Happy Holidays from us all at Soundside Records!

Everyone on Ocracoke is hanging wreaths and twinkling lights and getting into the yuletide spirit. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the village – even the lighthouse is sporting some holiday finery.

Lots of festive and fun events happen this time of year (see last week’s post for a full listing), but we’d like to give you an extra reminder about the annual Ocrafolk Christmas Concert on December 11th at 7pm at the Ocracoke Community Center. In years past, Deepwater Theater has hosted the concert and charged admission as a fundraiser for OPS. But this year it will be a free event for the whole community – and visitors, too!

If you’re on the island, come on out and enjoy seasonal entertainment provided by some of your favorite Soundside Records artists and other local talent: The MadriGals, Jamie Tunnell, Coyote, Molasses Creek, Sundae Horn, Rob Temple, Caroline Temple, Molly Lovejoy, Katie O’Neal, Ivey and Laura Belch, Baby Dee and Free Moustache, Kati Wharton, Noah Paley, April Trueblood, Cynthia Mitchell, Roger Garrish, & more!!

And in keeping with the spirit of giving, the Ocrafolk Christmas Concert organizers are offering space inside for some of our island’s non-profits to raise a little money selling refreshments.


Cindy Fiore with Christmas wreathes

Well, we promised you a review of Philip Howard’s book…

...and here it is, just in time to influence your Christmas shopping!

Since his early childhood, Philip Howard has been captivated by the stories told to him by Ocracoke friends and relatives. As a result, he has become quite an authority on the island’s history as anyone can tell you who has visited his shop, The Village Craftsmen, and chatted with him. Fifteen years ago it occurred to Philip that Ocracoke’s
trove of oral history was in danger of extinction so he began to collect stories in earnest and to write them down.

As his story-telling reputation grew, Philip became a regular feature of the Ocrafolk Opry, a summer variety show at the Deepwater Theatre where he has entertained audiences for the past several years. In 2000, he began publishing some of his tales online in his Village Craftsmen newsletter. Three years ago, he began conducting evening “ghost walks” through the village. The 90-minute walks quickly gained popularity and participants began to pressure Philip to publish the stories so they could take them home.

Last winter he began writing and the result is finally here. His book is called
Digging Up Uncle Evans: History, Ghost Tales & Stories from Ocracoke Island, and it’s available right here at Soundside Records. While the main focus of the book is ghost stories, there is a wealth of Ocracoke history and geography, as well as a scattering of interesting photographs.

The ghostly tone is set in the first chapter, “A Perplexing Dream,” which presents a mystery that subtly haunts the reader until it is resolved in the final chapter, “Digging Up Uncle Evans.”

Digging Up Uncle Evans is the perfect holiday gift for anyone who loves Ocracoke.

Speaking of perfect holiday gifts…


Ocracoke Preservation Museum is all decked out

…did we mention Soundside Records?

2008 was a great year for Soundside Records, seeing the release of three new CDs for our catalog.

The Ocrafolk Sampler IV joined the lineup this spring, and proved to be another great compilation of local and regional musicians. Perennial Ocrafolk artists Molasses Creek open the CD with “Stuff that Works” and it sets the tone for the rest of the CD – “music that works” its magic on the listener. New to the Sampler series are Katy Mitchell, Skye Zentz, Michael Stanwood, Phil Kelly, Ruth Wyand and The Barnraisers – all of whom performed in the 2008 Ocrafolk Festival.

Brothers From Another Time Fiddler Dave Tweedie and Michael Stanwood
Born of years of musical friendship, this album brings together these two musicians in a wonderful tapestry of song and tunes form the mountains of Colorado to the sandy shores of Ocracoke Island, NC. This is the album that will teach you the magic of the words “Ee Go Di Wa” and get you swaying to Fiddler Dave’s beautiful waltzes.

Live From Deepwater Theater Noah Paley, Lou Castro and Marcy Brenner
Hatteras Islander Noah Paley teamed up with the Ocracoke duo Coyote to offer a night of “Songs and the Stories Behind the Songs” and the result is this CD recorded during the 2007 Friday night shows at Deepwater Theater.

For Christmas delivery please place orders by December 15th!

With every passing year, more visitors to the Outer Banks of North Carolina take home a piece of the Ocrafolk magic through our performers’ many CDs. In our catalog you may browse performers’ recordings -- sampling as you go, or search song titles and special guest appearances on other albums. We have also identified those albums by Ocracoke residents and those produced at Gary Mitchell’s Soundside Studios. Some albums even have lyrics for those who wish to sing along!


Even the ponies are celebrating

Members of Molasses Creek play at the Harker's Island Decoy Festival

This last weekend Guitar Gary, Fiddler Dave, Lou Castro and Gerald Hampton convened in Harker's Island, NC for the annual Waterfowl Weekend. Several other performers were on hand for the celebration including Bland Simpson, the Lost Girls, Connie Mason, and a bunch of Fish House Liars (Rodney Kemp and friends). The weather was a little chilly, but still sunny enough to stand outside and eat scallop fritters and apple puppies while a group of local boatmakers created a skiff right in front of the museum. The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum is a wonderful place to visit any time of year with plenty of exhibits on hunting, carving, and Down East Culture. Find out more on their website at www.coresound.com.


Ocracoke Methodist Church

December Dining and Shopping Guide

Many Ocracoke shops and restaurants are closed for the season, but the ones that are open would sure appreciate your business! If you’re on the island, here are your dining options:

Ocracoke Pizza Company Call if you see the Open sign lit up!

Howard’s Pub Open 11am – 10pm, Fridays and Saturdays until midnight. The Pub will close for the season on January 4th.

Thai Moon Carryout Open Thursday – Sunday, 11am ¬– 8pm, until December 30th. Closed Christmas Day.

Creekside Café Open through mid-December from 10am – until 7pm.

Ocracoke Station Deli (At the Texaco station) Open year round.

Jason’s Restaurant Currently closed. Will re-open December 30th serving lunch from 11:30–2:30 and dinner from 5 – 8pm.

Please note that other shops may be open – if you don’t see your favorite one on the list, please give them a call.

Deepwater Pottery and Books to Be Red Open daily 12 – 5. Open house Saturday, December 6th from 1 –4pm.

Over the Moon Hours will be posted on the door.

Village Craftsmen Open Tuesday – Sunday from 10am – 5pm. Closed December 23rd – 25th. Open Dec. 26th until December 31st, then closed for the season.

Ocracoke Restoration Company Monday – Saturday, 11:00 am - 5:30 pm
Closed Sundays except for Christmas week

BW’s Surf Shop Will be open most days in December.

Tradewinds Open daily until January 4th, then closed through February.

Island Artworks Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 – 5.

The Gathering Place Open weekends in early December, and part-time hours daily from December 18th -31st. Open House Saturday, December 6th from 1pm -4pm.

Island Ragpicker Open daily at 10 am through December. Closed Christmas Day.

Zillie’s Island Pantry Open daily, Noon – 6pm, through December. Closed on December 24th and 25th. Closing at 4pm on the 31st and closed January 1st. Zillie's will be open in January and February, hours to be posted.

Secret Garden Gallery Open December 15th – 23rd (except Sunday), 10am – 6pm. Open Christmas Eve 10am – 1pm. Closed Christmas Day. Open December 26th ¬– 31st, 10am – 6pm. Closed Sundays.

Village Peddler Open most weekdays in December, and the weekend of December 20th and 21st. ¬Phone number is posted on the door – please call and they’ll open for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope this Thanksgiving finds you all happy and well, with a cornucopia of stuff to be thankful for.

If you’re on Ocracoke for the holiday, please join us at the Ocracoke Community Center on Friday November 28th for the annual Ocrafolk Festival Fundraising Concert. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 7:30. Tickets are available at the door for $15 Adults, $7 kids.

A cornucopia of local and regional talent featuring Donald Davis, Molasses Creek, Coyote, the Ocracoke Jazz Society, Rodney Kemp, Aaron Caswell, Molly Lovejoy, April Trueblood, John Golden & Jef the Mime will be sharing stories and songs in a fun-filled performance for all ages.

All proceeds go to support the 10th annual Ocrafolk Festival, June 5-7 2009.

Ocracokers Survive Freezing Temperatures and Actual Snow Flurries! In November!

Okay, so we don’t have any photos to prove it…. Trust us, it really happened. Really. The temperature dropped down to 30 degrees overnight, and a fine misting of snow came down around 10am on November 21st.

Pirates Invade Springer’s Point!



They marched somberly down Lighthouse Road to the entrance to Springer’s Point, then made their way through the twists and turns around ancient live oaks and cedars until they arrived at the sandy beach near Teach’s Hole. This wasn’t a rowdy band of swashbucklers out to pillage and plunder – it was a group of mourners come to honor their dead.

On the 290th anniversary of the Battle of Ocracoke, in which the infamous pirate Blackbeard lost his head, fifty-eight pirate re-enactors gathered to commemorate their fallen brethren. With mournful sea chanteys and eloquent elegies they eulogized the long dead souls of the battle’s victims. A cannon was fired to commemorate Blackbeard, followed by the firing of small arms for the eleven pirates and eleven Navy sailors who also died on November 22, 1718.



Blackbeard’s Crew, a piratical living history troupe based in Hampton, Virginia, teamed up with Blackbeard historian and author of The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate Kevin Duffus of Raleigh to organize the “Pirate Memorial.” The public was welcome to attend, and a large crowd, mostly islanders, followed the pirates out to the beach in spite of the bitter cold to witness the memorial service.

After a suitably serious ceremony, the pirates headed back to the village and fetched up at the Back Porch restaurant, where the rum and ale did flow. The Back Porch crew was waiting for them with authentic piratical delicacies such as pulled pork and salmagundi (a salad-like mixture of meats and anchovies and veggies and nuts and capers and lemons and oh, anything else the cook had lying around dressed with oil and vinegar.) After supper, the party continued in the pirates’ suite at (where else?) Blackbeard’s Lodge.



That ol’ Rumgagger Captain Rob even made an appearance at the soiree, earning several rounds of “Hip! Hip! Huzzah!” for reciting his poem “A Pirate’s Christmas.”



Will they be back next year? Kevin Duffus hopes so. He’d like to see the event grow with local support, as they head toward the 300th anniversary in 2018.

Molasses Creek Performs at the 25th Anniversary of the Elizabeth II

While the pirates were busy sacking Ocracoke village, Gary, Kitty, Fiddler Dave, Lou Castro, and Gerald Hampton of Molasses Creek escaped up to Manteo, NC to perform at the 25th Anniversary Commemoration of the Christening and Launching of the Elizabeth II. On Friday, November 21 the group performed for a private party of crewmen, shipbuilders and volunteers at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum on the Manteo waterfront (the site of the original launching of the representative 16th century vessel).

On Saturday morning after the opening ceremony, a bagpipe-led parade brought visitors across the bridge to Festival Park when more festivities awaited ~ a clam chowder cookoff, and a Molasses Creek performance. Fiddler Dave was especially excited about the weekend as his first encounter with the Outer Banks of North Carolina occurred in the summer of 1991 when he served as a living history interpreter aboard the QEII.

Here is a bit more information from the Roanoke Island Festival Park website at www.roanokeisland.com

The ship (Elizabeth II) was constructed in the early 1980’s to commemorate America’s 400th anniversary. Shipbuilders used the designs of vessels from 1585 to build the Elizabeth II. It was constructed on the Manteo waterfront by a team of builders, lead by Mr. O. Lie-Nielson and was moved to what is now known as Roanoke Island Festival Park where it is the star attraction as visitors board the vessel and help set the sails, plot their course and swab the decks! Measuring 69 feet long and 17 feet wide and drawing 8 feet of water, Elizabeth II was funded entirely through private donations. Her decks are hand-hewn from juniper timbers. Her frames, keel, planking and decks are secured with 7,000 locust wood pegs. The first Elizabeth was one of seven vessels that were part of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Military Expedition to North America in 1585. Thomas Cavendish, who mortgaged his estates in England to raise money for the venture, captained it. Looking at her today, quietly and serenely in the water, one can almost envision that earlier landing with the eager settlers coming ashore to start life anew in this strange and abundant land.

Ocracoke Dolphins Win First Two Games of Season!



You couldn’t go anywhere on Ocracoke last week without hearing some talk about Friday night’s high school basketball team. Ocracoke is the smallest public school in the state, and has a limited pool of eligible players for its one and only team sport. Last week, the boys’ team started with five boys to play the whole evening. Their opponents, the Bear Grass Bears, had a busful of boys to represent their team. And yet… Ocracoke won by 2 points! As if that weren’t impressive enough, they won with only three players on the court! By the middle of the third quarter, two of the Dolphins had fouled out, making the contest three against five. The three triumphed, amid tumultuous applause from the local crowd, many of whom screamed themselves hoarse in excitement. After the game, local folks drove around honking their car horns in celebration, letting their neighbors who hadn’t been at the game know just how much fun they missed.

We have to add a word about the Lady Dolphins, who also played well against the Bears, and showed off how hard they’ve been working. The crowd endured an anxiety-producing last quarter, as the girls lost the seven-point lead they’d had at halftime, and ultimately ended up losing by three points.

Everyone was looking forward to meeting the Bears again on Bear Grass the following Friday – and the Dolphins won again by 3 points with only four players! The Lady Dolphins were disappointed to lose again to the Bear Grass girls’ team, but spirits are still soaring about the boys’ 2 – 0 season.

Café Atlantic Raises Over 5K in Brunch Fundraiser



The Café Atlantic Restaurant served brunch for one day only this year. On Sunday, November 9, the Café was packed with local folks who wanted to enjoy the delicious choices on the brunch menu and help one of their fellow islanders. The special brunch was a fundraiser for Jason Daniels, who has recently begun treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Café owners Ruth and Bob Toth donated all the food, the kitchen and serving staff donated their time, and all proceeds from food, non-alcoholic beverages and tips went to Daniels.

“We served 226 people,” said Bob. “It was the most we’ve ever done.”

Bob reported that food sales totaled $2442, with the tips and donations topping that at $3075. The total was $5517, plus some sealed envelopes that he delivered to Daniels unopened.

“Folks waited so long,” Bob said. “We want them to know it was worth it. We really raised a lot of money.”

When the Café opened at 11 am, there was a line clear out to the road. Some people waited up to two hours for a table, but thought that the good food and the good cause were well worth it.

“We were flabbergasted by the turnout,” said Bob. “People were so generous with the tips. We were really happy with it and had fun doing it.”

Daniels is Ocracoke’s chief deputy, and his wife, Jennifer, is a teacher’s aide at Ocracoke School. They have two sons, Jacob, almost 2, and Jonah, who was born October 27th. An account for donations has been set up for them at East Carolina Bank.



Christmas is Coming!

Don’t forget Soundside Records when you’re making your lists and checking them twice – CDs from Ocracoke artists make perfect stocking stuffers.

If you happen to be on Ocracoke during the month of December, please feel welcome to join us at our holiday celebrations. And this isn’t all – we’ll update this list next week with more fun stuff to do.

December 6th Pictures with Santa!
Santa Claus will be at the Variety Store from 10 – Noon, collecting toys to benefit Hyde County children. Please bring a new, unwrapped toy or $4 to get a photo with Santa.

December 9th OPS Wassail Party
The Ocracoke Preservation Society will be hosting their annual Wassail Party and Community Christmas Tree Lighting from 5 – 7pm at the OPS Museum. All are welcome to enjoy the hot, delicious wassail and yummy cookies during this free event.

December 11th Ocrafolk Christmas Concert at the Community Center
The annual Ocrafolk Christmas Concert will be held at the Community Center this year, with free admission. The show starts at 7pm and will feature local talent including some of our youngest musicians. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event.

December 13th Friends of the Library Cookie Swap
Ocracoke FOL welcomes you to join them for their annual Cookie Swap at 11am at the Ocracoke Library. Bring 2 dozen cookies (or more!) to share and take home an equal amount of assorted cookies. Drinks will be provided by FOL, and music will be provided by the Ocracoke School Music Club.
December 14th Children’s Christmas Party
Books to Be Red is hosting their 10th annual Children’s Christmas Party at the Community Center from 3 – 4:30pm. Kids of all ages are invited to come out and enjoy holiday games, crafts and treats at this free event.

December 18th Ocracoke School Holiday Program
The kids in grades pre-K through high school welcome the community to their holiday spectacular starting at 7pm in the school gym.

December 19th Christmas Caroling
Meet at the Methodist Church at 5pm for Christmas Caroling throughout the village. The church will also host a chili supper for carolers later in the evening.

Philip Howard’s Book is Finally Here…



And it’s selling like hotcakes! Find out more about it at Philip's page at Soundside Records. Order your copy for Christmas! We’ll tell you all about next week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ocracoke Votes!

November 4th was a big day on Ocracoke, just as it was across the U.S. About seventy percent of Ocracoke’s registered voters came out to cast their ballots at the Ocracoke Community Center. Ocracokers cast 305 votes for Barack Obama and 143 for John McCain, and Obama also won in the unofficial, but educational, mock election held at Ocracoke School.

The entire Ocracoke High School accompanied the three eighteen year-old seniors, Robert Chestnut, Michelle Frye and Emma Lovejoy, to the polls so they could vote for the first time ever!



And You Thought We Were Joking About The Poison Ivy!

Something’s got to turn yellow and orange and red around here. The Virginia creeper puts on a nice show, too, but Toxidendron radicans is even prettier. It’s rather nice of the poison ivy to light itself up every fall so we know where we need to do some heavy pruning, if only it weren’t so lovely to look at.



Ocracoke Welcomes the Return of Bryan Bowers



On Wednesday, November 19th at 7:30 PM, Deepwater Theater is holding a special concert with Bryan Bowers, a master autoharpist, songer/songwriter and storyteller. Bryan has played on and offstage with Ocrafolk musicians, and some other folks you may have heard of such as Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Emmylou Harris and the Dillards. Earlier on Wednesday (4 PM), Bryan will hold a autoharp workshop at the theater for all interested in finding out more about this unique instrument. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Bryan will also be performing for some of the students of Ocracoke School. Find out more about Bryan at his website at www.bryanbowers.com.

Prepare Yourselves for the Publishing Event of the Season…



Coming soon… Philip Howard’s first (but certainly not his last) book will be rolling off the presses sometime this month. This long-awaited compilation of Ocracoke folklore is titled Digging Up Uncle Evans: History, Ghost Tales and Stories from Ocracoke Island. Next week, we’ll have a full review of the book, and a short interview with Philip himself. In the meantime, you can read the first chapter on the Black Squall Books website at www.blacksquallbooks.com.

The Ocrafolk School Was So Much Fun, We’re Going to Write About it Again!



The Ocrafolk School was back for its second year and even better than before!

“The folk school was just as fresh this year and just as magic,” said returning student Margo Babb.

The Ocrafolk School offered five different classes this year during the week-long session. Pottery with Rhonda Bates and Wes Lassiter, Basketry with Judith Saunders, Island Cooking with Debbie Wells, Watercolor Painting with Mary Ellen Golden and the Ocrafolk Sampler (island ecology, history and maritime lore) with David Senseney, Philip Howard and Rob Temple.

Everyone thought that the class they took was the best, and all claimed bragging rights for having the most fun. As another returning student, Jo Ann Hummers, put it, “The sense of community is really a treasure!”

Painting



Mary Ellen’s class learned the basics of watercolor painting “with grace and ease” in their Ocrafolk School studio on the second floor porch of the Soundfront Inn. The view from the porch is nothing less than spectacular, and the space gave them plenty of inspiration and natural light.

Each of the seven students learned about mixing colors, removing color from the paintings in progress, and why the right kind of paper can make all the difference. (Mary Ellen swears by 140 lb. Arches brand paper.) The class was comprised of three total beginners and three more experienced painters, and all of them were proud of the paintings they completed.

During one afternoon’s painting session. Jane Srail was hard at work on her “view from the porch” painting, but paused to laugh, “My husband thinks I’m at home cleaning the house!”

Basketry

The students in Judith’s basketry class worked on projects big and small, and very diverse in technique and materials

Norma Sigal signed up for the basketry class two years in a row.



“It was so much fun last year,” she said. “And I wanted to come back and learn some more techniques from Judith – she’s such a great teacher.”

Susan Smart came to the class with a specific goal: to make a basket out of oak strips that she cut years ago. She had wanted to make a basket from scratch, and had split and then peeled strips from oak logs. With Judith’s help, she created a large, rustic basket made from all wood (no reeds or grasses) out of her oak strips and some Ocracoke cedar that studio assistant Amy Howard contributed.




“It was twenty years in the making,” Susan said, looking very pleased with her effort.

One of the students enrolled in Judith’s class was unable to attend due to health problems. Sue Lauderman and her niece, Terri Large, took the jewelry class together last year, and came back for more, signing up for different classes this time in basketry and pottery. When Sue took ill, the basketry class got together to make her a group basket; each member of the class worked on the basket and added her own touch. It was presented to Terri on the last day of the folk school, filled with goodies and mementos of Ocrafolk School for her to take to her Aunt Sue.

Cooking



Soundfront Inn was the place to be around 2pm every day, when the cooking class served up a late lunch spread that was nothing less than amazing. One cooking class meal included roast chicken, cranberry stuffing, crab cakes, baked winter squash, scallops with Berber spices, a tossed salad, Joyce O’Neal’s light rolls, and more. Dessert was chocolate bourbon torte and caramel flan.

As the class enjoyed its repast, they called out dished they would be sure to make again at home. The bok choy, sweet potatoes, Old Drum, clam chowder and Ocracoke fig cake (with and without cream cheese icing) were among the favorites.

The cooking class also spent an afternoon visiting the Fish House and learning all about Ocracoke’s wonderful local seafood. And they provided the grand finale breakfast of the week, a tasty feast of huevos rancheros, hash browns, and sourdough pancakes. The cooking class was quite smitten with their food, and many claimed to have the expanded waistlines to prove they’d feasted well.

Pottery



In Wes and Rhonda’s pottery class, the students (all beginners) learn the three ways to make something out of clay: handbuilding (pinch pots and coli pots), slab work, and throwing on the wheel. The class learned how to mix glazes, and load and unload a kiln. During a mid-week field trip to Wes and Rhonda’s Red Drum Pottery Studio in Frisco, the class was thrilled to glaze and fire raku pots.



The also made face jugs, each of which had its distinct (weird) personality. Face jugs are a North Carolina tradition dating back to the 1800’s and possibly earlier in the Catawba Valley. It’s believed that slaves made face jugs to ward off the devil, but another theory is that the faces were intended to scare children away from the jug’s contents – most likely moonshine. Some of the antique face jugs are worth tens of thousands of dollars these days! Wonder what our Ocrafolk School jugs will be worth in 100+ years…





The pottery class was so enamored of their instructors they made up a cheer about them to present at Friday morning’s show-and-tell.

“Wes! Wes! He’s our man! If he can’t do it, Rhonda can!”

The Ocrafolk Sampler



The Ocrafolk Sampler class had the good fortune of having not one, not two, but three (!) instructors to teach them about Ocracoke ecology, history and seafaring traditions. Retired biology teacher David Senseney led the group in expeditions to go kayaking, clamming, seine-netting and hiking across the island from sea to sound.

After David plum wore them out, Philip took over and led discussions about Ocracoke’s history and culture. The class met in Philip’s historic home, and learned about the Ocracoke Lifesaving Service (and watched a video of the lifesaving re-enactment at Chicamacomico) and looked at old maps of the island. Philip shared a traditional Ocracoke fig cake (that he baked himself) and led a walk down Howard Street to see the old family cemeteries. Philip is a fine raconteur, and enjoys telling a tale, especially if it’s about one of his notorious Howard ancestors!



Capt. Rob Temple took the class back in time to the days of wooden ships and iron men. He shared stories of the sea, sang sea shanties, and taught the class some marlinspike seamanship (traditional rope work). He prepared an almost-edible meal of hardtack, and helped them learn the ropes aboard Windfall.

And it wasn’t all about the classes!



The total experience of the Ocrafolk School included sailing on the schooner Windfall, a guided tour of the OPS Museum, breakfasts at the Flying Melon Restaurant, dinners at the Flying Melon and Capt. Ben’s Restaurant, carryout from Thai Moon, and a shrimp boil supper at Soundfront Inn, attending a special Ocrafolk Opry performance, and enjoying a farewell breakfast prepared by the cooking class. Whew! All that in one week! Where do I find more information? At www.ocrafolkschool.org of course!

Welcome, November

November has a bad reputation for being a gray and chilly month, but today dawned sunny and warm. Is there ever a more perfect day than one that’s warm in the sunshine and cool in the shade, with a nice high in the 70s and low in the 50s? It’s going to turn blustery and rainy in a few days, but we can enjoy November’s beauty while it lasts.

And who says we don't have good fall color on Ocracoke? We’ve got Virginia creeper and poison ivy vines turning all sorts of beautiful shades of yellow, red and gold, and the island's pyracantha shrubs can rival any leaf show. The pyrachanthas, which have tiny white flowers in spring, erupt in cascades of brilliant orange berries in the fall. Pyracanthas attract songbirds and are fast-growing and salt-tolerant – what’s not to love except maybe their inch-long rash-inducing thorns? But hey, nobody’s perfect, and the pyracanthas help to make autumn on Ocracoke a beautiful sight.



Happy (Belated) Halloween!

One of Ocracoke’s favorite traditions is the annual Ocracoke School PTA Halloween Carnival, which always includes games, food, Quizo, a bake sale and cake walk and spook walk. The highlight of the carnival is the spectacular Costume Parade!


















Ocracoke’s Schooner Windfall Places 3rd in Schooner Race

Ocracoke’s own schooner Windfall, and her captain, Rob Temple, competed in the 19th annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race on October 16-18th. The race, which benefits the non-profit Save the Bay Foundation, runs a course of 127 nautical miles from Fell’s Point in Baltimore, Maryland to Portsmouth, Virginia. There are parties, educational programs and nautical celebrations at both ends of the race. In Baltimore, Captain Rob presented his Rumgagger program to group of local sixth graders, and showed them the ropes on board his schooner.

The GCBSR was created by a challenge from the Norfolk Rebel to the Pride of Baltimore, and has grown over the past nineteen years making it the largest all-schooner sailing race in the world. A record number of fifty-six schooners competed this year, but Windfall was the only one from North Carolina. Windfall finished third in her class, with an elapsed time of 15 hours and 18 minutes. Captain Rob Temple was quite pleased with her performance.

“She sailed faster than ever – during the race I saw her hit speeds I’d never seen before,” he said, while imbibing large quantities of free beer at the awards party in Portsmouth. “We even finished ahead of several of the larger boats. I was proud of my vessel and proud of my crew.”


Windfall’s crew pose with their 3rd place plaque: Emmet Temple, Captain Rob Temple, Philip Howard, all of Ocracoke, and Steve Musil of Colington, NC. Not pictured: Frank Phelps of Washington, NC.


Schooners were everywhere during the event’s Parade of Sail

Pinch Pots, Turk’s Heads and 11 Pounds of Butter!
The Second Annual Ocrafolk School Was a Huge Success

Following a show-and-tell session on Friday morning, the participants of the 2nd annual Ocrafolk School reluctantly bid farewell to their teachers and classmates as the week of fun and learning came to a close. Although all the classes had plenty to brag about, the cooking class outdid the rest when they announced they had cooked with (and consumed) eleven pounds of butter during the week!


Soundfront Inn

Five classes were offered this year: Pottery, Basketry, Cooking, Watercolor Painting and the Ocrafolk Sampler (island ecology, history and maritime lore). Next week we’ll have a full story about the Folk School’s happenings, but these pictures offer a peak at the good times had by all.


To the delight of her students, Debbie Wells pours the yummy batter of Chocolate Bourbon Torte into the pan in the sunny, warm kitchen at Soundfront Inn



Carol Doty and Terri Large are gettin’ muddy in the pottery class


Fiddler Dave shows off the bread he’s baking for the Shrimp Boil potluck at Soundfront Inn. Dave was the assistant to chef Debbie Wells in the cooking class



Painting in progress


Second-year folk school attendee Margot Babb is happy to accept praise from artist and instructor Mary Ellen Golden


Linda Driskell works on the base of her “cat’s head” style basket

That's all for this week!

Did we say things were slowing down?

Whew! Forget what we said last week about quiet on Ocracoke! What were we thinking? October is busy, busy on the island, not so much because of visitors, although there are a few here enjoying out fine fall weather, but because local folks are finally getting around to all the projects they had to put off during the summer.
And for those of us who have kids, the busy season has just begun what with all the extra-curricular activities that start up this month.

Music Club
The Ocracoke School Music Club and Pep Band will be holding try-outs this week for aspiring young musicians. Under the tutelage of Lou Castro and Kitty Mitchell, the after-school music program is continuing to develop the talents of our local youngens.
Over the past two years, what started out as a Pep Band to play at Ocracoke School home basketball games has morphed into a genuine rock and roll band who prefer to be called The last Rebels of Rock. They’ve moved out of the gym and onto stages at the Ocrafolk Festival, the 4th of July parade, and island fundraisers.
Recently, they took their show on the road and up the beach to perform at the 19th Annual Artrageous Festival at Dare County Recreation Park.


Casey Tolson and Kade Nagakane work their magic

Kitty reports that "a good time was had by all – everyone had their hair done in Artrageous colors including me and Lou, who was sporting an orange mohawk midst a mullet of lime green. All of the guitar players had massages as well. There was some fear that the mellowing effects of the massage would turn the band from hard-driving rock and roll to soft rock, but not to fear! They were just more limbered up!"

End of Season for Deepwater Theater Shows


Molasses Creek played their last Deepwater Theater show of the season on October 2. The show was free for island residents, and a small group of Girl Scouts took advantage of the offer even though it was a school night. The Ocracoke Junior Girl Scouts are working towards earning their "My Community" badge, which requires, among other things, that the girls learn about and attend some cultural happenings in their community.

The girls enjoyed the Molasses Creek show and thought Katy was "the best!" They also liked it when Ms. Kitty (their art teacher by day, and rock star by night) put down her bass and did some impromptu drawings of drunken rodents (you had to be there…) and when she had to do some quick thinking to make up the rhymes in "Jenny Jenkins."



The highlight was holding Ms. Kitty’s bass and posing for a picture with the band.


Left to right: Lou Castro, Caroline Temple, David Tweedie, Deana Seitz, Gary Mitchell, Karla Perez, Kitty Mitchell, Bricia Moreno, and Katy Mitchell

Katy’s Off To Seek Her Fortune!

Lil’ Miss Katy Mitchell will be leaving for parts west this week, joining Skye Zentz in Berkley, California where the plan to take the coffee-shop music scene by storm! (Katy’s gotten a lot of press lately for her soulful singing in "Nights in Rodanthe," but long before she was a movie star, she put out an album, Baby It's You with her dad’s Soundside Records. And, not coincidentally, Skye Zentz did, too with Legitimate Bohemia.

Well, you can’t leave Ocracoke without a proper send-off, so a bunch of folks gathered at the Friday night performance of Marcy, Lou, Gary and David (a.k.a. The Band With No Name) at Howard’s Pub to wish Katy all the best in her travels.

Besides annoying the management by commandeering the two tables closest to the band, the party organizers also brought their own rather large festive decoration – a good, old-fashioned Ocracoke Money Tree. Ocracoke Money Trees are a common sight at baby showers and weddings on the island, and are always made out of wax myrtle (pronounced "myrkle") branches. Judging by the mouths agape on folks passing by, the wax-myrtle-branches-stuck-in-a-beach-bucket-full-of-dirt-and/or-sand-with-legal-tender-of-all-denominations-(and one IOU)-paper-clipped-to-them has not caught on off the island. Howard’s Pub was packed that night and more than a few visitors felt compelled to comment "Money must grow on trees on Ocracoke!"

We hope Katy scored some good travel money and has a great time on her new adventure!
More Cute Kids on Fire Trucks
Not to outdone by Ocracoke Child Care, the pre-Kindergarten class at Ocracoke School celebrated Fire Safety Week with a trip to the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department to check out the cool fire truck.


Firemen Dick Jacoby (left) John Manning and Chief Albert O’Neal showed the kids around the truck and answered questions about the safety equipment. The little varmint in the middle (looking right at the camera) is none other than Fiddler Dave’s youngen Lachlan Howard

The Windfall Makes Sail for Chesapeake Bay

The schooner Windfall and crew are heading north to compete in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race on October 16–18. The race begins at Fells Point, in Baltimore, Maryland, and ends 127 nautical miles down the Chesapeake Bay in Portsmouth, Virginia. More than 50 schooners will be participating in the 19th annual race this year, and Windfall is the only one that hails from North Carolina.

Her skipper, Captain Rob Temple, is thrilled to be a part of the race. He entered once before in 1996, but weather conditions prevented him from getting Windfall to Baltimore and he was forced to drop out. A few years ago he signed onboard another schooner that needed crew, and was able to participate in the race, but it only increased his hankerin’ to get his own boat up there. We’re all hoping that the Clerk of the Weather is looking out for Rob, and that Windfall is as fast as she is pretty.

Ocracoke raconteur Philip Howard is part of the scurvy crew, as is Rob’s 13 year-old son, Emmet (who thinks the schooner race is a good excuse to miss a week of school). Old salts Frank Phelps of "little" Washington, NC and Steve Musil of Colington, NC are also lending a hand. Philip has promised to take pictures, so check back in a week or so...

Soundside Records Performer Highlights – Captain Rob Temple and Sundae Horn
Speaking of Captain Rob… he’s another one who’s made a CD at Soundside Studios. Along with his lovely wife, Sundae Horn, Rob has been a performer at the Ocrafolk Opry since its inception, and has developed a predilection for telling nautical tall tales of dubious integrity, which he turned into The Rumgagger show with Fiddler Dave.

But long before Rob was The Rumgagger, he was Daddy, and he and Sundae joined their voices in harmony every evening at bedtime for a command performance to the small, but demanding, audience of Emmet and Caroline. (Mariah Daisy came along later and will no doubt demand her own lullaby album in due time.) In 2004, Sundae and Rob decided to record their kids’ favorite lullabies, and that project led to their first CD, Home is an Island.



(Their second CD has yet to materialize, but Sundae’s got big plans…)


Captain Rob and his last mate Sundae Horn

The title track was written by Rob’s old friend, Leslie Clendening, and Sundae first heard (live) on the deck of the Windfall, anchored under a full moon, with baby Emmet in her arms. (Thinking about that night can make her cry, especially since Emmet is now 5’9".)
Some of the songs on the CD are nautically-inspired, and the sea chantey "Help Me, Bob" is not technically a lullaby – it’s not so much about falling asleep as passing out drunk – but it always worked on Emmet and Caroline.

"Home is an Island" is available at Ocracoke shops, on board the Windfall, and online at Soundside Records.