Islands on the Edge

Please join the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on Thursday, August 20 @ noon ET for our upcoming Story Circle: Islands on the Edge – North Carolina’s Maritime Culture in the Time of the Pandemic.

This event will stream live on Facebook and YouTube.

• RSVP on Facebook
• View the livestream on the Festival website

Communities in North Carolina’s “islands on the edge” have weathered hurricanes, rising tides, and a host of other challenges both natural and man-made. The pandemic adds another layer of challenges. Join participants from Harkers Island, Ocracoke, and Hatteras as they continue discussions started during the 2004 Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s Water Ways: Mid-Atlantic Maritime Communities program, and learn how these resilient island communities “weather the storms” and aim to come out stronger each time.

This event is part of the Smithsonian Earth Optimism initiative, highlighting success stories in conservation and sustainability. 

ASL interpretation and real-time captioning will be available.

This conversation features Karen Amspacher, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, Harker’s Island/Down East, NC; Ernie Foster, local historian and educator, Hatteras/Outer Banks, NC; and Alton Ballance, Inn owner, author and educator, Ocracoke Island, NC, in conversation with moderator Betty Belanus, folklorist and curator at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.