Postponed but still happening…the First Annual Outer Banks Trashion Show.
Weather stopped the first go around of the First Annual Trashion Show, but the rescheduled gala for Friday is looking nothing short of spectacular.
The place to be tomorrow, Friday, is at the Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills at 5:00 p.m.
That’s when it all happens. The models walk the runway in the latest fashions created from the flotsam, jetsam and junk found on the beach.
It should be a lot of fun and it’s all going to a good cause—the North Carolina Coastal Federation.
The Coastal Federation is a remarkable organization that has a history of working successfully with multiple groups to effect real environmental benefits.
They are a strong advocate for commercial fishing, working across party lines and constituents to insure healthy breeding areas for seafood. The Coastal Federation has also been instrumental in helping a nascent oyster industry take root in the state.
The Trashiobn Show is not the only big thing happening this weekend, but it makes for a great lead in to some of the other events.
The big music event is the Mustang Spring Jam in Corolla. It begins on Saturday evening, then its a full day of great music on Sunday.
This one is also a benefit—for two organizations this time. Proceeds go to the Corolla Wild Horse fund, the nonprofit organization that manages the Corolla Wild Mustangs. The Mustang Music Outreach Program also receives funding from Mustang Jam.
The Mustang Music Program works with students to hone musical performance skills.
Finally for something really different to do this weekend, there is also the Kitty Hawk Kites 47th Annual Hang Gliding Spectacular at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. The Spectacular is the oldest continually happening hang gliding completion in the world.
That’s just an inkling of all there is to do on the Outer Banks. Make your plans to stay with us at Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates.
Outer Banks Bike Week takes shape at Longboards in Kitty Hawk.
When it’s the Annual Outer Banks Bike Week there is no doubt that it’s happening. Some bikes purr, some rumble, but there is a throaty, pulsating power to a Harley that is unmistakable. And there is no doubt that is the favorite bike of the visitors.
If you live on the Outer Banks long enough, events just seem to mount up on each other one after the other. Looking back on it, it seems hare to imagine that the 2019 version of Bike Week is the 17th time our roads have been filled with Harley’s and a smattering of other bikes.
It looks the Outer Banks weather gods are cooperating this week. They usually do, but it’s always good to acknowledge their participation. There’s a bit of a chance of rain on Wednesday and Friday, but if there is anything at all, it will be widely scattered.
There are some pretty cool group rides scheduled and great music on tap.
Jonny Waters and Company are going to be plaint a number of venues. Best place to see him is probably Longboards in Kitty Hawk, which is one of the vendor sites for the event.
The Bike Week is a long week—eight day, really. It already started on Saturday and runs all the way thought the following Saturday. That’s eight days.
We’re almost out of April and into May and the May music calendar is looking spectacular with a mid month blast from the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival midweek and the 8th Annual Mustang Music Spring Jam on the weekend.
There is so much happening on the Outer Banks and a Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates home is the perfect place to be.
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to look back over the year and some of the stories that we covered in our Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates blog. There were some tough choices that we had to make about which story to highlight for each month, but here it is—our 2018 recap.
January-Two Winter Snowstorms
Generally speaking the Outer Banks experiences one snowfall every winter. Two within two weeks of each other in the same month? Unheard of…until 2018.
February-Pea Island Bridge Named for Lifesaving Service Hero
Naming the bridge for Richard Etheridge is appropriate.
Etheridge was the captain of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station from the 1880s through the 1890s.
The Pea Island Lifesaving Station was the only all African American crew in the Lifesaving Service and was consistently rated as one of the best on the Outer Banks.
March-Nor’Easters Create Perfect Winter Surf
Maybe it was the back to back nor’easters that created the perfect conditions for the waves that rolled in on Wednesday. Maybe it was the wind shifting just enough to the west to stack those massive waves, so they were no longer an unreadable swirl of currents.
Whatever it was, something happened yesterday to create an almost perfect winter surfing day.
April-Record Breaking Bluefin Tuna
Caught on the last day of 2018 of the North Carolina bluefin tuna trophy season, there is a new state record for the largest of the tuna family.
Weighing in at 877 pounds the tuna was landed on March 17—that’s St. Patrick ’s Day. It does take a while for the weight to become official, but here it is a little less than one month later and there is a new record in the books.
May-Permit Needed for Carova Beach Parking
Heading to the Carova area of the Currituck Banks? If so, be sure to get a permit before parking on the beach.
Beginning this weekend—Memorial Day—a permit is required for anyone who is parking on the Carova beach. The very important word in that sentence is parking. In other words, if a family is planning on driving to the 4WD area, and stopping to go swimming or fishing, a permit will be needed.
(The jury is still out on how successful Currituck County’s permitting experiment has been.)
June-Fourth Outer Banks Microbrew Opens
And now we are four—four locally owned microbreweries on the Outer Banks, that is.
The Northern Outer Banks Brewing Company in Corolla just joined the mix this spring, and that brings the number of microbreweries on the Outer Banks to four. Or maybe five if 1718 Brewing down in Ocracoke is included…although we think that’s a bit of a long way to go for a beer.
July-New Book on the Lost Colony
There is a new book out on the Lost Colony and it may be the most comprehensive study of the fate of the 115 colonists that has been published.
Andrew Lawler’s The Secret Token, Myth, Obsession and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, is an amazing book that manages to incorporate elements of a a mystery or spy novel into a book filled with a detailed study of the history of the Lost Colony and why—and how—it has to hold such a dominant place in the American psyche.
August-Village Table and Tavern Opens in Duck
It seems like Village Table and Tavern in Duck has been under construction forever—but at long last it’s open!
For visitors who have been driving up to Corolla, that’s the building that’s been under construction at the Nor’Banks Sailing Center since February.
Was it worth the wait?
A soft opening visit this past weekend would say that yes it was—most emphatically.
September-Outer Banks Icon Glenn Eure Passes Away
We meet very few truly memorable people in our lives. Glenn Eure was one of them.
Anyone meeting him felt immediately as though he would be a friend for life. Glenn was funny, outgoing, irreverent and a remarkably complex man.
He passed away this past week, and for the Outer Banks and hundreds if not thousands of visitors that met him there is a void that will be hard to fill.
October-Mustang Fall Mustang Music Returns to Corolla
The first day of the Mustang Rock & Roast is now in the bag and whatever the expectations were, they were exceeded.
It helped that the weather was perfect, but the sunshine and autumn temperatures, just made an amazing day or music that much better.
The headliner, Big Something, didn’t disappoint…at all.
November-Kitty Hawk Winks Closes
Change is inevitable but somehow it seemed the Kitty Hawk Winks was immune to that. Through 65 years it remained at the corner of Ocean Boulevard and the Beach Road, the perfect beach town convenience store, dispensing food, sandwiches, teeshirts and cheap souvenirs in equal measure.
Change, evidently has finally caught up with the icon to beach living and Thanksgiving Weekend will be the store’s last hurrah.
The ribbon cutting for the new Bonner Bridge has been moved back to sometime in January or February next year. NCDOT had hoped to get the replacement span for the aging bridge opened by the end of this year, but a series of storm event have delayed the final touches for completing the bridge.
Structurally the new span is completed. However, there is ongoing work to finish guardrails, remove construction equipment and minor work that goes into finishing any major project.
The Marcus King band coming to the Mustang Spring Jam this Sunday.
Two Great Events Highlight Spring Weekend
Spring on the Outer Banks is a remarkable time and this coming weekend is what it’s all about. It’s a weekend with two great events—the 3rd Annual Shredfest on Saturday at the Nags head Event Site and on Sunday it’s the 7th Annual Mustang Spring Jam in Corolla.
Shredfest is all about if it has wheels it can shred, but there’s some great music as well. Personal favorite is The Ramble taking the stage at 4:00.
If music is the theme, though, nothing quite matches what Mike Dianna and his Bearded Face Productions does with the Mustang Spring Jam. Six bands will take the stage over the course of the day. Well, seven, because the Mustang Music Outreach kids always kick things off and they are really worth checking out.
There is a great local band in the mix—Sensi Trails. Featuring some tight reggae arrangements with very good musicianship, it’s a group that’s a real pleasure to watch.
The headliner, though is really gong to be exciting. The Marcus King band has been wowing audiences wherever they play with their eclectic blend of southern rock merged with psychedelic. Great musicians playing music the way it’s supposed to be played.
One of the features of the Mustang music festivals is the use of multiple stages so there is no gap in the music between groups. When one band wraps up the next is ready to go immediately.
The Mustang Spring Jam raises money for two great organizations. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund has been protecting the Corolla Wild Horses for the past two decades and through their efforts the herd may yet survive intact.
The Mustang Music Outreach teaches kids about music and performance. It’s a great program; the kids learn a lot and music director Ruth Wyand makes it all fun.
Great music on tap for the 7th Annual Mustang Spring Jam.
Mustang Spring Jam Highlights Spring Outer Banks Music
It’s a little under a month to go before the 7th Annual Mustang Music Spring Jam on Sunday, May 20.
As aways, the spring jam is held at Mike Dianna’s Grill Room in Corolla.
Mike has a great touch with his shows—always manages to bring in some of the best bands around—bands that may not be as well-known as the big names but are putting together some awesome sounds with really talented musicians.
This year looks like it’s not exception.
The Marcus King Band from Greenville, SC. is headlining this year. The sound is kind of southern rock of the 1970s, but there a bit of psychedelia thrown in touched off by great vocals, hard driving beat and screaming hot guitar.
There’s lot’s more as well.
All Mustang Music shows kick off with the kids of the Mustang Music Outreach Program taking the stage. Under the direction of Ruth Wyand, these kids rock. Shockingly good and worth coming early just to check them out.
There’ll be another local band featured as well. Sense Trails does a great job with reggae music and are worth checking out.
Also on tap of the day will be Fireside Collective from Asheville and Of Good Nature from Charlotte, NC.
A great quality of all of Mike Dianna’s Mustang Music shows—continuous music. For the Spring Jam, there will be a stage on the deck of the restaurant and a tent with a stage in the parking lot. When one band end, the next one is ready to go right away.
Proceeds benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the Mustang Music Outreach Program—two great programs that make the Outer Banks a better place to live, work and visit.
Great food, great weather, fantastic entertainment and some very nice wines and beer to with everything. Put it all together and it equals a big success for the Big Curri-Shuck, Sanctuary Vineyards celebration of all things oyster.
Although that may not be entirely accurate since in addition to all you can eat steamed oysters, there was also all you can eat crab and barbecue.
Still, there’s a reason why the event is called the Big Curri-Shuck, as in shucking oysters.
The event is a cooperative effort between Sanctuary Vineyards and I Got Your Crabs. It does seem like the perfect way to wrap up a Thanksgiving holiday—sort of a big thank you for the bounty of the harvest from the sea.
It’s become a real holiday tradition for quite a number of people—something they watch for a grab tickets as soon as they can. That might be good advice for next year; Hunter Stuart from I Got Your Crabs manages to get enough oysters every year for about 1000-1100 ticket holders, but John Wright, manager of Sanctuary Vineyards won’t oversell. He has said in the past that he’s determined that all you can eat, means all you can eat.
And the oysters were good this year…really good.
It’s not just the oysters that make the event special. Certainly the North Carolina barbecue helps. As does the crab legs. There is something about the setting that seems to take this event to the next level.
Maybe it’s being vineyards and farmland right next to the event; maybe it’s the picnic tables and the wine and beer and the way everyone seems to be in such a good mood. Who know what it is, but there is something about the Big Curri-Shuck that makes it an event that creates great memories.
Fantastic music this year as well.
The Daniel Jordan Band from Elizabeth City were great with their mix of rock, blues and country. Buckshot out of Virginia Beach—amazing. Think country with attitude. Also some of the younger kids from Ruth Wyand’s Mustang Music Program got to take the stage.
Southern Culture on the Skids performing at Shred Fest.
Hot music but cool temperatures…that sums up the weekend music scene on the Outer Banks.
Last fall we lost out on one of the best music weekends anywhere when Hurricane Matthew caused the cancellation of the Mustang Music Festival and the Duck Jazz Festival. This past weekend may have made up for that with Shred Fest on Saturday and the Mustang Spring Jam on Sunday.
Saturday-Shred Fest
It looks as though Shred Fest is here to stay and if so, that is great news for the Outer Banks music scene. And for the shredders out there on skateboards, BMX bikes, roller blades and yes even a scooter.
Saturday started with temperatures near 80 and it was all downhill for the chill factor after that, but the rain held off, and with headliners Southern Culture on the Skids and Los Angeles based Pharcyde, the sounds were varied, innovate and great.
S.C.O.T.U.S. never disappoints. A great show with their send up of Southern culture including throwing fried chicken in to the audience. But the show only works because they are so good musically that the audience keeps coming back for more.
It would be hard to imagine any two groups being any more different that S.C.O.T.U.S. and Pharcyde.
Hiphop and rap based rhythm and vocals, seem to have nothing in common with the tight musical chords of S.C.O.T.U.S., but talent always wins out, and the Pharcyde is talented and creative and worth seeing.
Shred Fest does benefit local charities, including the Mustang Music Outreach Program, veterans groups and the special need population.
Sunday-Mustang Spring Jam
Mike Dianna has been putting on the Mustang Spring Jam up in Corolla for the past six years. It looks as though this is going to be the only Mustang music festival this year as Mike recovers from the Hurricane Matthew forcing him to cancel his fall Mustang Music Festival.
One thing’s for sure—Mike has the magic touch when it comes to music promotion.
The head liners, Big Something and London Souls were fantastic.
Big Something’s music is a complex weaving of different styles with band members playing a variety of instruments.
London Souls is in your face, loud, head banging rock; but take a step back from how cranked up the volume was this is a duo that’s almost redefining what two musicians can do with music.
What Mike always does at his Mustang festivals is bring out some of the best of local talent and this year was no exception with Zack Mexico and the debut of The Ramble.
The Ramble was really good, playing a wide variety of arrangements and playing it really well. They’ll be playing around the Outer Banks this summer, so they are definitely worth checking out.
The shows always begin with the kids from Ruth Wyand’s Mustang Music Program. They never disappoint.
There is so much happening on the Outer Banks this weekend that the only way to get to everything may be to strap on a jet pack and fly from event to event.
Saturday is the day a tough decision may have to be made…or split time between two the two events.
Sanctuary Vineyards kicks things off at noon on Saturday with their first ever Buns N Rosés – Grand Crü, BBQ and Brü 80’s Rock Party in Jarvisburg, A couple of wines will be coming out of the barrels, live music and local pit masters will be vying to see who makes the best barbecue around.
Shred Fest
Just two hours later, at 2:00 p.m., Shred Fest gets rolling at the Nags Head Event Site.
Shred Fest is a fund raiser for Dare 2 Care and a couple of local causes including area veterans, the special needs community and the Ruth Wyands Mustang Outreach Program that gives area kids a chance to learn how to perform on stage.
The headliner? Southern Culture on the Skids.
For anyone who has never seen S.C.O.T.S.—well, you’re in for a treat. Incredibly talented musicians performing an eclectic blend of country, rock and jazz, they never lose sight of how much fun it is to be on stage.
Mustang Spring Jam
For music lovers, Sunday brings the Mustang Music Spring Jam. Mike Dianna always does an outstanding job of bringing some of the best music around to the Outer Banks and it looks as though this year is no exceptions.
Big Soul is headlining, bringing to the stage a jazzy kind of a funk style. Hard to call London Soul a warmup act but they’re getting second billing. Expect a hard rock wall of sound done with talent and skill.
Ruth Wyand’s Mustang Music Outreach kids will start things off and they make it worth while to get there early. Some local talent on hand as well— Zack Mexico, and Graham Outten and Myles Wood’s new band The Ramble.
A nice touch for any Mike Dianna show—two stages…never a break in the music.
The weather is looking great for the weekend, so plan on being there.
Painting a wall at Dowdy Park during Artrageous on Saturday.
That three hour weather delay for the Grand Opening of Dowdy Park in Nags Head sure came in handy. If the weather was overcast with a little wind, at least it didn’t rain.
And that was a good thing, because the Grand Opening was as advertised and maybe a bit more.
Combining forces with the Dare County Arts Council to hold a springtime Artrageous in conjunction with the Grand Opening, Dowdy Park, located next to Nags Head Elementary School, was packed with kids, parents and good number of people who just wanted to be where the fun was.
DCAC Artrageous
Artrageous is a wonderful celebration of kids, creativity and the arts and at every turn there were kids trying their hand at painting, jewelry making, blacksmithing and so many more activities.
There is a very nice little stage at Dowdy Park and the local talent that performed was outstanding. The older students of Ruth Wyands Mustang Music Outreach Program really rocked the house.
Of course, after Artrageous leaves—it is a one day event—there is still Dowdy Park. And this is one time when the town of Nags Head really got things right.
With major grants from Trillium Health Resources and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Dowdy Park seems to have something for just about the whole family.
There is a wonderful playground for kids featuring some really innovative designs. Plenty of parking, although the crowds certainly overwhelmed the parking on Saturday. There are lots of picnic tables, many of them a large pavilion; a nice walking/jogging trail…this is a shining star for the town of Nags Head.
Once upon a time this was the site of Dowdy’s Amusement Park, but after the park closed in 2005, it took a while to figure out what was going to happen with the property.
Luckily, after purchasing it in 2014, the town made the decision to try to create a public area that everyone could enjoy.
Outer Banks Weekend Features Something for Everyone
Learning to dance at Artrageous 2016.
This past weekend on the Outer Banks was a perfect example of why autumn is the time to come to the Outer Banks.
Saturday was filled with lots of events, all of them family friendly. Our Joe Lamb Jr., & Associates. minions tried to get to everything, but we’re sure we missed something along the way.
Artrageous
Kids and creativity is what Artrageous is all about.
If there is a better event for kids anywhere than the Dare County Arts Council’s Artrageous it would be hard to imagine.
The event is all about kids and creativity. Held every year at Rec Park in Kill Devil Hills, kids can try their hand at blacksmithing, get their face painted or create a mural on the side of a building.
Families, definitely put this on in your autumn calendars for next year.
Crabdaddy
Beautiful setting and perfect autumn weather made Crabdaddy 2016 one to remember.
Perfect setting, perfect weather, lots of crab and good wine. Throw in some great music and it just doesn’t get much better.
Held at the Cotton Gin the last Saturday of September every year, Crabdaddy is part celebration of the autumn grape harvest and a wonderful celebration of the bounty of local waters—in this case blue crab.
Sanctuary Vineyards is owned by the Wright Family, the same family that owns the Cotton Gin so the setting makes sense.
The wines have shown steady improvement over the years and they are very good now.
Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival
Soggy Mountain Boys headlined Saturday night at the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival.
The outdoor stage at Roanoke Island Festival Park is spectacular the bands were among the best in Bluegrass. By the time things wrapped up on Saturday evening there was no doubt that the 2016 Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival was something special.
It helped that the Soggy Mountain Boys were the final act. Putting a very traditional spin on what bluegrass is all about, some of their sounds would have fit right in 75 or 80 years ago.
Next big weekend is Columbus Day–Mustang Music Festival on Friday and Saturday and the Duck Jazz Festival on Sunday.
