigate some of the issues confronting the refuge. So, while the DOT piles sand up on the ocean-side, the refuge is looking to shore up the sound with more long-term solutions.
“We have received more than $27 million for projects on National Wildlife Refuges and game lands in eastern NC,” Toner wrote. “Some of these projects may include living shorelines and creating substrate for oyster reefs to help reduce rates of marsh erosion and improve aquatic habitats.” — KIP TABB
Pea Island — curing locals’ blues since the Depresssion. Photo: Rex Gary Schmidt/Outer Banks History Center
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
IT WAS FRANK STICK WHO PITCHED THE IDEA FOR AMERICA’S FIRST NATIONAL SEASHORE. In a July 1933 article for the Elizabeth City Independent, titled “Coastal Park for North Carolina and the Nation,” the artist, outdoorsman, real estate developer and visionary, noted that almost all our national parks catered to wilderness lovers out west. Stick imagined something different: “(A) tract or body of land…(that) offers more to the general public than can the most inspiring stretch of mountains, the most impressive forests or the clearest of lakes or streams,” he wrote. “I speak now of our seashore.”
The timing was perfect. Under the Roosevelt Administration, the National Park Service was looking to expand. When a 1935 report identified 12 possible national seashore sites, one recommended a protected area stretching from the Virginia border to Ocracoke.
Two years later, North Carolina
Congressman Lindsay Warren introduced a bill “To provide for the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.” Congress quickly passed the legislation and President Roosevelt signed the bill into law on August 17, 1937.
Still, problems remained. Even though Wirth had specifically said he would work with the State Highway Commission to create a right of way, old documents still circulated saying the NPS would not allow roads. Additionally, the word was out that the CHNS was likely, and land speculators stepped in.
The land issue all came to a head in a 1950 meeting in Buxton that was attended by Wirth and Congressman Herbert Bonner.
In his autobiography, Wirth recalled the meeting being filled with wealthy landowners from the north. He described being so angry, “I was about to blow my top…” Then Bonner spoke up.
“He proceeded to tell them in no uncertain terms that he didn’t care what they wanted, that the area was going to be established the way the Park Service wanted it, and that they and their New York bosses could go to hell,” Wirth wrote.
COMPLICATIONS AROSE FROM FUNDING TO POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF USE.
If only it were that easy. Complications arose from funding conditions (the Federal government was not permitted to purchase the land directly) to potential conflicts of use (the NPS wanted little or no improvements to roads within park boundaries, while Hatteras Island residents wanted to pave a way to Oregon Inlet) to a little thing called “World War II.”
After the war came the petroleum industry. Standard Oil of New Jersey believed there was black gold beneath Hatteras Island. In 1945, they lobbied state legislators to pass a law specifically prohibiting North Carolina from entering into an agreement with the NPS for two years.
Standard Oil drilled two test wells — one of them within 1,600 feet of Hatteras Lighthouse — before hitting a granite shelf at 10,000 feet. Both found nothing. By 1947, “Big Oil” was out of the picture, and a national seashore was back in play.
They just needed money for land. Paul Mellon, the son of Andrew Mellon, was an ardent conservationist and had agreed to provide funding. However, Conrad Wirth, the Director of the NPS, felt the state should also contribute.
Wirth met with Governor Kerr Scott. Apparently, if Scott pulled out a plug of tobacco and began chewing, he was interested. It took a half hour of talk, but the governor pulled out his plug and freed up $618,000.
A follow-up meeting with residents greased the wheels with an old-fashioned fish fry. With local support in hand and funding secured, Wirth activated the legislation permitting Cape Hatteras National Seashore on January 12, 1953.
And yet the park still couldn’t welcome visitors. It took six more years of court battles over inflated land values before the Park Service officially unveiled Cape Hatteras as America’s first National Seashore in 1959.
Sixty-five years later, Hatteras has fulfilled Stick’s vision, as roughly 3 million people a year visit. And while the seashore may be forever embedded in the hearts and minds of its citizens, it wages a constant battle for survival.
“Our number one challenge is how to manage the coastal environment that is ever changing,” says Dave Hallac, CHNS Park Superintendent. “Erosion, storms, sea level rise, and climate change, they’re going to require that we rethink the way that visitors come to enjoy the park in the future.”
Just recently, exposure of an old Navy site in Buxton has led to petroleum pollution and beach closures that are frustrating both residents and the NPS.
However, Hallac emphasizes these challenges can also create opportunities.
“An example of that is the multi-use path in Buxton,” he says. “We’re trying to provide other ways for the public to come into the park and get exercise and reduce congestion with vehicles. We’re proud of that.”
KIP TABB
Frank Stick’s original vision stretched north of Kitty Hawk. Photo: Outer Banks History Center
Jockey’s Ridge’s allies included activists and business interests; Carolista Baum and Chamber of Commerce head, Henry Boswell, circa 1972.
Photo: Aycock Brown/OBHC
FEW OUTER BANKS LANDMARKS CAN BOAST JOCKEY’S RIDGE’S STEEP HISTORY. It’s the site of our first overnight lodging — the Nags Head Hotel, built in 1838. By the Civil War, the 200-room structure was the headquarters for Confederate General Henry A. Wise — until he burned it to the ground before fleeing advancing Union forces during 1862’s Battle of Roanoke Island.
In 1866, the Alexina Hotel would pop up nearby to pamper our earliest visitors but it was demolished the next decade after sand intrusion took its toll. And from the 30s to the 70s, her sandy crevasses served as romantic hideaways for countless young lovers to dip out between dances at the Nags Head Casino.
The one thing it was never going to be was a bunch of condos. At least not if Outer Banks residents had anything to say about it.
When word got out that Rocky Mount developer John High wanted to put a 150-unit development on the dune’s north end, residents and officials began taking action to protect the scenic attraction.
The Coastland Times recounts some of the earliest efforts in a March 1972 article titled, “A Group Seeks to Halt Bulldozing at Jockey Ridge.”
With the help of others, like Marlene Roberts, she cofounded the People to Preserve Jockey’s Ridge, which raised money through direct donations, special events, and the honorary $5.00 purchase of one square foot of Jockey’s Ridge. Shirts and signs circulated saying “Save Our Sand Dunes.”
The community’s collective efforts put unrelenting pressure on elected officials in Raleigh.
In 1973, the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation issued a report calling for Jockey’s Ridge to be a state park. The following year, the dune was declared a National Natural Landmark.
On May 31, 1975, Jockey’s Ridge State Park was officially added to North Carolina’s state park system. By 2021, it was among the most popular in the state — boasting 1.8 million visitors.
THE COMMUNITY’S COLLECTIVE EFFORTS PUT UNRELENTING PRESSURE ON ELECTED
OFFICIALS IN RALEIGH.
Philip H. Quidley, spokesman for the recently founded Friends of Jockey’s Ridge states, “Our organization is made up of interested individuals willing to contribute money, time, or whatever toward purchasing the land and offering it to the state for consideration in establishing it as a state park in an effort to safeguard it.”
By September, a Town of Nags Head resolution officially requested the state consider the feasibility of a state park at Jockey’s Ridge “because of its unique and exceptional scenic value which is unlikely to be preserved for the enjoyment of…this and future generations if the property remains in private ownership.”
But it took an act of real courage to galvanize the resistance.
When a bulldozer showed up on August 15, 1973, ready to flatten Jockey’s Ridge, Carolista Baum stood in its path and refused to move until the driver left. Later, she removed its distributor cap. The image of Baum literally taking a stand energized thousands of supporters across the state.
But Baum also organized behind the scenes.
But it’s not the same dune it was a half-century ago. Or even five years ago. Because it’s not so much a dune as a Medaño — a large dune with no vegetation — which means it slowly migrates south with the strong northeast winds.
“[In 2018] we moved 220,000 cubic yards of sand from the southeast corner to the northwest,” says Joy Greenwood, Jockey’s Ridge Park’s superintendent. “We’re looking to do something similar again.”
As it moves south, the dune also fluctuates in height. A 1915 USGS map put the elevation at 65 feet, but as recently as 1953, the dune was approximately 136 feet. It now varies in height between 70 and 85 feet. As surrounding areas see increasing development, less sand is available to replenish the dune.
“Sand movement is always our biggest challenge,” Greenwood says. “I tell people I have a unique park. My park tries to escape from the boundary.”
A greater challenge may be political headwinds. Until recently, sand that migrated into yards along the southern side of the park had to be returned to the park. A recent ruling by the North Carolina Rules Review Commission, however, is threatening the Area of Environmental Concern (AEC) protections for Jockey’s Ridge, essentially eliminating that requirement.
Come June 5-8, 2025, the park plans to hold a 50year anniversary. If you want to know what you’re celebrating — and how close we came to losing this landmark — take a peek at the ridge’s north end. You find a paved road that terminates just before the Villas at Nags Head.
The road was supposed to be one of the failed condo development’s first streets. — KIP TABB
USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
MILES OFF CAPE HATTERAS, IN 240 FEET OF WATER, LIE THE REMAINS OF THE USS MONITOR.
As the first federal “ironclad” — a warship fortified with metal plates — she was both an engineering breakthrough for the US Navy and a milestone of maritime history that became part of Civil War legend on March 9, 1862, when she engaged the first “battle of the ironclads” against the Confederate ship, Virginia, in the waters off Hampton Roads
At the time, her odd appearance earned the nickname “cheesebox on a raft.” And most historians agree that the four-hour clash between the two lumbering brutes ended in a draw. But their meeting would go on to change the course of not just the war but naval warfare around the globe, as wooden ships soon gave way to metal.
“As I researched, I fell in love with everything Monitor,” says Shannon Ricles, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. “The chain of events that led to its construction, how it arrived just in time to save the Union fleet, and even its short life were all miracles in so many ways.”
Following the battle, the Monitor patrolled Hampton Roads and the James River before sailing to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs and renovations, where she was visited and toured by an admiring public.
From there, the Monitor was supposed to help blockade Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. She never made it. While being towed by the USS Rhode Island, the two vessels were caught in a storm and the Monitor sank off North Carolina on New Year’s Eve, 1862. While the USS Rhode Island was able to launch lifeboats and rescue 47 men, four officers and 12 of the Monitor’s crewmen perished.
Lawmakers like Eastern NC’s own Congressman Walter B. Jones, Sr. quickly built on the momentum to have the Monitor’s remains preserved as a Marine Sanctuary — the first such designation. And, in September 1974, North Carolina governor Jim Holshouser petitioned the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to have the site protected.
“Needless to say, the Monitor is a great archaeological find — one of tremendous historical and technological value,” Holshouser said during a press conference. “The remains of the famous gunship will yield invaluable information regarding the shipbuilding transition from sail to steam and from iron to wood.”
NOAA, the Smithsonian and the State Archives quickly went to work. Just four months later — on January 30, 1975 — President Ford signed off on the nation’s first National Marine Sanctuary. The designation protects the Monitor from nefarious treasure hunters, dredging, trawling, anchoring, or laying cable in the area.
THE DESIGNATION PROTECTS IT FROM NEFARIOUS TREASURE HUNTERS.
But her memory was never lost. And after several unsuccessful attempts to locate her, on August 27, 1973, marine scientist John G. Newton and a team of Duke University researchers discovered her remains 16 miles off Cape Hatteras.
Early on, they determined raising the ship intact wouldn’t be feasible. Not only was the structure too corroded — it was lying upside down on the seafloor. The conversation quickly turned to how best to preserve this precious find.
North Carolina has stringent laws protecting underwater cultural resources in state waters but those only reach three miles offshore. Luckily, Congress had recently passed the Marine Protection and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. Also known as The Ocean Dumping Act, the legislation was designed to stem rampant pollution by working vessels — not preserve maritime artifacts.
Over the years, a number of expeditions documented and explored the Monitor. In 1983, the ship’s four-pronged anchor was recovered. Its propellor and 11 feet of prop shaft were raised from the sea floor in 1998. However, it wasn’t until 2002 that the 12-ton turret was raised. These and other artifacts are housed at the USS Monitor Center at the Mariner’s Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia.
Today, divers can still visit the site — after obtaining a permit — while landlubbers can see a scale model replica inside the Roanoke Island Aquarium’s shark exhibit. And while the ship sank more than 150 years ago, the sanctuary keeps her memory not just alive, but “on the cutting edge of technology.”
“We used lasers to scan artifacts and 3D printed them to share these amazing pieces of history,” Ricles explains. “The public can now hold them in their hands and feel what ‘the Monitor Boys’ felt as they gripped the tongs or weighed the anchor. The scans also give us new insights into the artifacts.” January 30, 2025, will mark the 50th anniversary of the Monitor site’s designation as a National Marine Sanctuary. While a proposal to expand the site to include World War II-era shipwrecks never gained momentum, the National Marine Sanctuaries program itself has grown dramatically. Today, it oversees 15 sanctuaries, including the Florida Keys, Olympic Coast, Thunder Bay (the only freshwater sanctuary), and Channel Islands. It also includes two marine national monuments.
— SARAH DOWNING
Photo:
BEFORE ALLIGATOR RIVER WAS SYNONYMOUS WITH LUMBERING BEARS, IT WAS KNOWN FOR TWO THINGS: LUMBER AND BOOZE. Its story begins in 1888 when the Buffalo City Timber Company of Buffalo, NY, purchased 168,000 acres of Dare County swamp, creating a bustling mill town that — in its early days — was the Outer Banks’ most densely populated village. But by the 1920s, decades of intensive harvesting had depleted the once abundant lumber stocks and decimated the economy.
In 1920, fate extended an economic lifeline to Buffalo City and the surrounding East Lake communities when Congress passed the 21st Amendment — aka Prohibition — which banned the production, distribution or sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1932.
The area’s 165,000 acres of trackless swamp, forest and slow-moving streams were perfect for the covert manufacture and distribution of moonshine and beer. Inland waters stretched to Norfolk through Elizabeth City and then up the East Coast to big city speakeasies, where East Lake Whiskey was asked for by name.
In 1922, a raid by federal agents found 900 gallons of mash and two sixtygallon stills. Less than a year later, the agents were back. This time, they found a still that could produce 100 gallons of whiskey a day and 7500 gallons of beer in containers ready to be shipped. They never arrested anyone.
This wasn’t the area’s first brush with the law. In fact, it was a 1917 insurance scandal that ultimately lead to the creation of the refuge.
It began on March 26, 1917, when George Montgomery and Clarence Birdseye purchased the Dare Lumber Company. They used those assets to wheedle their way into buying the Pittsburgh Life Insurance and Trust Company while investing no money of their own.
completed…This takes away from Buffalo City the last of the big milling businesses.”
With lumbering dead, Prulean Farms, a joint effort of McLean Farms and Prudential Life, formed in the 1970s with the hope of transforming swamp into farmland. But the ground was not fertile, crop prices were falling, and land values bottomed out in a 1980 recession.
In 1984, Prudential Life Insurance Co. bought McLean Farms’ share of the holdings and donated 118,000 acres to the US Government to create ARNWR; the remaining 47,000 acres has been purchased by the government. Today, the failed mill town, bootlegging operation, and mega farm is a conservation success story. The refuge is a pocosin wetland environment, invaluable for its remarkable diversity of wildlife.
ARNWR is the second largest federal wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River. Home to one of the largest black bear populations in the US, it is also the experimental release site of about 20 endangered red wolves.
THE FAILED MILL TOWN, BOOTLEGGING OPERATION, AND MEGAFARM IS A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY.
On March 28, 1917, the partners gained control of the company and its $24 million in assets — $757 million today. By May, the partners had completely looted the company and Pittsburgh Life declared bankruptcy.
Two years later, The New York Times reported, “Clarence F. Birdseye, (his son) Kellogg Birdseye and George F. Montgomery…charged with conspiring to defraud the stockholders and policy holders of the Pittsburgh Life and Trust, and with wrecking that organization, were found guilty as indicted.”
By then, Metropolitan Life had bought all the Pittsburgh Life holdings — probably to shore up the rest of the insurance industry and prevent a collapse.
But there was little hope that lumbering would ever regain its glory days. In 1940, MetLife sold Dare Lumber, and, by 1954, the Coastland Times reported there were “two weeks of work left before…operations will be
All those critters make for prime real estate for recreating humans — and the tourist bizzes that cater to them.
“We’ve seen a big spike in visitation since the COVID-19 pandemic,” notes Sarah Toner, Visitor Services Manager for the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Complex. “We’ve been working to communicate…refuge rules and safe wildlife observation.”
The refuge is also a carbon sink, a valuable asset for coastal ecology. But it is one that is, sadly, shrinking.
As the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality notes, “In the 1960s pocosin [wetlands] still covered nearly 2 million acres in North Carolina, 75% of the pocosin ecosystems in the United States. By the 1980s, drainage of the lands for forestry and farming operations had totally or partially altered all but about 700,000 of these acres.”
The ARNWR pocosin continues to be at risk, much of it from climate change and, in particular, sea level rise.
“Ghost forests of dead trees are expanding from the margins of waterways and canals…These ghost forests are caused by inundation from higher sound levels and saltwater intrusion during storm events,” says Toner. “We’re also seeing increased levels of erosion of existing marshes as brackish water degrades peat soils and breaks them apart.”
But despite ghost trees — and ghost towns — Alligator River still bustles, especially in summer, when humans chase the buzz of spying a black bear, rare red wolf, or slithering cottonmouth.
“It’s great to have so many people on the refuge connecting with nature,” says Toner. — KIP TABB
Frankly, we’ve always found coupons kind of cheesy. After all, what’s a couple bucks when it comes to supporting a local business? And aren’t the best things in life always free? But for those who must always feel like they’re scoring a deal, here are a few paper slips to carry around and cash out when the mood strikes. (Warning: you might get more than you expected.)
“All around
voice
Pea Island calls. Photo: Mike Leech
“This land was made for you and me...”
AT THEIR BEST, OUR PUBLIC LANDS ARE MORE THAN JUST “NATURE PRESERVES” OR “WILDLIFE REFUGES.”
They’re places where all people, rich and poor, can escape the world’s boundaries. No gates. No fees. No hours. No worries. Where the most cash-strapped mom enjoys an oceanfront view, and the wealthiest tycoon rolls in the dirt. Where visitors revel in fresh experiences, locals seek solace in lifelong passions, and every put-upon soul gets to feel human again. Where the opportunities to bask in the Outer Banks’ awesome bounty aren’t just free — they’re limitless.
Captions inspired by Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”
“As I was walking that ribbon of highway…”
CAPE HATTERAS’ BEACHES MAY HOG THE SPOTLIGHT.
But you can’t get there without a good piece of road.
“About ten years ago, with just a little bit of rain, you couldn’t access any of those ramps behind the campground because of flooding,” says Buxton photog Daniel Pullen. “So, the Park Service came in and raised all those roadways and packed it hard with clay and clam shells. And now it’s a really cool spot to run.”
Add a mile-long loop around the campsite — and a future multi-use path in the works — and America’s first National Seashore becomes a natural haven for would-be bikers and joggers to train hard or just trek for fun, while being transported to a whole different frame of mind.
“Some parts feel like the African plains or something,” says Pullen. “And it’s such a beautiful spot that everybody you’re passing by is just kind of waving and smiling. Because everybody there is enjoying themselves.”
Photo: Daniel Pullen
KITE POINT. CANADIAN HOLE. “HAULOVER DAY USE AREA.”
“I saw above me that endless skyway…”
Whatever you want to call this soundside stretch between Avon and Buxton, it’s been a mecca for wind enthusiasts since time began — or at least since someone planted a sail on a board.
“I’ve been chasing waves to Hatteras, two to three times a year since 1970,” says legendary East Coast surf photographer, Dick Meseroll. “I don’t know who did it first, but at some point in the early 80s, that place went from two to four to 23 to 200 sails in no time at all.”
These days, zipping windsurfers have mostly given way to stuntflying kiteboarders and “wing-dinging” foilers, but they still come en masse. Enough that the Park Service had to add a whole second parking lot a few years back. But no matter the vessel, it’s the same elements that keep sucking them in — and blowing spectators away.
“It’s all about the wind, right?” says Mez. “Plus, it’s just such an awesome setting. I love rolling by at early evening and seeing all those kites — and all those colors. I just pull over, pop a cold one, and watch that big ball of fire drop into the Pamlico.”
Photo: Dick Meseroll/ESM
Historic Corolla Park Signature Events
Corolla Cornhole Tournaments
Wednesdays • June 12-September 11, 2024 • 3pm
Teams compete in a double elimination tournament with a limit of 16 teams. Competitors must register as a team. The cost to register is $20 per team. ADVANCED REGISTRATION is REQUIRED. For more information and to reserve your team, please call 252-453-9040. Come out for cool prizes and an enjoyable afternoon! Grand Prize sponsored by Brindley Beach Vacations. This event occurs in conjunction with Corolla Cork & Craft.
Corolla Cork & Craft
Wednesdays • June 12-September 11, 2024 • 3pm to 7pm
Local wine, beer, and craft cocktails, live music and curated local craft artisans in the breathtaking and peaceful setting of Historic Corolla Park. Admission to this event is free. Beer, wine, food, and crafts will be available for purchase. Adults over 21 may purchase wine, beer or spirits by the glass or by the bottle. There will be no free tastings at this event. Please bring a photo ID if you are interested in purchasing alcohol.
Yoga in the Park
Thursdays • June 6-September 5, 2024 • 7:30am
60-minute Yoga class for all-levels. Every session includes guided meditation to re-center you, breath work to calm you, and a series of seated and standing postures to make you feel like your best self. Classes are held outside in front of Whalehead overlooking the sound. Please bring a yoga mat, beach towel or tapestry, plenty of water and sun protection. In the event of rain or inclement weather, classes will be canceled. And best of all, it’s FREE to participants! So Relaxing…
Under the Oaks Art Festival
Tuesday & Wednesday • June 18 & 19, 2024 • 10am to 5pm
This popular festival brings together a collection of talented artists and visitors can expect to find paintings and prints, photography, pottery, jewelry, woodworks, and much more. Free for all attendees, local food concessions are available as well as a silent art auction that is open to the public.
Independence Day Celebration
Thursday • July 4, 2024 • 5pm to 9pm
What better way to celebrate America’s independence than with free live music and a spectacular firework show on the northern Outer Banks! Join Currituck Travel & Tourism at Historic Corolla Park for the Independence Day Celebration with loads of fun family activities and food provided by local vendors. Activities begin at 5:00 pm with fireworks at dusk. Admission is free and free parking is available at the park until lots are full. Please note that no coolers, alcohol, or on-street parking is permitted. The Historic Corolla Park boat ramp and air-up stations are closed this day with no docking allowed. Dogs are permitted on leashes. 2024 entertainment by “The Dickens” band.
For more information on these events and more, Call 252.453.9040 or visit our website CorollaEvents.com
“As the fog was lifting, a voice was chanting
When it came time to replace Oregon Inlet’s 60-year-old span with the new Basnight Memorial Bridge, the powers-that-be had a moment of clarity: leave a chunk of the original structure behind in memoriam. So, on October 1, 2021, the National Park Service unveiled Bonner Bridge Pier, a place where people can commune with this dynamic piece of water — without fear of being pitched in the drink.
“The old bridge had a catwalk,” says photographer/angler Ed Tupper. “So, it’s always been a fishing spot. But it was narrow and old and a little harder. This one’s wider — and it’s like 1000 feet long, so there’s a lot more space to move around.”
It’s also infinitely more accessible to every age and ability. But while the pilings may swirl with a range of tasty species — and the land often teems with various visitors — the pier itself remains a place of relative serenity.
“I’ve never seen it crazy like other piers,” says Tupper. “The parking lot might be packed with people watching birds or checking out the life-saving station. But you walk out on the pier, and there’s just a couple of people. That’s the attraction.”
Photo: Ed Tupper
“There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me….”
THE OUTER BANKS GREW UP AROUND BIG, OPEN SPACES.
But as folks filled in, the focus shifted from preserving the great outdoors — to ramping up ways for residents to stay active. In some cases, 24-7.
“I believe Kill Devil Hills’ skate park opened around 2009,” says resident BMXer Sonny Macaranas. “But the lights are more recent. And it’s actually better to ride there at night. Because there’s fewer people — and it feels really cool. It’s like a totally different park.”
Sure is. When the town built Aviation Park in 1997, that concrete obstacle was a sandy place to play beach volleyball. But that’s the evolution of every municipal asset, as towns make changes to meet fresh needs. Today, local parks promote a full range of healthy habits — there’s playgrounds and ballfields, pickleball courts and disc golf courses, produce markets and dog walking pastures. Last year, KDH put in the beach’s first “splash pad” for kids to cool down on hot days. And when it comes time to get radical? There’s shreddable “cement ponds” from Kitty Hawk to Manteo to Buxton.
“I’m so happy we have all these skate parks now,” says Macaranas. “It just opened the doors for any kid that wanted to ride and not have to get hassled by cops or ride in the street. Now they can ride four or five or six in one day — totally free.”
Photo: Ed Tupper
“A sign was painted, said “Private Property”…
“KEEP OUT.” “NO TRESPASSING.” “HOMEOWNERS ONLY.”
There was a time when such phrases were considered profane in these parts. When letting folks cross over the dune was just being neighborly. When “free and open beaches” was a collective vision instead of a legal loophole. (Looking at you, Duck and Southern Shores.)
But there’s one place where no selfish neighbor or snooty homeowner association can stop families from soaking up rays or splashing around: that precious chunk of sand from the water’s edge to the mean high-tide line.
“It’s a state law,” says native photog, Jon Carter. “It means so much to me. I actually moved back here to raise our family after 10 years in Hawaii, because we’re one of the last places that pretty much has access to the whole beach.”
And he means “free.” While other states, cities and even NC municipalities charge folks to park, it don’t cost a penny to use any of our 70+ improved accesses north of Oregon Inlet. Even better, towns keep finding newer, and better, ways to connect folks to the ocean.
“Call the town, and they’ll bring a beach wheelchair out to you!” says Carter. “That’s how welcoming the Outer Banks is. And with all the building, it’s one of the last things that sets us apart: I don’t care how big that mansion is behind you — when you get to the high tide line, it’s everybody’s beach.”
The occasional osprey screech. Longtime Outer Bankers have always answered the call of our western shores as a way to unwind after a long, stressful day — and maybe bag a tasty dinner.
“There’s something special about being able to go out behind your house and fish,” says photog and kayak angler, Ryan Rhodes, who lives steps away from the Hayman Street put-in. “But the quieter the environment, the better the fishing is. And the more I start to broaden my range, the more I realize how good the fishing is from Oregon Inlet all the way to Corolla.”
It’s a big territory. In fact, in terms of shoreline, the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds total more than 8000 miles. Luckily, there are a range of boat and kayak launches scattered about from Hatteras to Roanoke Island all the way to Carova. (Plus, any number of sneaky side street parking spots.)
Paddle, kick or putt a few minutes, and you’re alone with the fish — and your thoughts.
“That peace of mind is the best part,” says Rhodes. “It’s such a healthy outlet for your day-to-day stress. And that way, when you come back to your job or your family, you’re a little easier going. It makes you a better person.”
“But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing…”
Photo: Ryan Rhodes
“When the sun came shining, then I was strolling…”
THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF WINTERING SNOW GEESE.
Migrating ducks and nesting gadwalls. Read an early promotional pamphlet, you might think Pea Island Wildlife Refuge was strictly for the birds. But for local folks fleeing summer craziness, this prize jewel is all about people — or lack thereof.
“I like to go on long walks down Pea Island, looking for shells,” says local shooter Ashley Milteer. “I rarely pass anybody. It’s basically vacant.”
That’s its whole appeal. With acres of undeveloped coast on either side of Route 12, there’s plenty of room for folks to spread out, whether they’re scoping out ditches for snowy egrets or hunting the right sandbar to serve up sparkling riches. Just pull off the road and post up. Sure, some sandy spots will sink a sedan to its bumpers; and they occasionally rope off sections to protect threatened species. But there’s also designated separate parking lots to make any expedition foolproof.
And for those willing to go the extra mile?
“It’s a stretch of nothing but nature and waves for days,” says Milteer. “That’s what makes it so special: it’s a wildlife refuge — but it’s also a refuge for people who live here.”
Photo: Ashley Milteer
gosurf
outthere
S-Turns is gone. Twin-fins are back. And there’s more “surf schoolers” than “old schoolers.”
If you think the Outer Banks’ lineups have changed a lot since you first started shredding, imagine what it was like 100 years ago. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it. You can visualize it. Learn about it. Walk amongst it. In Elizabeth City, of all places! Just head to the Museum of the Albemarle on July 13, when they unveil their captivating new exhibit, “Where the Waves Break: Surfing in Northeastern North Carolina.”
Operating off the North Carolina Division of State History Museum’s summer theme — “Are We There Yet?” this year-long, free exhibit is the dazzling result of 18 months of painstaking research conducted by longtime curator Wanda Lassiter and her diligent staff.
ENDLESS SUMMER
Museum of the Albemarle opens year-long surfing exhibit in July.
“AS STOKEFILLED AND DYNAMIC AS OUR EVERSHIFTING SANDBARS.
“We thought, ‘What better way to interpret that summer theme than by teaching our visitors about surfing in the area?’” Lassiter explains. “But we had no surfing items at all in our collection, and I didn’t know the first thing about surfing. But we made a few contacts…who gave us contacts…who gave us contacts. I’ve been at the museum for 18 years and have never seen a response quite like it.”
Once the Outer Banks coconut telegraph lit up, the community sprang into action to provide some unique facet of surfing life. Everyone from Jesse Hines to Lynn Shell, Rascoe Hunt to Murray Ross, Patti Hook to Will Deane, Surfers for Autism to the Outer Banks Board Riders, Natural Art to Rodanthe Surf Shop, answered the call.
The end result is a collection that promises to be as stokefilled and dynamic as our ever-shifting sandbars. Surfboards and shaping tools. Trophies and jerseys. Wetsuits and
lifejackets. Wax and magazines. Stickers and flags. Images and memorabilia and artifacts. Tracing the sport, art, culture, and business of surfing in Dare County, from its first fuzzy accounts from the 1920s to the digital age.
“We wanted to cover all the different types of surfers — from professionals to ‘ferals’; from those who’ve been surfing since the 1960s to those who just started — and really tell their stories,” Lassiter finishes. “A lot of our visitors won’t know anything about this world, so hopefully we can educate them about how special it is while doing the Outer Banks surfing community justice.” — Matt Pruett
“Where the Waves Break: Surfing in Northeastern North Carolina” is on display at Elizabeth City’s The Museum of the Albemarle from July 13, 2024, until June 2025. For more information visit www.museumofthealbemarle.com.
Fiberglass fixture, Rascoe Hunt; New Sun factory, 1990. Photo: Drew Wilson/Outer Banks History Center
DEEP DIVE DISCOVERIES
A passenger ferry on its way from New York to Jacksonville. A Civil War “ironclad” lost in a storm. A British warship carrying goods and ammunition to supply the Confederacy. A 244-foot Swedish freighter loaded with gypsum. And tankers gutted by World War II torpedoes. These are just a few examples of the roughly 100 diveable shipwrecks that lay waiting in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, after falling victim to one of the most difficult stretches of the early superhighway of the sea. But whether sunk by man-made munitions or Mother Nature’s fury, they all share one future fate:
“My goal is to dive all of them,” says Marc Corbett, head of the NC Shipwreck Project.
But he’s not just paying a visit. The plan is to find, photograph and film as many shipwrecks as possible; research and reveal the cause of each wreck; detail each ship’s construction and sailing history;
and tell stories of the people who were involved from beginning to end. And he’s not doing it alone. He’s got the help of five other passionate volunteer divers, Jay King, Shawn Harper, Panda Daniels, and Corbett’s brother-in-law Eugene Link and nephew Jude Link.
King believes it’s the project’s proposed depth of research that sets it apart.
“There’s nothing really that I’m aware of that’s similar to what we are doing,” says King, a Raleigh software researcher who’s been diving since the 90s. “Most sites are really only concerned with the wreck itself, how deep it is, and what the conditions are. But [that wreck] was people’s lives. It was people trying to ship goods to and from the colonies. And in the case of all the tankers that were stopped during World War II, they gave up their lives or risked their lives just to keep gasoline going up and down the coast during the war. I feel
like they deserve to have their memory preserved.”
Corbett’s been working on this idea for years. His original plan was to create a book, but he realized that, with shipwrecks, new information is discovered continuously. A book could become out of date as soon as it’s published. Corbett and the group decided they needed a living document, so they created a website that they will keep updated with any new information they find, whether that be videos, pictures, historical documents, or old newspaper clippings.
“The purpose is just to kind of educate the public as to what’s out there, because, you know, there’s a lot of stuff out there that people have no idea about,” says Corbett. They also hope to encourage more people to discover the joys of diving.
The British Steamer Hesperides is one of Diamond Shoals’ many nautical gems. Jude and Eugene Link explore every facet. Photo: Marc Corbett
Among the group’s more recent converts is Daniels. A local hairstylist, “fire dancer,” and self-professed “adrenaline junky,” she likes to kid that she was too excited by all the sharks to remember her first shipwreck.
And yet, she says one of her favorite things about documenting the shipwrecks is the comparative serenity. In fact, she believes diving off North Carolina isn’t as popular because people assume the clarity’s not good, that the water is always murky and stirred up.
“
Daniels jokes that she traded in her motorcycle for diving six years ago, because she can “only afford to have one expensive deadly hobby.”
But the divers insist they’re always painstakingly careful. Same goes with their work researching wrecks. So how much time does it take for Corbett to discover and document the ships?
“Oh lord, I don’t know,” laughs Corbett. “I have shipwrecks I’ve been working on for years. And it doesn’t all come to you at once. Sometimes, there’s one or two of them that I couldn’t find anything new on for two or three years and then I found something, and it led to ten other things.”
“But you can go out in the Gulf Stream, and that’s like Caribbean blue water,” Daniels says. “And we’re fortunate to have this amazing, incredible amount of sea life. I’ve traveled to some places in Puerto Rico and Mexico, and, because of overfishing, a lot of things are absent that we have here.”
Daniels isn’t as far along in her certifications as the other divers, so when wrecks lie too deep for her training, she takes on the role of safety. She stays above, keeping visual contact for as long as possible and monitoring everyone’s decompression schedules, with extra tanks clipped onto her gear.
She’s also the communication between them and the surface, which is important because there are risks involved, including decompression sickness — aka “the bends” — which causes gas bubbles to form in the blood and tissues when divers rise to the surface too quickly. Dangerous symptoms range from joint pain, severe cardiopulmonary issues, and neurological symptoms, and nitrogen narcosis, which causes you to be disoriented and not think clearly deep under the water.
Corbett says he starts out by using historical information. Some of his go-to’s are the Outer Banks History Center, which has records of the Lifesaving Service’s shipwreck reports, the National Archives, and Newspapers.com, which has more old newspapers scanned and uploaded to it every day.
“It’s like doing cold case detective files,” Corbett says. “You’re looking at what kind of shipwreck you’ve got, and then you’re looking at where you found it. And then you have to look up and figure out what wrecked in that area. And usually, things will start giving themselves away.”
All the volunteers say they share a passion for diving and for the exciting feeling of coming upon a shipwreck for the first time. But there are other motivating factors: the importance of documenting a rich history that hasn’t been fully revealed — and a sense of urgency to get it done before it’s too late.
Corbett figures that, at the rate the shipwrecks are breaking down, many will be gone within fifty years.
“They won’t be there forever,” he says. “Eventually, they’re gonna rust away and fall over and become, you know, rust spots on the bottom.” — Maggie Miles
Learn more about the NC Shipwreck Project and how to get involved at NC-Shipwreckproject.com.
STARTING A’FRESH
Duck’s Tomato Shack is officially gone — but its future still looks Too Jam Good.
Carlton Winslow’s farming roots run deep. His grandparents and greatgrandparents tilled Currituck soil during the Depression. His father, Howard Winslow, was a beloved Outer Banks fixture who would sell his homegrown produce door-to-door.
“My dad was working construction and decided he didn’t want to work for someone else anymore,” Winslow recalls. “He started out with a car and a few boxes of tomatoes and grew it to where he was growing 75 percent of what he sold.”
Sometimes, Carlton and his eight siblings would wake up early before school to help with crops or, during summer, ride along. For nearly two decades, Carlton continued that legacy by running Duck’s favorite produce stand: the Tomato Shack.
“If you had told me a few years ago that I would be canning, I would have told you that you were crazy,” says Jeannine.
When the couple first met in 2012, Jeannine admits she wasn’t the biggest fan of working the stand. After helping Carlton out in the early days of their relationship, the hot days and heavy lifting took its toll, and she got a job as a 911 dispatcher. But she knew how much work Carlton put into sorting out the bruised fruit each day, and how short the selling time is for produce, and how many bushels of leftover vegetables and fruit they gave away to customers, restaurants, and ice cream stands.
“After a couple years, I said, ‘We should can this stuff,’” says Jeannine.
“SOME TASTY IDEAS PRESERVE FAMILY TRADITIONS.
Broccoli, which contains crisp pickled broccoli and red onion in a NC BBQ vinegar brine.
And new ideas pop up every day — or night.
Recently, Carlton was lying awake, pondering the destiny of a box of bruised peaches, when he woke Jeannine: “Babe! We’re going to make a peach and pineapple jam. Quick, write it down so we don’t forget!”
The next morning, they were creating the recipe when Jeannine saw Carlton chopping up a pile of basil. Confused, she asked him what he was doing.
“He said, ‘I’m putting this in the jam. It’s gonna be good, just trust me, honey,’” Jeannine recalls. Then she saw a lightbulb go off in his head:
Situated right off NC 12, it became the go-to pull-off for fresh produce, eggs, farm fresh milk, meats, homemade jams and jellies, salsas, kombucha, and more. That is until this past March, when he received word that the owners of the property had decided to take a new direction. Carlton had until the end of the month to move.
“When I saw that text message, it took a big chunk out of me, because I felt like I let my father down,” says Carlton. “And because this is truly what I know.”
But his wife, Jeannine, assured Carlton that his father would still be proud. Besides, they were already jamming away on a brand-new business. One that blended Carlton’s generational knowledge of farming and food with Jeannine’s plucky drive — and a desire to preserve. Even if that desire wasn’t always so obvious.
Still, Carlton was hesitant. He remembered how hard canning was from growing up. So, Jeannine found other sources of info.
“A friend from work knew how to can,” she recalls. “I told her, ‘You have to teach me so I can prove a point to my husband.’” [Laughs]
Jeannine fell in love with it. And soon, Carlton did, too. Not just canning but pickling and brining; then they moved on to salsas and mixers. They called their new passion Too Jam Good and began selling at markets. Today, they have over 70 products that she and Carlton create together.
Some tasty ideas preserve family traditions — including Apple Chair Butter, an ode to the days Carlton’s mother and grandmother would sit in rocking chairs on the farm’s front porch, giving advice to the neighbors. He uses their original recipe which includes using the whole apple, even the skins, giving it a texture like apple pie.
Another favorite — Carlton’s Remix — consists of pickled pineapples, jalapenos and basil, which Carlton and Jeannine say tastes great on a taco; or Bro’s Bussin
“Honey! That’d be a good one, too!” He ran to the cabinet for some honey. He then grabbed a slice of cheesecake and drizzled the concoction over it. They both took a bite and looked at each other.
“And it was the chef’s kiss,” says Jeannine, who notes these late-night ideas happen quite frequently.
“He can’t turn it off,” she laughs.
With the Duck farmstand gone, Carlton and Jeannine plan to pursue their “side gig” full time by traveling to markets and festivals across the East Coast. But the couple still has faith that the right opportunity will come along to reopen the Tomato Shack in some Outer Banks location. Until then, you can find their products at Trio in Kitty Hawk, Cahoon’s Market in Nags Head, Something or Other in Manteo, or at a variety of pop-up markets, which Carlton and Jeannine announce on their Too Jam Good Facebook page.
“We want to believe this must be happening for a reason,” says Jeannine. “You know, we’re going to take our licks, and we’re gonna pick up the pieces, and we’re gonna move forward, because that’s who we are.” — Maggie Miles
A fruitful past. Bright horizons. Carlton Winslow has plenty to smile about. Photo: Ryan Moser
WATERFONT DINING
AT THE BLUEPOINT
SIMPLE SOUTHERN
LOCALLY SOURCED
soundcheck
FREE MUSIC TOMORROW!
Want a killer outdoor concert — without paying cover? Find your closest backyard bar.
outthere gohunt rearview
“LAWN SEATS.” For big outdoor concerts, it usually means spending fitty bucks to squeeze your butt on a blanket near the backside of the venue. But on the Outer Banks — where open-air bars and killer bands abound — it means getting up close and personal with top notch players, all for the price of an icecold beer. Here’s a list of options from Corolla to Grandy to Rodanthe, where free music flows outside weekly — if not nightly — plus at least one gig you won’t want to miss. Just remember “no cover” usually also means “no shelter.” So, check weather and social feeds before rocking out the door.
SANCTUARY VINEYARDS
Swirling Currituck skies, dynamic acts, and award-winning local wine will please any music lover’s palate at Sanctuary Vineyard’s Acoustic Sunset Wine Down Thursdays, where the intoxicating flavors run from smokin’ reggae (The Lion Band, June 20) to high-energy funk rock, (Trae Piece & the T-Stones, July 11), to “aggressive folk rock” (Mercy Creek, Aug. 8), to classic rock and alternative covers (The MoRons, Aug. 15.) June 6-Sept. 26, 5:30-8:30pm. @sanctuaryvineyards
THE COROLLA BEER GARDEN
A shady live oak…breezy vibes…cool people…plenty of craft beer…what more can you ask for? How ’bout live music every Mon. through Thurs. — including a Mon. night open mic, where hosts Tiki Slam trade beachy riffs and smart-ass barbs, then turn the stage over to all levels of musical talent — while coastal troubadour Derek Smith channels everyone from Jerry to Jane’s Addiction to John Prine every Tues. from June 10 to Aug. 22, 8-10:30pm+ @the_beer_garden
Yacht Dogs’ Harry Harrison, about to bring the house down at Mark’s Backside Bar.
Photo: Ed Tupper
MIKE DIANNA’S GRILL ROOM
Salivating for a sizzling slab of prime beats? From mid-June to mid-Aug., this local steakhouse — and founder of Corolla’s once-mighty Mustang Music Festival — turns its deck bar into a concert stage every Tues. through Fri., then taps their extensive contacts to curate a rotating lineup of Grade-A performers. 6-9pm. @mikediannasgrillroom
THE BACK BAR AT BLUE POINT
Already legendary for serving some of Duck’s haute-est cuisine, The Blue Point’s back bar is also a hot spot for soundside grooves, Wed. through Sat., where the daily specials range from electrifying chanteuse Kamea Blake (Thurs.) to Birddog’s jazzinfused Americana (Fri.) to two different experimental duos/Zack Mexico offshoots: Twin Fins (Wed.) and Harrison & Wentz (Sat.). 6-9pm. @thebluepoint
TAP SHACK
Tucked behind Duck’s Coastal Cravings lies a concert oasis where a cozy setting and killer sound allows for intimate one-nightonly concerts with major players (see jazz guitar legend Stanley Jordan, June 14) or an eight-day, multi-genre celebration of the patron saint of jam bands (Aug.1-9’s Jerry Garcia Week). And with 140 dates booked — and virtually no repeats — you can go all summer and not see the same thing. Or you can livestream at home. 6:30-9:30pm. @tapshackduck
MARK’S
BACKSIDE BAR
Sneak behind Duck’s Roadside Grill, you’ll find a glowing atmosphere and an elevated stage that rocks most every Wed. to Sat. — and every damn Fri. night — when what’s arguably the beach’s most entertaining live act, The Yacht Dogs, howls and yowls from country deep cuts to soul classics to Iggy Pop, all without missing a beat. Don’t believe us? Put a “tip in the jar” and see what happens. 7-10pm. @roadside.duck
SWELLS’A
BREWING DUCK DIVE BAR
Rotating local taps meet rotating local acts at Scarborough Lane’s freshest watering hole, where every Mon. through Thurs. serves some stripped down but potent musical flavor, like guitar maestro Matt Wentz (Mon.), Dead ringers Aaron Caswell & Greg Howell (Tues.), the Billy Clams’ licorice-stick-inspired Vaudeville hijinks (Wed.), or psychedelic beach rock concoctions by Leisure Report (Thurs.). 6:30-9pm. @swellsa_brewing
ART’S
PLACE
Locals may be welcome, visitors might be tolerated, but live music is absolutely encouraged at Kitty Hawk’s greasiest spoon every Thurs., Fri. & Sun. — from the backyard “Silo Stage” to the top of the “Sway Bar.” Check out classic jams by Old Sadler Band (June 14, July 12 and August 9) and The Conch Shells (June 6, July 4 and Aug. 25), or the crisp, 90s-inspired originals of Stereo In Words (June 23, July 28 and Aug. 1). Wanna help fill the calendar? Open Mic with Monte Hooker invites players of all skill levels and zip codes to bring their gear and share the spotlight every Wed. 6-9pm. @arts_place
HARBOR GRILL & PIZZA
Colington life is a lot less sketchy when you don’t have to drive. Stumble over to Harbor Grill & Pizza any Fri. or Sat. evening for a slice of solid tunes, from soulful blues by busking legend EZ Malone to the good-time rock n’ roll of Bill & Friends, the acoustic harmonies of Saunders, Kelly & the Other Guy to national recording artist and American Idol golden ticket winner, Carrie Brockwell. 5-8pm. @harborgrillandpizza
OUTER BANKS BREWING STATION
“BREEZY VIBES… CRAFT BEER… WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR?
Forget the pirate ship. The real anchor to the Brew Pub’s backyard is its nightly line-up of swashbuckling six-stringers, such dynamic duo Sechman & Wilder (Mon.); classic rock cut-up That Guy Shane (Tues.); multi-instrumentalist Randy Burton (Wed.); singer-songwriters Bryan Campbell (Thurs.) and Phil Watson (Fri.); big, dynamite vocalist Doc Perkins (Sat.); and nationally renowned blues player Ruth Wyand (Sun.). 5:30-8:30pm. @obxbrewingstation
JACK BROWN’S BEER & BURGER JOINT
Jack Brown’s-KDH serves musical acts nearly every damn night, but we’ll focus on the local bands channeling legendary sounds, from Bon Scott and Axl Rose belting it out (Trick Fly, June 22) to face-melting Phishy guitar solos cranked to 11 (Hot Sauce, July 13 & 20; Aug. 9 & 17). Looking for a wider sample of sounds? The Ramble ranges from classic covers to scorching originals (June 1, July 19 & Aug. 2), while SoulOne mixes genres from Bob Marley to the Beatles, the Cars to the Cure, every single Mon. 7-10pm. @jackbrownskdh
BONZER SHACK
At press time, KDH’S Bonzer Shack was still building their summer schedule, but you can count on Adam Nixon to shred vintage country, rockabilly, rock, and blues every Fri. night, with more acts to come on select Sat. nights. All shows 5-8pm. @bonzershack
SWELLS’A BREWING
KDH’s beachfront brewery hops with a bubbly, semi-monthly buzz of rotating bands: on first and third Fri., Willo, Red & Ed cruise through an eclectic blend of laidback jams, while the Twin Fins play fast and loose every second and fourth Sat.; and Litmus Trio jazzes up every second and fourth Sun. When in doubt, just pop in any Thurs. to see Aaron Caswell and Greg Howell bust out some twangy, traditionals and good ol’ Grateful Dead. 6:30-9:30pm. @swellsa_brewing
BLUE MOON BEACH GRILL
That ol’ Nags Header’s big shady porch feels even cooler when you’re basking in some breezy guitar and vocals — and a set list that ranges from Dave Matthews to Bonnie Raitt — whether its Graham Outten (Wed.), Natalie Plevyak (Thurs.), Brad Privott (Fri.), Jack Posko (Sat.), or the Bar Cats duo (Sun.). 6-9pm. @bluemoonbeachgrill
DOWNTOWN
MANTEO’S FIRST FRIDAY
Thanks to a recently enacted “social district,” Downtown Manteo is every tavern’s boozy backyard the first Friday of every month. Find a bar, fill your to-go cup, then stroll by the various musical acts. On June 7, it’s the Story Weavers (Dare Arts Courtyard), Windgrass (Old Tom Street), and Havana Club (Magnolia Pavilion). On July 5, it’s the Rea Family Band (Dare Arts Courtyard), Bar Cats Duo (Old Tom Street), and Kill Devil Kats (Magnolia Pavilion). And on Aug. 2, it’s Sunyata (Dare Arts Courtyard), Doug Dino (Old Tom Street), and Let’s Dance OBX (Magnolia Pavilion). 6-8pm. @dare_arts_outer_banks
TINA’S POOLSIDE CAFÉ
Set inside Rodanthe’s Cape Hatteras/Outer Banks KOA Resort, this cement pond is a go-to site for free summer shows almost nightly. But there’s no better way to get the full island experience than on Tues., as the Carolina Sweaters put together 10-point performances filled with acrobatic originals and deep-dive covers — stitched together with dare devil instrumentals. 7-10pm. @tinaspoolsidecafe
The vast mountains of Everest lay far from the barrier islands of the Outer Banks. Yet somehow, Madeleine Dale, the author of A Pangolin Slept on Buddha’s Lap, brings conservation issues from million-miles-away Kathmandu to home on the Outer Banks.
“In a lot of nature stories, the environments are sort of backdrops,” says Dale. “I really wanted to change that — to put nature in the forefront, science in the forefront — and make people part of that system.”
Dale begins by dropping us into the most poster-child environment of conservation advocacy: the Serengeti. Skyscraping baobab trees, long golden sunsets, Madeleine Dale pens riveting fiction — with a focus on conservation.
A retired real estate agent-turned-full-time writer, Dale moved to Colington from New York in 2019. Though she’s penned sci-fi stories for years, Pangolin is her first fiction to stray from dystopian planets. Instead, it explores the intricacies of our natural world — and humans’ often well-intentioned but misguided attempts to save it.
Tangled up in green.
Photo: Ashley Milteer
comradic moments with tribes, and of course, breathtaking lions.
Her protagonist, Wolf, basks in life on the African savanna as a wild and free big cat biologist. But before getting too comfortable, a begrudging Wolf is poached by his non-profit, Eco Wild, and sent to Nepal for a less inspiring, yet equally important, endangered species operation: the scaly three-clawed pangolin.
He’s just a little late to pick up on the equally important part.
“Wolf is on a journey where he has to learn to appreciate not just the charismatic species,” Dale says.
Of course, as a fictitious ecology tale, it’s expected for Wolf to go toe-to-toe with poachers. What we don’t see coming are the many other foes and frenemies he faces. Ignorant post-doctoral students, ambitious supervisors, and even greenwashing public relations specialists.
“I wanted to get the message out with fiction, because I think conservation has gone wrong,” Dale says. “It’s about the whole ecosystem, keeping the whole wilderness intact, which includes the people living there.”
While running the reader through an adventure, Dale also teaches endless science lessons, graces us with comedic relief, slips in a romance, and a slightly corny yet satisfying ending. And most importantly, she weaves a critical conservation concept through the pages of her book: ecosystem services.
As defined by the USDA, ecosystem services are any direct or indirect benefits that ecosystems provide humans. Dale keeps bringing back this idea using all the animals of her story, from tigers to termites to pangolins.
“I found out in my research that scientists know almost nothing about pangolins, except that they don’t breed in captivity, so when they’re gone, they’re gone,” Dale said. “But it’s a 60-million-year-old creature, and they’ve just somehow managed to hang around.”
Dale’s just as persistent.
Originally from Ohio, Dale wound up at Columbia studying international economics and history. She graduated in 1982, later enrolled with a full scholarship at NYU film school, then jumped right into the New York City film industry as a scriptwriter for nearly ten years. In the 90s, she felt she needed a regular job, and began a career as a real estate agent.
“Then the dot com burst or something,” Dale says. “My friend and I looked at each other, and we were like, what do we do now?”
Why not Nepal?
In 1998, the friends went to Kathmandu for a month, where Dale ended up meeting her husband.
“ “I WANTED TO PUT NATURE IN THE FOREFRONT — AND MAKE PEOPLE PART OF THAT SYSTEM.”
To Dale, going to Nepal was a familiar feeling; the hustle and bustle was akin to that of New York City.
“It was stunning,” Dale says.
In 2001, she married the man she met in Nepal and, shortly after, gave birth to her son. She also began writing science fiction and self-published three books — Eternity INC, Blink and SO10 — all under a pseudonym, “Adel.”
“I figured no one would buy a Fifth Avenue penthouse from a sci-fi writer, and no one wants to read a book by a real estate agent,” Dale says.
While Pangolin is her first book to address conservation, this passion project has been a long time coming.
In 2012, Dale enrolled in Columbia Climate School’s Earth Institute. She says that, every day for two years, she was immersed in education, and it was a privilege to have
access to the many different lectures.
“I took those classes and started going back to my first love,” Dale says. “If I hadn’t been told I can’t be a zoologist because I can’t do the math, maybe things would be different.”
In 2019, with their son now graduated, and a rising itch to get out of the city, Dale and her husband migrated south to the Outer Banks. Then COVID-19 lockdown hit, and with no place to go and nothing to do, Dale wrote Pangolin
“It’s not an option,” Dale says. “Writing is like a bad habit.”
Her conservation advocacy didn’t end with the start of her book. Dale has also published editorials in the Coastland Times, in response to the removal of the plastic bag ban.
She also spends every second possible, during the warmer seasons, in the ocean. Her latest work, “Gather the Animals,” soon to be published, is about the endangered red wolf species in Alligator River.
“I’d thought, I just did this whole big thing about Nepal, but look what’s happening in my backyard,” Dale says.
Much like the Outer Banks, the idea that everything is connected is lost on people. When more people visit, the locals make money from it, and it then becomes our primary economic pillar, the environment withers away faster with the development.
Dale insists that changing the track of environmental protection relies on less commodification. Reusing what you have, needing less. Less development, fast food stores, hundreds of different clothes. Not utterly depleting the resources of an environment. Already protected or otherwise.
“To me this story is a nice example of a feedback loop,” Dale says. “To illustrate if you take out a species, the rolling consequences may not appear immediately, but you’ll discover them down the line, and sometimes it’s too late to correct.” — Emmy Trivette
Gustavo left nothing on the beach except a lumpy pile of fabric. A towel. A shirt. And a pair of worn, canvas slaps. All of which he stripped in one single, swift motion, then strutted toward the water, where he dove, floated and frolicked for at least 15 minutes — as was his ritual.
There were slight deviations. In colder months, it might take longer to wrestle out of sweats and a hoodie — and his dip might be mere seconds. On summer Sundays, he might extend his swim until the day fully broke, floating on his back, comparing notes between the neon sun rising from the water and the pale moon fading over land.
But he always went into the ocean every morning, if only for a plunge. And he always did it alone. No beachcombers hunting sea glass. No town workers checking trash cans — or stray party animals passed out by the sand fencing. Not even some early riser sipping coffee on a third-floor deck. His moments with the sea were too precious — too personal — to share, even if it meant driving a few miles to find the right access with no cars and zero porchlights.
He knew there were risks, of course. The ocean is a wild place on the calmest of days. Just a little leg cramp could prove fatal. And every year, some poor soul got sucked out to sea and into the afterlife by some sneaky rip current — more so than usual, it seemed. And even if his family weren’t nagging him repeatedly, the signs clearly said as much: Never Swim Alone.
But he was a strong swimmer. And he rarely went much past chest deep. Let the crazies race out to the end of the pier or spearfish the wrecks — that’s where the toothy critters lurked. He was happy to bodysurf in the shorebreak, where he always had his feet planted on the sandbar — at least until the right set came. Then he’d wait for the perfect moment to jump forward, matching the wave’s speed perfectly as he pierced the surface, planking firmly and pointing his arms like a speeding torpedo.
That’s what he was doing this very morning. The waves were maybe waist high, short period — the kind that slap you around and shove you backward like an obnoxious older brother, as opposed to teasing and pulling you seaward like a lover with bad intentions. They were also somewhat weak: no chance of tossing you headfirst into the sand and snapping your neck.
As he walked toward the takeoff zone the water gradually rose, inch-by-inch. Right about waist deep, the waves started to break. The very
first peak that popped up, he leapt into its arms and let it carry him all the way to shore, where it dumped him in a happy, messy heap. He stood up and strode right back out and did it all over again.
It was a blissful rhythm: leap, surf, stand, walk. Leap, surf, stand, walk. Leap surf, stand, walk. As his body worked, his mind wandered. Daily tasks. Family troubles. Each got tossed around in the rushing water, then left behind in the foaming tidal pool.
In the process, he felt so free, he nearly left his body — certainly lost track of his surroundings — becoming one with the ocean as he performed the repetitive motion.
Until one fateful leap. As he pushed off the bar, he felt something grab him. Not a current. Or a jaw. Something more like a scaly claw, which gripped his rear right ankle, before a second circled his upper calf, snatching him backward, and sucking his whole body, head and horrified scream right out to sea — all in one swift, single motion. Leaving nothing behind, except a few gasping bubbles. And a lump of fabric piled up on the beach. — Carlos Blanco
HE FELT SO FREE, HE NEARLY LEFT HIS BODY.
Art by Stephen Brewer
Summer giving you butterflies? It will at Elizabethan Gardens, where Butterfly Releases take flight every Tues. (1pm) and Thurs. (10am & 1pm) through Sept 26. ($25 includes admission; purchase advance tix online.) Every Fri., Little Diggers encourages preschoolers to get their hands dirty — and learn natural lessons. (10am-11am.) And on June 11 & July 9, enjoy some rare peace-of-mind when Wellness in the Gardens blends nature and gardening with meditation and yoga. 12pm. Find details, pricing and tix at www. elizabethangardens.org • Cape Hatteras Lighthouse may be closed, but you can still get in your steps with Bodie Island Lighthouse Climbs. (Just be poised to purchase tix the day of climbing at www.recreation.gov.) Miss the cut? The National Park Service’s Summer Educational Programming will continue all summer long at Wright Bros National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. (Visit the park websites for calendar of events.) Or enjoy an experience the likes of which you’ve never seen — literally! — by checking out Oregon Inlet Fishing Center’s brand-new marina store and restaurant.
• Let Mother Nature be your guide — with some assistance from a helpful human — at Nags Head Woods, where guided hikes and interpretive talks begin at the pavilion each week. If visiting solo, trail maps can be found at the kiosk outside the offices or online at www.nature.org. No matter what, remember water and bug spray, and stay on designated trails. And please carpool whenever possible. (Additional parking is available at the Barnes Street Park.) For details, follow the Nags Head Woods Facebook Page or email nagsheadwoods@tnc.org. • On May 27, be at Dowdy Park by 11am to remember the brave men and women who paid the ultimate price when Town of Nags Head hosts its Annual Memorial Day Ceremony. (Follow the town’s Facebook page for updates.) Then march north to Town of Duck’s Memorial Day Kick-Off Concert, where military bands and patriotic spirit rock the crowd starting at 6:30pm. Find full deets at www.townofduck. com. • Boot camp not your thing? Stretch your mind and body twice a week with Town of Duck’s Yoga on the Green (Every Tues., May 28-Sept. 24) and Dynamic Flow on the Green (Every Wed., May 29-Sept.11.) Both start at 7:30 am, are totally free and ticketless — and can be streamed online. Visit www.townofduck.com for more. • Then shake a leg up to Whalehead, where Corolla’s Lighthouse 5K/1-Mile Race Series runs every Wed. at 8am, May 29-Sept.11. Learn more and sign up at www.obxrunning.com
• Or gallop over to Grandy’s Betsy Dowdy Equine Center for Corolla Wild Horse Fund’s Mustang Mornings. Every Wed., May 29-Aug. 28, 10am–2pm, folks can meet the herd, question the staff, and enjoy a free documentary on Banker ponies. (Suggested donation of $10 per vehicle at the gate.) And any day’s a good day to cruise by Corolla Village’s free-to-thepublic Wild Horse Museum — where 24 informative panels cover everything from the horses’ historic arrival on local shores to the modern challenges they face today. Wrangle
Hatteras is already flipping over the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum’s recent extreme makeover. Photo: NCDNCR
the latest news at www.corollawildhorses.org.
• Take a well-deserved breather every Thurs., from May 30-Sept. 12, when Outer Banks Health’s Namaste at the Beach brings free weekly yoga to Jennette’s Pier at 7:30am. (Except July 4.) Bring your water bottle, mat or towel. Call 252-449-4529 for deets. • From May 30-Aug. 29, Thursdays are your chance to slip back in time, when Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station Historic Site hosts its famous Shipwreck Rescue Reenactment. Meet on the porch promptly at 2pm and hear about dramatic ocean rescues from the early 1800s to modern day, before proceeding out to the drill field and witnessing a live drill of vintage methods — culminating with the rescue of a lucky kid from the audience. And stay tuned for a series of standalone events commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the US LifeSaving Service on the Outer Banks, from Hatteras Island to Corolla. For more information, visit their website or Facebook page. • Dive still deeper into shipwreck history every Mon.- Fri. at the recently made-over North Carolina Maritime Museum on Hatteras — aka the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum — where new state-of-the-art features and interactive elements bring the nautical past to life. And come back any Tues., June 4-Aug. 27, when the Salty Dawgs Lecture Series offers free presentations about our state’s stormy past. 11am. Discover topics and latest tidbits at www.graveyardoftheatlantic.com • Then let our country’s oldest mystery suck you back in time, when the Lost Colony plays Roanoke Island’s Waterside Theatre every Mon.-Sat, May 31-Aug. 24. For more than 80 years, this Tony Award-winning symphonic drama’s been an Outer Banks tradition. Now, recent technological updates and Native players make for an even more gripping take on our nation’s first failed English settlement. Find details on Backstage Tours, Native American Cultural Pre-Shows, and May 30-31’s Dare Nights — where locals enjoy a free show by bringing proper ID and three non-perishable items for local food banks — at www. thelostcolony.org. • You want more classic characters, rootsy songs and killer backdrops? Head to Colington’s Blue Crab Tavern, June 1 & 14, as Lowdown Revival brings sweet bluegrass to their soundside pavilion. Follow their social feeds for updates. • Then head back to Roanoke Island June 1-2 for the Outer Banks’ biggest weekend in family fun: Dare Days! On Sat., enjoy live music, food trucks, arts and crafts, kids’ games, and heaps of local vendors and homegrown ideas — like Downtown Books’ Authorpalooza! where local scribes like Mary Burton, John Railey, Jan Dawson, Adrienne Palma, and Hannah BunnWest will autograph their latest works. 11-6pm. Come Sun., head to Cartwright Park for a gospel concert provided by local churches and musicians, plus nostalgic touches like an oldfashioned lemonade stand. 2-4pm. Learn more at www.manteonc.gov • Then bounce over to Roanoke Island Presbyterian Church, June 2, and help Celebrate the Peace Garden Project with family friendly music and activities that will nourish the mind, body, heart, and ears. 4-6pm. Follow Facebook for updates. • A rainbow of good times awaits in Duck — including live tunes and tasty cuisine — when The Blue Point hosts their 2nd Annual All for Love Pride Fest on Sun., June 2. See their social feeds for a full spectrum of details. • Lyrical locals soundtrack moody skies when the Southern Shores Civic Association brings the Songwriters at Sunset Concert Series to the North Marina Pavilion every first Sun. of the month, including Derek Smith (June 2), Carrie Brockwell (July 7), Bryan Campbell (Aug. 4), and Kevin Watson (Sept. 1). 5:30-8:30pm. Follow Facebook for more. • Fly around in circles — and maybe bump a few elbows — on the first Tues. of every month when Kill Devil Derby Brigade’s Roller Derby Open Recruitment Nights teach ladies 18+ plus the basics of this badass sport. 6-8pm. Limited loaner gear available, so please bring: roller skates, knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads, helmet, mouth guard, and water bottle. Still got questions? Find them on Facebook or Instagram, or email TheKillDevilDerbyBrigade@gmail.com • Nags Head’s Dowdy Park is keeping families entertained all summer long with weekly activities, like Tues.’ Yoga on the Lawn (June 4-Oct. 1, 7:30-8:30am); Wed.’s Summer Concert Series (June 19-Aug. 21, 6:30-8pm); Thurs.’ Farmers Markets (June 13-Aug. 15, 9am-1pm); and Fitness Fridays (7:30-8:15am; June 21-Aug. 21). Plus, there’s Story Tellers on July 2 & Aug. 6 (4:30-7pm) and Family Fun
Events
Nights (July 6 & Aug. 20). And Movies at the Park will hit the big screen, June 7 & Sept. 6 at 8pm. All events are weather-dependent and subject to change. Check the Dowdy Park Facebook page for the latest details. • Stretch out your body and mind on the Whalehead lawn when Corolla’s Yoga in the Park returns every Thurs., June 6-Sept. 5. 7:30-8:30am. Please bring a yoga mat, beach towel or tapestry, plenty of water, and sun protection. And watch the CurrituckOBXEvents Facebook page for possible cancellations due to weather. • Then watch the visual and performing arts scene hoot and holler Down South, June 6-7, at the 12th Annual Rock The Cape. It starts Thurs. afternoon at Kitty Hawk Kites’ Waves Village Watersports Resort, where a free concert will take attendees on a musical genre tour with a Hatteras musician family jam, a unique blend of traditional and contemporary Celtic music by Nova Scotian duo Cassie and Maggie, and pop, funk and soul tunes by Night Routine. Then, on Fri., local galleries throw open their doors for a day of DIY tours called Arts on the Island. Get the full sched at www.darearts.org • Hang with Hatteras Island’s OG locals all summer long at the Frisco Native American Museum. Besides the year-round exhibits depicting indigenous life, weekly events include Tuesday Scavenger Hunts — with prizes for school-age children — while Wed. and Thurs. host special speakers. And every Fri. at 2pm, it’s Summer Fun Classes, where topics include Snakes, and Spiders, and Bugs....OH MY (June 7, July 5 & Aug. 2); The Earth’s Heartbeat/Drumming (June 14, July 12, Aug. 9), Making Animals in Clay (June 21, July 26, Aug. 16 & Aug. 30), and Feather Painting with Amber (June 28, July 18 & Aug. 23). $10. Find a calendar and updates at www.nativeamericanmuseum.org • Wanna powwow with your fellow man? Do some late shopping? Listen to live tunes? Peep new art? Or just pop a cold beer and poke about? Do it all at Downtown Manteo’s First Friday, June 7, where streets teem with smiling faces — plus strategically located jams by The
Storyweavers in The Courtyard, Windgrass at Old Tom Street, and Havana Club at Magnolia Pavilion. Be sure to pop inside Dare Arts from 6-8pm to find opening receptions for two fresh exhibits: Embodiment, featuring eye-popping mixed media by Pete Lyon; and Outside Straight Lines: A Visual Arts Exhibition Featuring Queer Artists. Both will stay on display ’til June 29. (More at www.darearts.org.) And step next door to Downtown Books to meet award-winning author Heather Frese as she signs copies of Saddest Girl on the Beach. More at www.duckscottage.com. • Everyone knows Manteo’s Downtown Market fills George Washington Creef Park with good greens, warm baked goods, and colorful creations every Sat. morning, June 8-Sept. 14, 9am-1pm. (More at www.manteonc.gov.) Now you can also freshen up Fido — and fund a great cause — as OBX SPCA Dogwashers stand ready to give every species of mongrel a spa-like experience for a modest donation. (PS: keep tabs on the shelter’s social media feed for more washing events and ways to help out.) • Looking to sniff out more produce and products with a Northeastern NC pedigree? Head to Wanchese any Sat. am for Secotan Market’s top-notch selection of farm-raised veggies and pasture-raised meat & eggs — plus pecans, mushroom products, pastries, crafts, and more. 8am-12pm; now through Sept. Fresh details at www.secotanmarket.com • Or if it’s music fests that set your tail wagging, hop the county fence and head to Ocracoke for June 7-9’s Ocrafolk Festival, where storytellers, artisans, and local characters deliver one incredible weekend of performances — and lots of live music by the likes of Lipbone Redding, Molasses Creek, Mahalo Jazz, and many more. For a complete schedule, go to www. ocracokealive.org • Then scurry back to Pea Island for June 8’s Crabbing Rodeo, where North Pond is open to fishing and crabbing for just one morning from 9am-12pm. (All fed, state and local regulations apply.) And both Alligator River & Pea Island National
Wildlife Refuges have lots of ways to learn about more local critters every Tues.-Fri., June 4-Aug.9, including Turtle Talks, Bird Walks, Canoe Tours, Tram Tours, Red Wolf Howlings, and Bear Necessities encounters. Find a full calendar — plus pricing and reservation details where applicable — at www.fws.gov, or call 252-2169464. • Then join your fellow party animals in Jack Brown’s backyard, where wild acts include country rockers from Eastern NC (The Eric Dunlow Band; June 8) and multi-piece mountain born funk masters (Dr. Bacon; June 28.) 7-10pm. Or tune out the crowds — and dance to your own soundtrack — when Silent Disco boogies down, June 7 & Aug. 23; 7-12pm. Follow their social media accounts for pricing and updates. • On June 9, join the Outer Banks Community Foundation at the Tap Shack for a night of philanthropy and frighteningly good music, as Rees Shad & The Conversations blend Americana with gothic storytelling to raise funds for the Kitty Hawk Chapter of the Philanthropic Education Organization, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering women through scholarships, grants and loans for further schooling. 6:30pm. More at www.obcf.org • The empowering times continue at Hi-Vibe Holistics, June 11, when the Dare Arts Pride Project Open Mic puts on electrifying performances by LGBQT+ entertainers. Open to adults 18+. Details at www.darearts.org • Family fun’s the star at Town of Duck’s Movies on the Green, where favorite blockbusters return to the big screen, like: Super Mario Bros (June 11), Toy Story (July 9), Shrek (July 23), and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Aug. 13). Plus, the daytime fun continues all summer long at the Duck Amphitheatre, including: the OBXtreme Magic Show (June 12 & 19, July 11 & 24, Aug. 7 & 14, at 9:30 & 11am, and Aug. 21 & 28 at 9am); Variety Shows
(June 25, July 16, July 30, & Aug. 20); Story Tellers (June 18, July 2, & Aug. 6); and Drumming Circles (July 3 & Aug. 13) at 10am. Enjoy some Family Music Time at the Meeting Hall (June 27, July 25 & Aug. 15 at 9:30 am) — or Meet a Corolla Wild Horse on the Town Green (July 9 & 23 at 10am). Plus, Story Time and Chalk Art colors Town Hall every Thurs. at 9:30am, July 13-Aug. 29. (July 4 excluded.) Nature Out Loud Children’s Concert in the Amphitheater, June 26 & July 17 at 10am. Thurs.’ Concerts on the Green floods the streets with live tunes from June 13-Sept. 19 (excluding July 4th) at 6:30pm. And best of all, it’s all non-ticketed and free of charge. Find the full scoop at www.townofduck.com. • Local piers across town waive entry fees for kiddie anglers when the Fritz Boyden Memorial Youth Fishing Tournament returns June 12. Competitors in two divisions — ages 4-9 and 10-16 — spend the morning battling to catch the biggest fish in a wide range of species before coming together at Jennette’s Pier for a free picnic lunch and awards banquet with plenty of door prizes and tons of fun. More at www.nagsheadsurffishingclub.org
• Whalehead’s your honey hole for epic afternoon antics every Wed., June 12-Sept. 11. First, Corolla Cornhole Tournaments let 16 teams compete in a shot for weekly prizes — and a chance at a free summer vacation come the end of the season — from 3-6pm. $20 per team. (Register in advance at www.visitcurrituck.com.) Meanwhile, Cork & Craft fills the grounds with a creative combo of fresh local art, food trucks and fermented beverages — such as Sanctuary Vineyards’ award-winning wines. Folks can sip, savor and shop into the sunset, 3-7pm, weather permitting. Find a list of vendors at www. visitcurrituck.com.
• Come June 12, spuds reign supreme at Island Farm’s Tater Day, where
Pipsqueaks rule local piers for June 12’s Fritz Boyden Youth Fishing Tournament. Photo: Daryl Law
kids learn the quirky history of a quintessential staple crop — the Irish Potato — then run to the cookhouse to enjoy kettle-fried potato chips made from crops grown on site. 9am3pm. $10 for ages four+. For details visit www.obcinc.org • And the whole family learns to Eat The Rainbow when Outer Banks Health and the Center for Healthy Living combine forces to offer a simplified approach to good nutrition at Dowdy Park’s Farmers Market. Every Thurs., June 13-Aug. 15, from 9:30am-1pm. (July 4 excluded.) More at www. outerbankshealth.org • Burn some extra calories — while beating feet down the shoreline — when Nags Head’s Outer Banks Sunrise 5K/1-Mile Beach Race Series rotates between Jennette’s Pier (June 13, July 11, Aug. 8) and the Epstein Beach Access (June 27, July 25 & Aug. 22). 8am start. Dash over to www.obxrunning.com for deets. • Or fixate on a fascinating display of fluttering fabric — and help celebrate 50 years of Kitty Hawk Kites — when the 42nd Annual Rogallo Kite Festival flies over Jockey’s Ridge, June 14-15. Plus, free walk-up stunt kite lessons and kite coloring for kids of all ages. 10am-4pm. Get the latest at www.kittyhawk.com. • Future drama queens and kings can learn valuable trade skills at Theatre of Dare Summer Camps, which focus on everything from building sets to delivering lines. Weekly themes include: Mask Making Mastery (June 17-21); Youth Apprentice Camp #1 (June 24-28); Prop Making & Set Design (July 8-12); Musical Theater Mania (July 15-19); Special FX Stage Makeup (July 29-Aug. 2); and Youth Apprentice Camp #2 (Aug. 5-9). More at www.theatreofdareobx.com. • From June 17-23, Elizabethan Gardens is a hivemind of flying bugs and important lessons when Pollinator Week buzzes with daily activities and guest speakers — all to spread the importance of these flying fertilizers. Land at www.elizabethangardens.org for the latest. • Historic Corolla Park is jam-packed with paintings and prints, photography and pottery, jewelry and woodworks — plus everything from food trucks to face painting to silent auction opportunities — when the Under the Oaks Art Festival returns, June 18-19, 10am-5pm. More at www.visitcurrituck.com.
• And KDH is awash in talented vendors and tasty vittles every Tues., June 18-Aug. 13, when First Flight Farmers’ Market floods Aviation Park with savory treats and fresh produce, food trucks and music, plus woodworking, candles, bath and body items, and more. Follow ’em on Facebook for updates. • Meanwhile, in Nags Head, The Soundside Market Summer Series covers the Soundside Event Site with homecooked goods, killer crafts, kids’ games and activities, and plain-old good times, every single Wed. from June 19-Aug. 14. 9am1pm. (If it rains on Wed., come back on Fri.) See their Facebook page for latest news. • Be at Roanoke Island’s Pea Island Cookhouse for an evening of joyous community spirit and solemn remembrance when the Annual Juneteenth Celebration returns, June 19. Starts at 5:30pm with a moving performance by Manteo native and Metropolitan Opera tenor, Tshombe Selby, and continues with reflections on the thousands of enslaved people who fled to our state’s first Freedmen’s Colony during the Civil War. Learn more at
Roanoke Island celebrates Juneteenth with joy, reflection and Tshombe Selby on June 19. Photo: Biff Jennings
www.bryanculturalseries.org. • And Avon’s 2024 Beach Klub Summer Concert Series promises a near weekly supply of musical doppelgangers most Thurs. evenings, including the Dave Matthews Tribute Band (June 20); Bring Out Yer Dead – Grateful Dead Tribute (June 27); Landslide – Fleetwood Mac Tribute (July 11); Southern Accents –Tom Petty Tribute (July 25); Tuesday’s Gone – Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute (Aug. 1); and On the Border – Eagles Tribute (Aug. 8). $25 in advance; $30 day of. Or save $40 by buying a season pass for $125. And on Aug. 15, Raygun Ruby rocks the house to raise funds for Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue. $15. Deets and tix at www.koruvillage.com • Ready to run yourself ragged? Start at the 12th Annual Village of Nags Head 5k/1 Mile Road Race Series — which dashes behind MP14’s Outer Banks Mall, June 20, July 18 & Aug. 15 — before bolting to Avon for the Run Hatteras 5k Race Series, which runs around Kinnakeet Shores every Fri. morning, June 21-Aug. 9. Both start at 8am; show up at 7am to register on site. (More at www.obxrunning.com.) • Meanwhile, the Outer Banks Running Club’s Annual Rundown 5K does everything backwards at KDH’s Aviation Park on June 21. First, they start the race at 7pm; second, they run the clock down, counting back from one hour. At 8pm, the race is over. Confused? So are we. Best go to www.outerbanksrunningclub.com learn to more about this bizarro event. • Help immortalize a community leader — and support local families in need — when June 22’s 1st Annual Jim Tobin Memorial Dolphin Tournament gathers local anglers to cast lines, and share good times, in support of three great causes: Outer Banks Waves of Grace, Interfaith Community Outreach, and the Outer Banks Relief Foundation. Find details and updates on Facebook. • From June 24 to July 23, nature-based games and activities nourish young minds at Elizabethan Garden’s Camp Discovery, where every week features a different, age-appropriate theme, such as: Garden Explorers (ages 5-6; June 24-27); Wings, Scales & Tails (ages 7-8, July 8-11); Water, Water Everywhere (ages 9-10; July 15-18); Trail Blazers Camp (ages 11-12, July 22-July 25). Plus, there are three days of Pre-K Single Half-Day Camps for ages 4-5, July 1-3. But spots go fast, so register now at www. elizabethangardens.org. • Plasma and platelets keep people alive when Jennette’s Pier hosts two American Red Cross Blood Drives, June 26 & Aug. 21. 10am-3pm. Visit www. redcrossblood.org to schedule a time. • Nothing beats beating cancer. That’s why Outer Banks Health and Dare Arts are hosting a Cancer Survivors Month Celebration at the hospital on June 26. From 3-4pm, survivors, their families and caregivers can take part in a special, hands-on arts program. For more information and event details, please call 252564-9163. • Feeling blessed? On June 30, join Grateful Friends for a family-friendly Voices of Summer Benefit Concert at 4pm at Grace Lutheran Church, where all generous donations go directly to Interfaith Community Outreach. Find updates on Facebook • Do pilsners put you in a patriotic mood? Bolt to Outer Banks Brewing Station’s Independence Beer Mile, June 30, where racers chug 10oz. drafts between 1/4-mile dashes — all while sporting star-spangled attire. 10am check-in and registration; 11am start. More at www.obxrunning.com • Reuniting never felt better! On June 30, Vusic OBX Concert Series brings Michael Franti & Spearhead back to Festival Park — along with Niko Moon & Bombargo — for the Togetherness Tour 2024. 5:30pm. See www. VusicOBX.com for tix and deets. • And talk about a match made in heaven: this year, the Outer Banks Brewing Station is the official sponsor for Vusic OBX After Parties, where tunes will keep flowing all night long after Festival Park is cleared out. Find out which shows get tapped at www.VusicOBX.com • Apparently, the Ocracoke Independence Day Celebration can’t wait to celebrate America’s birthday, as the fireworks will fly on July 2, before raging on for two more days of festivities, including a sculpture contest and a patriotic parade. More at www.visitocracokenc.com. • Back in town, you can start July 4 with The Friends of Jockey’s Ridge, Outer Banks Sporting Events and dozens of fitness buffs, as the Annual Killer Dunes Race raises funds by running, trudging and sweating over 2 miles of the East Coast’s largest natural sand dune system. 8am. For complete race details,
visit www.obxse.com.
• Or dash over to KDH Town Hall where the Freedom 5K/1Mile & Fun Run kicks off July 4 with an 8am road race — and an after party of family-friendly fun and refreshments. More at www.obxrunning.com. • Rather watch other folks do laps? March north to the Town of Duck 4th of July Parade & Community Celebration, where community floats and fixtures walk a loop down Scarborough Lane and back up Christopher Drive, before everyone gathers at the Town Green for a live concert and award ceremony. Find deets and a parade route at www.townofduck.com
See how 1850s Roanoke Islanders “waved that flag” when Independence Day at Island Farm marks our nation’s formation with musket fire, traditional games, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence 9am-3pm. $10. Children 3 and under admitted for free. More at www. obcinc.org. • Then head straight to Downtown Manteo’s July 4 Celebration, where 3pm launches a street party full of decorated bikes, apple pie, food trucks, and friendly faces — and lights up after dark with some serious fireworks. Get illuminated at www.manteonc.gov. • Further north, Historic Corolla Park’s Independence Day Celebration fills the grounds with family activities, delicious grub, live music, and more from 5-9pm — then shoots off the pyrotechnics shortly after. Full details at www.visitcurrituck.com.
• And, when in doubt, you can always find booming skies after dark on the beach near one of three piers: Avalon Pier, Nags Head Pier, or Avon Pier. Just be sure to post up early if you want to find parking. (And be careful crossing the road, or you’ll end up a red streak.)
• On July 5, Downtown Manteo blows up with later shopping and live music when First Friday returns. Stroll around to hear the Rea Family Band in The Courtyard and Bar Cats Duo at Old Tom’s. Then head to Dare Arts’ 6pm reception for two new exhibits: paintings by Tammy Goodrich, and Living Proof, a group
show featuring artists who have been affected by cancer. Both shows hang through July 27. For more, check out www.livingproofobx.com and www.darearts.org. • Meanwhile, Downtown Books is hosting a July 5 Garden Party with New York Times best-seller Kristy Woodson-Harvey — author of A Happier Life — at the Roanoke Island Inn at 2pm. After, head to the store for a First Friday Book Signing from 6-8pm. Visit www. duckscottage.com for the latest word. • Twangy meets tangy when July 6’s Smokin’ Grass Bluegrass & BBQ Festival fills Festival Park with backyard vittles and banging musical performances by Songs From the Road Band, Fireside Collective, Della Mae, and the Li’l Smokies. Gates open at 2pm. More at www.smokingrassfestival.com. • Then the high season gets a holiday makeover when Theatre of Dare’s Summer Stock presents Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some), where three actors perform yuletide tales and traditions from around the world, from ancient times to topical pop-culture, and every carol ever sung. July 10, 17, 24 & 31 at 7:30pm. Tix and deets at www.theatreofdareobx.com
• Come July 12 & 13, the world’s most talented one-man jam band, Keller Williams, tacks on top players for two shows at the Tap Shack. On Sat., Keller & the Keels rolls out a smokin’ bluegrass set; on Sun., local legends Dan Martier and Ed Tupper supply the funky backbeat and bottom end of OBX Trio. Tix are probably scarce, but take an evening stroll around 6:30pm, and you’ll end up dancing in the streets. More at www.kellerwilliams.net. • Or bounce into the Outer Banks Brewing Station, July 12, where Thurston Howell offers up a roughly 2-hour tour of Yacht Rock favorites; and come July 16, Ballyhoo!, Bumpin Uglies and Joe Samba serve up a triple shot of rockin’ reggae. Shows start around 10pm. Tix and deets at www. obbrewing.com.
• “Get the Led out” meets “local as it gets,” July 13, when Vusic OBX brings
ZOSO: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience to Festival Park and the Outer Banks’ own Funkamongus gets first shot at lighting up the stage. More at www.vusicobx.com. • Summer flat spells got you down? You can always find some stoke at the Museum of the Albemarle’s new, year-long exhibit — Where the Waves Break: Surfing in Northeastern North Carolina — which promises a firing selection of images, artifacts, memorabilia, and more, from July 13 through June 2025. Pull into www.museumofthealbemarle.com for the latest. • Or you can kiss Poseidon’s butt by joining Kitty Hawk Kites and Outer Banks Surfrider for a Beach Clean-up on July 14 Just drop by Ocean Bay Blvd. aka the KDH Bath House — for some free gloves and cleanup bags, then go de-clutter your favorite accesses. More at www.surfrider.org. • Then share your love of local lineups and home-brewed craft beers at Swellsa’ Brewing’s 3rd Anniversary Party, July 14, where Zack Mexico and the Yacht Dogs will rock the backyard — and the homegrown crowds will keep rollin’ in. Follow their social feeds for updates. • Might as well keep the rager going! On July 15, celebrate three-plus decades of the finest cuisine when Blue Point’s 35th Anniversary Party serves up a TBD medley of culinary and musical delights. Find tasty details on Facebook. • Everyone’s a flying pioneer when Kitty Hawk Kites’ 46th Annual Wright Kite Fest returns to Wright Bros. Memorial, July 1920. From 9am-5pm, families enjoy free stunt and power kite flying lessons, while kiddos take over a kite-making station. Plus, the sky swims with floating, 30-to-100-foot, fabric
depictions of sea creatures, scuba divers, and the odd musical instrument. Park charges $10 for ages 16+, but participation in the festival is totally free. More at www.kittyhawk.com. • The 90s are back at Festival Park, July 20, when Vusic OBX presents the OBX Is For Lovers Festival 2024, starring Motion City Soundtrack, Hawthorne Heights, Less Than Jake, Thursday, Armor For Sleep, and This Wild Life. 2pm. Tix and deets at www. vusicobx.com • The ocean’s healing powers work wonders for kids on the spectrum when Jennette’s Pier hosts Surfing for Autism on July 20. (More at www.surfingforautism.com.) Then watch the shorebreak launch stunt pilots into the stratosphere when the OBX Skim Jam lifts off July 26-27. Heats and haps at www.skim-usa.com. • And sailing skills take center stage in Downtown Manteo, July 27, when the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum’s One-Design Regatta sends Optimist, 420, Sunfish, and Topaz sailboats on a race around the harbor — while spectators cheer their favorite skippers. 8am-4pm. More at www.manteonc.gov. • Come 6pm, Festival Park will be a sea of reggae-inspired grooves and big, cheesy grins, July 27, as Vusic OBX presents Iration & Pepper’s Daytrippin’ in Paradise Summer Tour. Gates open at 5pm. Tix and deets at www.vusicobx.com. • And the Town of Duck Amphitheatre stays on its toes, July 31, when they host two shows by the Small Plates Choreography Festival dance troupe at 10am & 2pm. More at www.townofduck.com. • Come Aug. 1, it’s the return of summer’s sweetest family get-together, Kitty Hawk Kites’ 18th Annual Watermelon Festival at Jockeys
Festival Park gets a blast of Pepper on July 27.
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Ridge Crossing. From 10am-4pm, feast upon a full range of melon-themed events and activities, from seed spitting contests to tiki tosses, all to fatten the coffers of Outer Banks Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Coalition. Prices vary per event. Slice into www.kittyhawk. com for a slab of info. • Go celebrate the summer’s favorite “jam”…and pie…and preserves…and salsa…when Aug. 2-3’s Ocracoke Fig Festival puts out creative culinary ideas, plus exhibits, demonstrations, porch talks, music, and dancing. Wanna piece of the action? Enter the Fig Cake Bake-Off, where a panel of judges — often James Beard award winners — choose the champ, and everyone gets to chew free samples. More at www. visitocracokenc.com. • Meanwhile, in Downtown Manteo, Aug. 2’s First Friday keeps serving up sweet ways to have fun, including live tunes, later shopping, and the opening reception for two fresh Dare Arts exhibits: ceramics by Pam Lassiter; and Surface and Undercurrents, which explores environmental themes inspired by Iceland and North Carolina, featuring work by Lisa LeMair, Christina Weisner, Christopher Proto, Emily Holmes, Wendy Allen, Scott Solter, and Ashley Paskov. 6-8pm. Both shows hang through Aug. 31. See www.darearts.org for a sample. • Outer Banks Brewing Station is toasting the summer’s hottest month by bookending Aug. with two sizzling acts: the blazing psychedelic sounds of Zack Mexico (Aug. 3) and the stanky sax-driving grooves of Funkamongus (Aug. 31). More at www.obbrewing. com • Need to cool off? Head to Currituck on Aug. 4, when the H2OBX Dash & Splash sends racers on a 2-mile course through the park’s Lazy River and other attractions. 8am sign-up at www.obxrunning.com. • Or bask in witty wordplay when Theatre of Dare’s Summerstock presents The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged), where 37 legendary plays get performed in 97 laugh-filled minutes. August 7, 14, 21, and 28 at 7:30pm. More at www.theatreofdareobx.com. • Peg-legs and eyepatches reign supreme, Aug. 7-8, when Kitty Hawk Kite’s Outer Banks Pirate Festival staggers back to Jockey’s Ridge Crossing, where the good times include pictures with mermaids and buccaneering lessons at the world-famous Scallywag School. Find times and pricing at www.kittyhawk.com. • Jump in a mosh pit of reggae-infused rock jams, Aug. 9, when Vusic OBX brings the 311 Unity Tour to Festival Park, plus AWOLNATION and Neon Trees. 6pm. (Deets and tix at www.vusicobx.com). Then race back to the Outer Banks Brewing Station by 11pm, as the Vusic OBX After Party With Andy Frasco & the UN rages on. (Learn more at www.obbrewing.com.)
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• Looking for a frenzy of feel-good fishing events? From Aug. 9-11, all-female teams throw down to fight cancer from Aug. 9-11, when the 35th Alice Kelly Memorial Ladies Only Billfish Tournament raises funds for the Interfaith Community Outreach. From Aug. 1316, the 41st Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament baits the region’s best captains with big foam checks. And on Aug. 17, the 7th Annual Sheep Dog Veterans Challenge drops lines to salute local military and first responders. Find registration details, a daily schedule, and a grip of super-fun nightly shindigs at www.pcbgt.com. • Piscine pipsqueaks reign supreme on Aug. 10, when the 10th Annual Town of Manteo Kids Fishing Tournament encourages anglers aged 4-17 to grab their poles and rule their favorite fishing holes. 8-11am. More at www.manteonc.gov.
• On Aug. 12, the Hatteras locals won’t bite — but they might thrash a
bit — when Shake Hatteras Pi turns a Salvo backyard into summer’s best party. The 3.14th installment of this DIY music fest stars local musical whizkids Carolina Sweaters, Anchor Blazer, Porcelain Parrot, and Zulitas — featuring members of The Tills and Yacht Dogs — with more regional names TBA. $20 suggested donation on site. A portion of proceeds benefits Chicamacomico Banks Water Rescue. Stay tuned to social media for updates. • Old-school plane pioneers get modern day props on Aug. 19, when Dare County Regional Airport and First Flight Society celebrate National Aviation Day by honoring Orville & Katharine Wright with a range of events and cool aircraft. 10am-3pm. (Full itinerary at www.nationalaviationday.org.) And Wright Bros. Memorial celebrates aerial freedom by waiving their entry fee all day long. More at www.nps. gov • Sweet classical musical soars free of charge when the Don & Catherine Bryan Cultural Series brings the 10th Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Series to Southern Shores’ All Saints Episcopal Church (Aug. 20), Nags Head’s St. Andrew’s (Aug. 21), Cape Hatteras Secondary School (Aug. 22), and Manteo’s Dare Arts (Aug. 23). All shows at 7pm. Tune into www. bryanculturalseries.org for the full score. • And top surfing pros perform mad acrobatics, when the Wave Riding Vehicles OBX Pro Presented by Pacifico returns to Jennette’s Pier, Aug. 28-Sept. 1. Look for rockin’ heats on the beach by day and world-class parties at local clubs each night. Learn more at www. wrvobxpro.com. • But will they play “Paddle Out!”? There’s only one way to find out: be at Festival Park, Aug. 29, when Vusic OBX hosts the Sublime with Rome Farewell Tour 2024. Previous years have seen sold out shows, so snag your tix now, or you’ll be “Waiting for My Ruca” for the rest of your life. More at www.vusicobx.com. • Wanna hook up a marlin — while hooking up local families much needed medical care? Support the 3rd Annual Community Clinic of Dare Billfish Tournament! The fun starts Aug. 31 with a friendly Captains Dinner, before anglers tangle for big prizes on Sept. 1. (Learn more at www.dareclinic.org.) Do your “great whites” need some work — but your wallet can’t afford the bite? The Community Care Dental Clinic now “provides dental treatment on a sliding-fee scale based on household income.” (To confirm eligibility and register, call 252261-3041, ext. 202.) And if you just need help filling the pantry, come check out one of the Food Bank of the Albemarle’s Free Food Distribution Events the 1st and 3rd Mon. of every month from 2:30-3:30pm. Tasty deets at www.dareclinic.org. On Sept. 1, Jolly Roger’s End of Summer Bash kicks the high season to the curb with a full day of kickass activities, from belting out karaoke to boogying down to Silent Disco and DJs — plus live tunes by Night Routine. Bust on over to www.jollyrogerobx.com for more. • Chompin’ at the bit to score some cool local art? Sept. 1’s Labor Day Soundside Market features 50+ vendors, plus kids’ games, food trucks, and more to keep folks smiling. 9am-1pm at Soundside Event Site. More at www. outerbanks.org • And the crafty good times continue, Sept. 4 & 5, when The OBX Arts & Craft Festival returns to Kitty Hawk’s Hilton Garden Inn. From 10am-5pm, two dozen top local creators sell their wares — from paintings to photography to jewelry to fiber arts — to support three favorite charities: N.E.S.T., Beach Food Pantry and Coastal Humane Society. Find updates on Facebook.
Deep thoughts and environmental themes flood Downtown Manteo, Aug. 2-31, when Dare Arts presents “Surface and Undercurrents” — a group show featuring work by Lisa LeMair and six more NC artists.
