Ocracoke Alive invites you to give the gift of arts to the students of Ocracoke Island this holiday season! Arts programming was cut from the 2014-15 school budget. But with your support, Ocracoke Alive can help bring visiting artists to the students to fill this void. Choose your level of sponsorship at: http://www.ocracokealive.org/home. You can read more about the program here.
Ocracoke Alive, the non-profit organizaton which hosts the annual OcraFolk Festival and sponsors other community projects, held its annual meeting on Tuesday November 18th. Ocracoke Alive President David Tweedie – also known as Fiddler Dave – shared great news about the success of the 2014 OcraFolk Festival! Newly formed group Raygun Ruby, who play 80's music, opened up for long-standing band The Ocracoke Rockers. Both musical groups are comprised of local musicians, and provided music for dancing and fun at the Community Center on the Festival's opening night. Over at the Berkeley Center an art auction was held, featuring works donated by local artists and pieces done by non-residents. A fish fry was another new addition to the Festival, and with all the success of the fun new features, Ocracoke Alive hopes to continue these activities for the 2015 Festival! June 5-7 will be the dates for the OcraFolk Festival in 2015, so mark your calendars, book your lodging, and get ready for the guaranteed fun that is sure to occur that weekend!
Ocracoke Alive Board Member Tom Pahl updated everyone in attendance on the Skipjack Wilma Lee, which suffered an array of damages due to Hurricane Arthur. From the time Hurricane Arthur cleared out through late-October, the Wilma Lee was dry-docked in Beaufort, NC so all of the damages could be fixed. Thanks to successful fundraisers, insurance coverage, and support from the Outer Banks Community Foundation, not only was the hurricane damage repaired, Ocracoke Alive was able to order a much-needed new mainsail.
Tom Pahl and Captain Rob Temple have big plans for the boat. They hope to make the Wilma Lee an area for learning, one where local children and visitors alike can come and use the space as a dockside classroom. Recently a Boy Scouts troop from Wilmington, NC visited Ocracoke, and Tom was able to take them aboard for a knot-tying lesson. The Wilma Lee never left the dock, but Tom was happy to host the Troop on board. Ocracoke Alive provided rope for each Scout and adult to use during the lesson, which they took home as souvenirs from there time on the island. Naturally both Pahl and Temple want the Wilma Lee to be approved to sail, but first the Coast Guard must sign off on all the repairs as well as the rigging of the new mainsail. After Thanksgiving, Captain Temple will assemble a group of volunteers to help rig the new mainsail. You can check out the Wilma Lee's Facebook page for updates.
Over the summer hundreds of people got to see a production that had a twenty-year hiatus: "A Tale of Blackbeard." Julie Howard created the play, which was produced nine summers between 1974-1994. With much enthusiasm, Ocracoke Alive Vice President Desiree Ricker – who was also the choreographer and co-director for the production – spoke about the play's great success. Each night was sold out, and anywhere between 20 and 60 hopeful audience members were turned away every single show due to immense popularity and quality of the production. The actors and musicians all participated as volunteers, and it was designed as a family-friendly play. Ocracoke School English teacher Charles Temple was also a director. There are talks about bringing "A Tale of Blackbeard" back for the summer of 2015, so keep checking the Ocracoke Alive webpage for updates.
In an effort to expose local children to the arts – funding for these programs was cut by Hyde County Schools – Ocracoke Alive has developed a Community Arts initiative. Working alongside Ocracoke School Principal Walt Padgett, Ocracoke Alive has gotten approval to bring guest artists into the school to teach a range of creative arts. Baking, sewing, pottery making, painting, music, dance, and photography are just some of the creative educational opportunities. Anyone interested will need to fill out an application through Ocracoke Alive and get a background check completed through Hyde County Schools. Hyde County will cover the cost of the background checks. Local artists and non-residents are encouraged to apply! Local artists will each receive a per diem. Visiting artists will be set up in a rental property for the week of their participation in the program, and are allowed to bring three guests. The Community Arts program will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting on January 27, 2015 and will continue through June 4, 2015. Each artist will lead 45-minute sessions for students in Pre-K through 8th grade on either Tuesday or Thursday. For more information and to fill out and application go to Ocracoke Alive's website www.ocracokealive.org
Do you want to get more involved? Contact Ocracoke Alive! They love volunteers and welcome folks to join any of their committees and/or the Board! Become an Ocracoke Alive member by donating $10.00 and filling out an information sheet. Contributions, which are tax-deductible, are also welcomed and appreciated. Visit their website for any local arts-related information.
