Festival Honors Ocracoke's Waterfowl Heritage

Ocracoke has a time-honored tradition of decoy carving and now more people will learn about it. The newly formed Ocracoke Island Decoy Carvers Guild will sponsor the First Annual Ocracoke Island Waterfowl Festival, which will take place on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at the Ocracoke School gymnasium, 120 Schoolhouse Rd. The Ocracoke Foundation is the sponsor of this non-profit organization.

Islander Dave O’Neal, owner of the Down Point Decoy Gallery, will be this year’s featured carver. In addition to all kinds of decoys on display, the Festival will have presentations on the art of carving, raffles and delicious local food.

With open membership ($25 yearly), the guild particularly encourages decoy carvers, whittlers, collectors and those who would like to learn carving to join.

Monthly meetings will have specific topics and presentations including on some of the historical island carvers and suggestions for those interested in learning the techniques of carving and whittling. The next meeting is scheduled for 7pm Thursday, April 5th, in the Ocracoke Community Center. Membership includes a single free admission to the annual Ocracoke Island Waterfowl Festival on Ocracoke in April each year.

John Simpson gave an overview of how and why the guild formed and some of their expected activities. “Waterfowling has been a dramatic part of Ocracoke’s heritage and this folk art needs to be kept from becoming a lost art,” he said.

The guild selected a root head goose carved by Ike O'Neal in the 1920s for their logo. These types of decoys get their name because the head and neck are fashioned from fallen trees on the island, primarily cedar. 

For more information, contact John Simpson, 509-930-4988, Vince O’Neal, 252-921-0112, Scotty Robinson, 252-921-0410, or any guild board member.