Here on Ocracoke a strong nor’easter blew in this week. High winds were accompanied by high tides (or, as we say on Ocracoke, “hoi toides”), and by Wednesday afternoon, the ferries quit running and saltwater rose up out of the harbor and into the streets. The flooding wasn’t significant, but enough to make us wary of driving through the overwash. Traveling the Back Road proved tricky – a paddle of ducks claimed the big puddle in the middle of the road and caused a traffic jam during Ocracoke School’s lunch hour.
By Thursday afternoon, the wind had died down considerably, but Highway 12 was only open at low tide.
Rodanthe had its day in the spotlight. In an amazing coincidence, the exact spot where the ocean breeches the dunes and washes over the road in Rodanthe is the same exact spot where the movie “Nights in Rodanthe” was filmed, and at the exact moment that the film was being screened for the first time in Kill Devil Hills to an invitation-only audience, the high tide was forcing some travelers to spend an unplanned night in Rodanthe. To heap amazing coincidence upon amazing coincidence, it must be noted that a nor’easter blew in during the filming of “Nights in Rodanthe,” halting production and making the crew fear that the house they were using as set would fall into the sea. And not only that, but a pivotal scene during the movie is the storm party (complete with a Storm Party Band) that depicts the hardy folks of Hatteras Island weathering a hurricane while dancing on a pier.
Hollywood Premiere on the Outer Banks
The Knights of "Nights" (Lou Castro, Bob Zentz, Katy Mitchell, Speedy Price, Marcy Brenner, & Jule Garrish
But neither wide nor tide nor rain nor gloom of night could stop the intrepid members of the Storm Party band from attending the Outer Banks premiere of “Nights in Rodanthe” at the RC Theaters in Kill Devil Hills.
The musicians arrived in Hollywood style – by limousine, of course. They made a grande entrance into the theater (walking down the red beach towel), and were happy to see that they all got some “face time” on the big screen. According to proud dad Gary Mitchell, there was good footage of Katy singing with the band.
A Limo ride for the Stars
“The camera goes to the band several times during the scene while Richard Gere and Diane Lane are dancing. All the musicians showed up on the camera, and there was a good close-up of Jule singing. His head was twenty feet tall!” he said.
Bob Zentz came down from Norfolk to join the premier party, and he brought along the newly released “Nights in Rodanthe” soundtrack to play in the limo. They also heard the soundtrack over dinner at the Ocean Boulevard Restaurant, which kindly put it on for them.
Plans are in the works to go see “Nights in Rodanthe” again with even more folks from Ocracoke. Gary says he’ll be able to pay better attention to the plot the second time around.
Mobbed by paparazzi (Ocracoke Observer's Jamie Tunnell)
“It’s hard to judge the movie when you’re watching it for the Outer Banks scenery or to see people you know. I was really just looking for Katy.”
The “Nights in Rodanthe” soundtrack will be available by October 3rd at Village Craftsmen on Ocracoke, and all sorts of albums from theses musicians can of course be found at www.soundsiderecords.com
The Band With No Name
Fiddler Dave, Lou Castro, Marcy Brenner, Gary Mitchell
Marcy Brenner, Lou Castro, David Tweedie and Gary Mitchell have been playing all summer at the Jolly Roger and Howard’s Pub, using the rather unwieldy band name of “Marcy, Lou, David and Gary.” Kitty Mitchell calls them “MuLeDoG” but she’s not the only one to come up with a suggestion. Local writer Jamie Tunnell likes “Nuts and Honey” and I’m pulling for “Marcy and the TestosterTones.” Whatever you call them, you’ll enjoy their blend of fiddle tunes, country ballads (Marcy’s rendition of “Jolene” is not-to-be-missed) and bluegrass favorites. Come out and see them at Howard’s Pub on Friday, October 10th! Listen to Molasses Creek(Gary & Kitty Mitchel & Fiddler Dave) and Coyote (Marcy Brenner & Lou Castro) here!
Fiddler Dave and Lou jam it up (or ham?)
The Turtle with Three Names
Amy’s sculpture class completed the painting of their sea turtle sculpture and christened him with Paco Poochie Boris. Rumor has it that the next addition to the Ocracoke Youth Center sculpture garden will be a surf fisherman!
The Quilting News
The Ocracoke quilters sampler quilt for the WWA raffle
The Ocracoke Needle and Thread Club are close to completing a sampler quilt to be donated to the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association for a fundraiser. Fish, fishermen, boats, seashells, lighthouses, pelicans, ducks – even an embroidered pound net – have all found a place in the latest work of art from the quilters. When raffle tickets become available, we’ll let you know!
Amy Howard recently presented a small Ocracoke Cracker quilt to little Charlotte Castro, who’s mama, Marcy Brenner, is also a quilter. Each block was pieced by a member of the Ocracoke Needle and Thread Club, and then Amy put it all together and finished the quilting and binding.
Marcy, baby Charlotte, & Amy
The Ocracoke Cracker pattern is believed to be unique to Ocracoke. It’s a variation on the traditional cracker, with a twist. Of the four strips in the block one of the middle strips must be red, and the placement of the red strip determines how the quilt is assembled. For Charlotte, the quilters started a new tradition and made the red strip pink – pink for baby girls and for breast cancer awareness.
