Outer Banks Annual Events - Local Culture & History

One of the Outer Banks’s biggest claims to fame is the 12 seconds in 1903 that revolutionized the world. The Wright Brothers’ first flight in Kill Devil Hills broke barriers in technology and paved the way for aviation developments. Join the First Flight Society for their annual celebration of Orville and Wilbur Wrights’ achievements on the anniversary of the first flight. Admission to the Wright Brothers National Memorial Park is free on December 17, and there is a special anniversary program. Each year a different aviation honoree is recognized, and guest speakers include notable icons. Join the National Park Service and the First Flight Society as they celebrate aviation and local history.

On May 11, 1942, the H.M.T. Bedfordshire sank off of Ocracoke Island’s coast. Four of the sailors found their final resting place at the British Cemetery. Each Friday in April, an annual ceremony and reception remembers those sailors and celebrates the small plot of land that’s come to be known as “forever England.” This annual event brings together people from the Ocracoke community, representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, British Royal Navy and Canadian Royal Navy for a transnational memorial made possible by the collective work of many nations. Each ceremony involves a reading of the crew list, the playing of bagpipes and a 21-gun salute. This Ocracoke annual event is open to all who wish to pay their respects at this honorable display of local culture and history.

Celebrate Currituck’s down-home, country culture with barbecue and a rodeo. The Currituck Heritage Bulls & BBQ is an annual fall event that brings excitement and family friendly fun to Currituck residents and visitors of all ages – no native ties required. The People’s Choice BBQ and Kansas City BBQ Competition are the cornerstones of this event. Local restaurants and barbecue experts battle it out for title of the best barbecue, and attendees sample the creations, ranging from tangy to sweet and smoky to succulent. After everyone has voted for their favorite barbecue, the competition concludes with an awards ceremony. Following the barbecue competition, the attention turns from pigs to cows as the festival’s evening rodeo opens, presenting the talents of professional bull riders. Other activities during the event include corn hole tournaments, children’s games and browsing the wares from local vendors, including food and funky crafts, products and more. It’s a delicious, engaging but low-key event that shines a little extra love on this interior area of the Outer Banks.

Here at the Outer Banks we love our seafood – the tuna, mussels, oysters, grouper, scallops, mmmm, we could go on and on about it. Have you ever thought about the source of seafood that you buy or eat? Hatteras Island’s Day at the Docks is an event to celebrate seafood and answer all of your questions about it. Learn how seafood affects the Outer Banks community and economy. Discuss marketplace choices and sustainability within local communities. You can participate in the Fishy K Fun Run, put your cooking skills to the test in a chowder cook off, enjoy competitions, demonstrations and much more. The Taste of North Carolina, Hatteras Style event is also held during Day at the Docks, so spend your evening sampling regional food and beverages while listening to live music. For more information, questions or concerns, reach out to Day at the Docks through their Facebook page or by emailing the event's website.

Take a step back in time to a Roanoke Island winter in the 1850s. Island Farm invites you to celebrate fall food traditions as they share with visitors how coastal families prepared for winter two centuries ago. Learn about and try your hand at hearth cooking, food preservation and candle making. You can shuck some corn and do a little shelling too. In between all of these activities, tour the farm with a classic ox-drawn wagon ride. If you bring a nonperishable food item with you, you’ll receive a dollar off admission, and the goods will be donated to the Roanoke Island Food Pantry. You’ll be having fun while helping out a great cause. From Garden to Hearth is held the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving Day.

For a dose of holiday charm, nothing beats the Manteo Christmas Parade. The whole town comes out to see local school bands, vintage cars, the famous Shriners funny cars, SPCA dogs, kids on horseback, dance troupes, floats of all sorts, Queen Elizabeth I and her court (from The Lost Colony) and Santa arriving on the fire truck. Starting at 10:30 a.m. on the first Saturday in December, the parade runs from Manteo High School down Wingina Street, along John Borden Street to Croatan Avenue to Queen Elizabeth Street to Fernando Street. Find a spot anywhere along that route to enjoy the sights and sounds of a small-town holiday celebration. Downtown on Queen Elizabeth Avenue, close to the official parade stage and emcee at the historic courthouse, is probably the most popular spot for spectators. Be sure to get to town early because you'll probably have to park a ways back on a side street and walk to your viewing area. After the parade you can get photos with Santa at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum on Fernando Street. 

Ocracoke celebrates its sweetest tradition in early August with the annual Ocracoke Fig Festival sponsored by Ocracoke Preservation Society. Local vendors provide fresh figs, fig preserves, local cookbooks and other fig-tastic items. Learn about Ocracoke’s fig history and culture and bring the kids for old-fashioned crafts and games. The showpiece of the Fig Festival is the Fig Cake Bake-Off on Saturday, but look for events all weekend long.

If you’re on Ocracoke Island in December, you won’t want to miss the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association Oyster Roast and Shrimp Boil. One of the most popular winter events, this community meal celebrates seafood and the people who make enjoying it possible. For the afternoon, the Community Square turns into a fish-fest where makeshift tables offer gathering grounds for shucking oysters, peeling and eating shrimp and rubbing elbows with your neighbors. There is also fish stew to slurp and cold beverages to sip. Come enjoy the taste of Ocracoke’s heritage, community and fresh-catch seafood at this Outer Banks annual event, which occurs during the last weekend in December.

Every year families of buccaneers and scallywags journey to Kitty Hawk Kites in Nags Head for several days of pirate fun. The Outer Banks Pirate Festival usually takes place in mid-August, so your young mateys can embrace their inner pirates right before going back to school. For three days a group of local pirates bring alive their games, traditions, lore and mischief. Get your face painted, learn the rules of the pirate code, explore the history of pirates on the Outer Banks and attend Scallywag School to prepare yourselves for the treasure hunt. Finish your day the right way by having dinner with the pirates. The hearty grub and camaraderie will keep your pirate spirit alive until the next year’s festival.

Forget “the world is your oyster!” At the Stumpy Point Oyster Fest, the oyster is your world. For more than 30 years, this all-you-can-eat oyster festival has been a favorite of locals and visitors alike. Celebrate a chilly February day with friends, family, homemade desserts and your favorite bivalves. Whether you want your oysters steamed or fried is entirely up to you, and once you’ve had your fill of them – if that’s even possible – chow down on some fresh fish that’s fried up right in front of you. And you’ll be doing some good eating for a cause too; proceeds from the Oyster Feast benefit Stumpy Point families in need.