So Much to Do on an OBX Weekend
The Crabdaddy motto.
When autumn comes to the Outer Banks the events start rolling in. And it’s not wonder—the heat of mid summer has backed off a bit, the days are still long enough that there’s time for daytime activities and the nights are mild.
This past week there there was so much to do—ESAs, Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival and more—it’s almost exhausting just thinking about it; and Saturday was when everything seemed to come together.
In our North Beach Sun quest to report on all things Outer Banks, we took on the difficult task of covering in person the three big events on Saturday.
Artrageous
The creation of great art. Young artists make their own paper bag hats.
We started off our journey at Rec Park in Kill Devil Hills for the Dare County Arts Council’s 27th Annual Artrageous.
It would be hard to imagine a better event for kids and the whole family. Artrageous has always been about the arts in the Outer Banks community, but over the past few years, the event has focused on the creative passions of children.
There are kids everywhere, faces intent as they create paper bag hats, work with blacksmiths to create nails, run with kites.
The weather was perfect for the event and it is absolute magic seeing the joy of children as they unleash their creativity.
Crabdaddy
The Virgin Stompers. A great effort but a second place finish.
Crabdaddy is a celebration of the harvest—the harvest of grapes at Sanctuary Vineyards and the harvest of crabs from Outer Banks waters.
Taking place under the towering pine trees on the north side of the Cotton Gin in Jarvisburg, this is a happening that epitomizes so much that is best about the Coastal North Carolina—a family friendly event and setting, great food, good wine and friends everywhere.
And the music from Trae Pierce and the T-stones was ideal for the day…a rock band with a lot of funk, they were a joy to watch.
Favorite event of the day has to be the grape stomping competition. Messy and funny, it really ads to the atmosphere of the day.
Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival
Darrell Webb rocking out on mandolin.
The Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival is back. It never really went away, but last year’s event had to be canceled because of Tropical Storm Joaquin.
The weather this year cooperated—ok, Wednesday was a bit iffy, but from Thursday through Saturday, things could not have been better.
The setting at Roanoke Island Festival Park is spectacular and big kudos to promoter Cory Hemilright for the sound system he had at the festival; excellent reproduction of the music no matter where the location on the Park grass.
The lineup was fantastic this year, and Saturday night was no exception with the Soggy Mountain Boys finishing the show.
The Darrell Webb Band, the band leading into the Soggy Mountain Boys was amazing. Webb seems to have a great time poking fun at some of the bluegrass conventions, at one point getting down on his knees and doing his impression of a rock ’n’ roll mandolin player. They also took some blues classics and reworked them, notably Robert Johnson’s Crossroad Blues.
The Soggy Mountain Boys are about as traditional as it gets—almost beyond traditional, hearkening back to the roots of bluegrass in the 1930s and 40s.
The Bluegrass Festival is moving back to October next year, scheduled October 4-7 in 2017,
