Town of Duck: Summer Music Series

Posted on June 22, 2011

Nothing beats live music, a cold drink, warm air and a cool beach breeze. The Town of Duck is bringing back the 5th annual Summer Music Series starting this Thursday, June 23rd. For 8 weeks local musicians will be taking the stage at the Duck Town Park Gazebo to show off their musical talents and provide some sundown entertainment to locals and guests. The music starts at 6:00 pm on Thursday nights so grab your cooler and your lawn chairs and head down to Duck tomorrow night for the kick off!

The current schedule of performances is (subject to change):

Thursday, June 23 – Aquarium (Jam Rock & Blues)
Thursday, June 30 – The Rajun Cajuns (New Orleans Style Dance/Rock)
Thursday, July 7 – The Fuzz Band (Jazz, Funk, Blues, Hip Hop)
Thursday, July 14 – Greg Shelton Band (Classic & Dance Rock)
Thursday, July 21 – Connected (Jazz)
Thursday, July 28 – Laura Martier (Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues)
Thursday, August 4 – The Crowd (Rock & Pop)
Thursday, August 11 – The Little Kings (Dance Rock & Soul)

Outer Banks: July 2011 Events at Roanoke Island Festival Park

Posted on June 22, 2011

Outer Banks: July 2011 Events at Roanoke Island Festival Park

July, 2011 Programs. . .

The cost of general admission ticket to the daily attraction, Roanoke Island Fesitval Park, is $8 for adults/$5 students 6 – 17/children 5 and under – free. Open daily 9 am to 5 pm.

Travel & Underwater Photography
Chris Hannant
July 1-28
Art Gallery
A Savannah College of Art & Design graduate and Outer Banks resident, Hannant’s passion is underwater photography. His images reveal a secret life unfolding under the surface. Meet the Artist – First Friday, July 1, 6-8 pm. 9 – 5 Mon-Fri/10 – 4 Sat. FREE. Also, Chris Hannant Digital Photography Class July 9, 9 – noon. $20. Call Mary Ellen for info and to register (252) 475-1500.

July 4th Celebration
Featuring the North Carolina National
Guard’s 440th US Army Band
8 pm, Outdoor Pavilion
The 440th Army Band command the stage. Selections include: America the Beautiful; Star Spangled Banner; Hail to the Spirit of Liberty; God Bless the USA and more. Plus, the rock band, “The Minutemen” and jazz band, “The Jazz Patriots” perform. Fireworks by the Town of Manteo at 9:30 pm. Lawn chairs & picnics encouraged. Gates open at 6. FREE.

NC Symphony
July 8, 8 pm
Outdoor Pavilion
Avast ye scurvy wrecks! We run up the colors for a musical salute to PIRATES. Selections from Pirates of the Caribbean, The Flying Dutchman, Pirates of Penzance, Bloody Blackbeard and more. Conductor William Henry Curry, along with Laurelyn Dossett, Molly McGinn and Scott McLeod. Event presented by the Dare County Tourism Board and the Roanoke Island Commission. Lawn chairs & picnics encouraged. FREE.

2nd Saturdays
Chris Hannant Lecture Underwater
Photography
July 9, 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
Art Gallery
Chris Hannant is a photojournalist drawn to the ocean. He shares tips on shooting underwater through personal anecdotes and a video of his work. FREE.

The Diary of Adam & Eve
Elizabeth R and Company
July 18, & 19, 2 pm;July 25 & 26, 2 pm
August 1 & 2, 2 pm – Indoor Theatre
Based on Mark Twain short story. A comical twist on the original story with Twain’s interpretation of married couples. The Diary of Adam and Eve is a delightful musical one-hour show for family audiences. The price of admission is included in the general admission ticket to the Park.

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 6.22.11 – Perfect Beach Day!

Posted on June 22, 2011

Outer Banks - 6.22.11 - Perfect day at Kitty Hawk Pier

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Wednesday, June 22, 2011.

This video was shot at the Kitty Hawk Pier and a quick stop at the Lillian St. beach access at 9:00 AM.

Perfect beach day. Sun, 90 degree temps, 70 degree water temps, and a light offshore breeze out of the southwest cleaning up the surf.

Clean chest high surf coming in. The surf will die down today, but the wind is going to stay out of the southwest for the next few days, so there should be a clean longboard wave through the rest of the week.

Outer Banks fishing is going strong. Offshore is seeing dolphin, tuna, and some bill fish. The piers, bridges, Sound, and surf are all very consistent with a wide variety of fish – blue fish, spot speckled trout, croaker, flounder, sea mullet, cobia, etc.

Always a great time to be on the OBX…especially now!

Hope to see you soon. Have fun!

Guest Post: Outer Banks Photographer Stumbles Upon Wild Horses

Posted on June 21, 2011

This past Saturday, we had the Seaside Vacations’ photographer cruising around in the 4×4 area snapping some fab photos of Sail Away, a gorgeous 9 bedroom home 8 miles down the beach!

While she was out there, she stumbled upon a group of the OBX wild horses, and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture the moment. Below is a recent post from her blog, Drama Train.

Thanks for the great pictures and great blog post Whitney!

She’s a wild one

The Outer Banks is one of the strangest places on earth. Where else do you drive 8+ miles on the beach to get to your gorgeous million dollar vacation home (or slightly less expensive year-round home) all while dodging other vehicles, dogs, children, grown men acting like children & wild horses?! Carova beach is one of the strangest and coolest places on earth, I’m sure of it. Even though I have spent my entire life living here I still find myself in awe staring at those amazing giant creatures (the wild horses, not the grown men that have had one too many brewskies doing the macarena in the shore break) just walking up and down the beach living their lives even though humans have taken much of it from them. I was “working” down there this weekend so I had the opportunity to whip my camera out and take a few shots of them walking past my car. Remember if you’re ever vacationing down in Carova, North Carolina please stay 50 feet+ away from the horses, it was their beach first. ENJOY & SMILE…

Whitney Norko Photography - Outer Banks Wild Horses

OBX Pic O’ the Day: Happy Summer!

Posted on June 21, 2011

Outer Banks - 6.21.11 - Happy Summer!

First day of summer…yay! Enjoy the longest day of the year. A little cloudy to start, but 80′s & sun on tap. Decent shoulder high surf, wind is onshore and surf a bit messy, but swell is bigger than expected. Fish are biting – offshore, near shore, surf, piers, bridges, Sound.

Hurley’s “Rip My Shred Stick” FREE Surf Contest June 23 at Jennette’s Pier

Posted on June 20, 2011

Hurley is set to host free surf contest event for kids ages 16 under, this Thursday June 23rd at Jennette’s Pier. The event is designed to allow kids to meet and surf with professional surfers including Asher Nolan, Michael Dunphy and Oliver Kurtz. Whalebone Outer Banks will be hosting a post-event party where everyone can come out and watch a slide show of the day, eat and create custom Hurley board shorts. The “winner,” or whoever is deemed to be having the most fun, will go home with a GoPro digital sports camera

Sounds pretty sweet. If you are interested in registering or getting more information visit, Hurley’s website and or get connected on Facebook.

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 6.20.11 – Great start to the week…

Posted on June 20, 2011

Outer Banks - 6.20.11 - Great start in Kill Devil Hills

Good afternoon. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Monday, June 20, 2011.

This video was shot at the Wright Brothers Memorial and the Hayman St. beach access, both in Kill Devil Hills, at 9:00 AM.

Happy belated Father’s Day. Hope all of the Dad’s enjoyed their day. I was lucky enough to share Father’s Day with with my boy’s first birthday, so it was a great day. Happy birthday Finn!

It was a great day because of the weather too. The weekend was gorgeous with 80 degree temps, sun, and a light breeze, and the great weather is going to continue this week. The 10 day forecast is sun, 80′s, and a few isolated thunderstorms. The showers will not be widespread, and really the plants could use a drink.

Unfortunately, not much surf to report. A small bump out there today (happy International Surfing Day, by the way), but not much going on, and the wind isn’t going to cooperate to start the week. But the wind will switch offshore around Wednesday, and we could have some fun knee to waist longboard waves towards the end of the week. Coupled with the great weather, it should be fun to catch any surf rolling through.

Outer Banks fishing is going strong. Offshore is seeing dolphin, tuna, and a few bill fish mixed in. Cobia are hot near shore. The bridges, piers, and Sound are all active with a wide variety of fish – croaker, sea mullet, spot, speckled trout, blue fish, Spanish mackerel. And the great news is that surf fishing is getting more consistent as well. Great time to be fishing on the OBX!

Hope to see you soon. Have fun!

Outer Banks Treasures: Jennette’s Pier

Posted on June 17, 2011

When you think about what really makes an Outer Banks treasure it is hard to narrow it down. There are so many unique things here in tbe OBX, that our job will never end in showing you all of the places and things we consider treasures. I had the opportunity today to take a tour of the brand new Jennette’s Pier with Assistant Manager, Daryl Law. All I can say is WOW! Jennette’s Pier is truely an amazing sight to see and couldn’t be described as anything less than an Outer Banks Treasure.

When you first walk up to the pier you will notice the amazing details on the exterior of the facility. Not to mention the beautiful ocean views that surround you. There are chairs and tables out on the side overlooking the ocean, which I thought would be a great place to have a cup of coffee and look out at the water every morning. Turns out some locals had the same idea beacause as I was walking in, those seats were filling up quick!

I don’t want to give away to many details of the inside because I want you to see them all in the tour, but I will say that everything inside was beautiful. From the aquariums (which are still in progress) to the stone and tile work, everything was one of a kind. Enough talking, we have been building up to the opening of Jennette’s for a while now and if you haven’t made it to the Outer Banks yet, here is your exclusive tour of Jennette’s Pier. (Cue opening music)

P.S- If you want a live view of Jennette’s Pier check out our new beach webcam!

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 6.17.11 – Let the beach weekend begin!

Posted on June 17, 2011

Outer Banks - 6.17.11 - Great Day at Avalon Pier

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Friday, June 17, 2011.

This video was shot at the Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills at 9:00 AM…then a quick stop at the Lillian St. beach access.

Happy Friday! It’s been a mild week on the OBX with temps in the upper 70′s and lower 80′s all week, but just in time for the weekend, the temps are jumping into the 90′s! There’s a mix of sun and clouds this morning, with a few showers (the plants are loving it!), but the sun will be out this afternoon, and temps will climb to the 90′s. Sun and 90′s all weekend.

There is a nice offshore wind out of the southwest adding a cool breeze to the day. The offshore wind is perfect for cleaning up the little swell we have in the area. The swell is only in the knee to waist range, but it is very clean with the southwest wind. The water is warm, the air is hot, and the surf is clean, so even if it’s small, it’s a good day to be in the water. Definitely worth a longboard session.

Outer Banks fishing is getting better everyday. Offshore is seeing dolphin, big eye tuna and some bill fish mixed in. The piers, bridges, and Sound are very active with a wide variety of fish – blue fish, Spanish mackerel, flounder, spot, speckled trout, croaker – but the big catch of the day is cobia! Our friends over at Rock Solid Fishing (www.RockSolidFishing.com) gave us a great report from their near shore fishing trip yesterday, and they landed four big cobia, with the biggest topping out at almost 80 pounds!

Hope to see you soon. Have fun!