More About The Festival

This past weekend was simply packed with good things. The school gym was overflowing (with people & tasty dishes) for Friday night's pot luck dinner which began at 6:00 pm. From 7:30 to 9:00 pm we auctioned off art work, hand crafts, island memorabilia, dinners, lodging, antiques, and more. All proceeds went to help fund the festival.

Nationally known storyteller, Bil Lepp, entertained the crowd with one of his famous tall tales.

Saturday morning began overcast with a slight drizzle, but the skies soon cleared. The rest of the weekend was near perfect with low temperatures and low humidity. Artisan booths filled with pottery, paintings, woodwork, stained glass, carvings, needlework, photography, and much more lined School Road and Howard Street.

Musicians and storytellers performed on two stages, one on Howard Street and the other on School Road. There was jazz, blues, rock, bluegrass, and folk...and even a funky "British Invasion" band. Deepwater Theater hosted children's activities and Clyde Jones created one of his distinctive chainsaw sculptures.

At the festival information booth you could purchase CDs, t-shirts, and books. Some performers sold out long before the festival was over.

I almost forgot! -- The Green Grass Cloggers entertained folks with fancy footwork...and everyone had a chance to learn the Ocracoke square dance as well as a contra dance or two.

Sunday activities included the popular gospel sing in the morning, and more music, storytelling, food, and crafts in the afternoon.

One of the year's highlights for me is Sunday night when Lou Ann and I invite the musicians to gather on my back porch to wind down with pizza, beer, wine, and an informal jam session. This year about 35 folks showed up with fiddles, guitars, mandolins, and other instruments -- keyboard, ukulele, dobrow, flute, penny whistle, and squeeze box, to name a few. Lachlan brought out his harmonica, pulled a chair up to the musicians' circle and blew some notes along with the best of them. He said he liked being a part of the band. When it was time for bed he waved to everyone and said, "I'll see you all at Deep Water Theater the next time we play!"

I hope to have a few pictures in a couple of days. In the meanwhile, if you were here for the festival and want to add anything, please leave a comment.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is "Remembering Growing up on Ocracoke" by Lawton Howard. You can read it here.