Summertime is here on Ocracoke Island, in spite of Hurricane Arthur!

Hello Molasses Creek friends,

Fiddler Dave's son Lachlan, with a tree downed from Hurricane Arthur on the Back Rd of Ocracoke

Summer has arrived on Ocracoke Island and we have jumped into our weekly shows at Deepwater Theater.  On Wednesdays, Molasses Creek presents the Ocrafolk Opry and on Thursdays we feature an all Molasses Creek concert. If you are planning on coming to a show while visiting this summer, we do recommend making reservations online at our Deepwater Theater page at www.molassescreek.com/deepwater-theater, or by putting your name on the Will Call list by calling Fiddler Dave at 252-921-0260.  June shows were almost completely sold out!

We had a most unusual 4th of July this year. Hurricane Arthur roared through on Friday morning, July 4th. Unfortunately, it drove away visitors, took down some trees, and snapped the boom in half of Ocracoke Alive's Skipjack Wilma Lee tore up the mainsail. Ocracoke Alive is currently having an Indiegogo Campaign to help raise funds for repairs.  There are some great Ocracoke rewards if you want to pitch in and lend a hand. Fortunately, the damage to the rest of the village was fairly minimal with little flooding. The village chipper is making its way around the island and tourists have returned. Time to come and see what shells the storm dredged up!

Howard St on Ocracoke after the storm

This year's Ocrafolk Festival, June 6-8, was a great success and we experienced some of the most perfect weather in festival history.

Molasses Creek and the Ocrafolk Festival were featured in the June edition of Our State magazine in an article on summer festivals. Read all about it by clicking here!

   

We loved seeing all our friends from years past, including the MacDonald Sisters, Caravan of Thieves, Jef the Mime, John Golden (this list could go on quite a while), and meeting some new folks like Mipso and the South Carolina Broadcasters.

This spring Molasses Creek toured out west and also to the North. We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of the presenters, hosts, and worker bees who help us along the way!  Here are some pictures from our travels.

Winfield, Kansas, home of a fabulous festival!

Fiddler Dave's hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma, next to the famed Eskimo Joes

Conway, Arkansas, home of Toad Suck Park!

At the beautiful First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh

With Kris Rust and students from Franklin Regional School

Hershey Area Playhouse in PA

Gerald tries on a new backstage persona under the guidance of our host and friend, Mark Cuddy

A visit to the Hershey School

Lou's quest for great tasting Ketchup is successful!

Of course, a visit to the original Martin Guitar Factory

On air with Wanda Fischer, host of WAMC's Hudson Valley Sampler out of Albany

On to New York City for a concert at the Holyrood Episcopal Church with the Hudson Cliffhangers!

Gary, Dave & Gerald visit the Cloisters, NYC

An afternoon concert and visit to the The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School, with director Dalia Sakas.

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Finishing out with a jam session with Neal Vorus and friends in Washington Heights.

Marcy and Gary onstage at the Tosco Music Party in Charlotte, NC

Stiltwalkers at the Lake Eden Arts Festival, Black Mountain, NC

Gary Mitchell peers out the Barn Stage window at the LEAF festival

Feasting at the lake at the LEAF Festival

Molasses Creek's September & October Adventures, & Pirates Invade Ocracoke (again!)

Molasses Creek diva, Lou Castro, directs his sound tech slave while sporting a new mink coat at the Walton Theatre, NY.

Good friends!

Before we go too much further down the page, here are our upcoming performances!

Thursday, Nov 7 ~ Live performance recording at Our State Magazine headquarters, Greensboro, NC (you actually can't be there for the taping, but we'll let you know when it is live on their website!)
Friday, Nov 8 ~ Molasses Creek in concert at the Altamont Theatre, Asheville, NC 8:00 PM
Saturday Nov 9 ~ Molasses Creek in concert at the RA Fountain General Store, Fountain, NC 7:30 PM
Friday Nov 15 ~ Dare County Arts Council presents Carolina Veterans Concert with Molasses Creek, NC Poet Laureate, Professor Joseph Bathanti, and Jonny Waters & Company, 7 PM. Festival Park, Roanoke, NC
Friday Nov 29 ~ Molasses Creek in concert at Deepwater Theater, Ocracoke Island, NC. 8:00 PM

Fall Is Heading Our Way!

Weekly happenings gathered by our roving reporter. . .
Sundae Horn

Ocracoke Featured in Our State Magazine



The October issue of Our State magazine (www.ourstate.com) has not one, but two articles about Ocracoke! Of course, all Tarheels and O’cockers love Our State magazine, and never more so than when they recognize and celebrate how wonderful our little island is.

An article about Ghost Walks all around North Carolina couldn’t have been complete without a mention of Philip Howard. Philip is a raconteur extraordinaire who collects Ocracoke stories and folklore, which he shares on stage at the Ocrafolk Opry, online in his Ocracoke newsletter, and on the streets during his Ghost and History Walking Tours of the village. Learn about Old Diver and Mad Mag Howard and poor Alice O’Neal, shipwrecks and prophetic dreams and haunted inns. Amy Howard, who inherited her father’s gift of gab, also takes a turn each week at leading the tours. If you’re planning to be on Ocracoke in September or October, please call ahead (252-928-6300) to check the off-season schedule for the Ghost Walks.

Speaking of yours truly, the other article in this month’s issue is called “Camp Creative,” written by me about the Ocrafolk School. Our State sent a photographer to the first folk school and, as is usual for Our State, the incredible photography tells the story so well that the words are superfluous. (My favorite photo? I just loved seeing Captain Rob’s baldhead shining in the glow of the campfire.)

The October issue of Our State just hit the newsstands (available on the island at The Variety Store and Books to Be Red), and will no doubt sell like hotcakes, so get your copy today!

Ocracoke Musicians and Artists Out and About in the Community

Guitar Gary doesn’t just play music and record other musicians playing music at Soundside Studios, he also serves on the volunteer board of the Ocracoke Community Center. This week the board members (Tom Pahl, Nancy Leach, Lyn Buchanan, and Gary) organized a big project day, and checked several things off their to-do list for the building.


Gary Mitchell and Tom Pahl install the new Commnity Center sign

Gary and Tom hung a new sign on the building’s exterior, which can be used to announce meetings and events. The board also fixed and painted and cleaned until the place shone, complementing the renovations that have been done over the last few months including a new entryway, new ceiling, and improvements to the stage.


Ocracoke Community Center interior

The Ocracoke Community Center is owned by Hyde County and supported by Ocracoke Occupancy Tax funds, and by the revenue it generates from rental fees. The building is open for free use to any Ocracoke non-profit group, and it’s available to rent for parties, wedding receptions, and other events by calling 252-928-3162.


Ah! A hard day's work comes to an end

The Ocrafolk Festival Fundraising concerts at Thanksgiving and Easter, and some of the Ocrafolk Festival events are held at the Community Center. So, if you’ve been to a show there before, be sure to notice the improvements next time you’re here and let Gary know how great the place looks.


Fiddler Dave Tweedie and Captain Rob Temple sing a chantey

Captain Rob Scares Some Small Fry

To celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th in his own nefarious way, Captain Rob Temple steered a course to Ocracoke Child Care and gave the little kiddies a nautical lecture on piratical practices. After they warmed up to him, the tots learned the Pirate’s Alphabet (“Aye!” and “Aargh!”) and danced to the Pirate Song. If you hear a three year-old calling for his grog, you’ll know he’s one of Captain Rob’s mateys.


Really now. . .who is the most frightening?!

Fiddler Dave Vistis Pre-K for “F” week

The Ocracoke School pre-Kindergarten class was learning all about the letter “F” this week. Dave volunteered to help the kids come up with some benign “F” words -– like Fiddle!


Fiddler Dave with son Lachlan (now in Pre-K)

Amy’s Sea Turtle Sculpture Class Adds to OYC Beach Scene


Amy Howard and students at work on the sea turtle

Amy Howard taught another sculpture class this week for the Ocracoke Youth Center, and this time the kids helped her create a sea turtle for the Beach Scene Sculpture Garden on Hwy. 12.



It all started with a surfer – Herbie Creampuff, to be precise. Then he needed a lifeguard to flirt with


What a cutie!

and some dolphins to ride waves with… and now the Youth Center’s front yard is one of Ocracoke’s most interesting roadside attractions. The sculptures hold up amazingly well in the wind and rain, and get occasional little touch-up paint jobs.



Herbie went AWOL overnight this summer, and came back as sneakily as he left. We assume he was kidnapped and taken to a wild island party, but he’ll never tell.

Amy provides the basic sculpture form, and then the kids add the plaster strips and make it sturdy. The next day they get to come back and paint and decorate their creation. It’s all good, messy fun!


Herbie Creampuff and the dolphin

Deepwater Theater & Music Hall Unveils Its New Website!
Over the last couple of months, those Molasses Creek folks have been working on a new website for their Deepwater Theater. The site features all the different activities that take place at Deepwater Theater throughout the summer season as well as the rest of the year. In addition to Molasses Creek, Ocrafolk Opry, Coyote and Noah Paley, and Rumgagger Pirate Shows, the island theater is also an art gallery for the work of Kitty Mitchell of Molasses Creek, hosts Yoga classes, the Ocracoke Needle and Thread Club (Quilting), Youth Center Movies, rental options, and a variety of workshops and activites in the off season. Visit the site at www.deepwatertheater.com