Hello friends and supporters of Ocracoke Alive,
It is summer on Ocracoke Island, bringing all of the fun of sunny beaches, warm waters, visitors, the Ocrafolk Festival, A Tale of Blackbeard musical by Julie Howard, and Hurricane Arthur attacking our Skipjack Wilma Lee(what was that last one?!). Ah yes, this season has been chocked full of planned and unplanned adventures. This newsletter will let you know all about it!
Hurricane Arthur damages Skipjack Wilma Lee! Join our fundraising campaign by August 1st to get her back in the water! Great rewards for sponsors!
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| Wilma Lee damaged in Hurricane Arthur |
The most dramatic damage for Ocracoke Alive was to the Skipjack Wilma Lee tied up at NPS docks. No one was there to watch, so we can only look at the results and speculate as to exactly what happened. The damage report is as follows:
Broken 40 ft wood boom
Damage to the port and starboard rails
Damage to the starboard railing
Damage to the mainsail
Structural separation at the stem
The Wilma Lee will be taken to a boatyard and hauled out for inspections and repairs. We are currently assessing and estimating the costs, but it is clear that because of a high deductible and a provision that excludes sail damage during a named storm, that we will need close to $20,000 that we currently do not have.
We hope to repair the vessel so that it is able to take passengers for motoring trips and minimal sailing with use of the jib sail so that we can make the most of the remainder of the 2014 season while we wait for the creation of a new mainsail. In the meantime, we will continue our summertime educational Dockside talks once the Wilma Lee returns to her berth at the Community Square Docks. Mid-August we have another meeting with Andy Mink of NC Learn to look at the educational programming that we are developing for the Wilma Lee.
Here are some ways you can help!
1. Join our Indiegogo Campaign! In June, we began a fundraising campaign to raise money for replacement of the sails. That platform is still in place and we are off to a good start at $1505 with 20 days left (as of this post date) and a goal for the sails of $10,000. We hope you will be able to pitch in and join our quest. Any monies raised over our goal will go towards the additional costs of repairing damage to the Wilma Lee. There are a lot of great perks, including T-shirts, cruises, a week’s stay on Ocracoke, and even your own private charter. Please note that many of the rewards offered involve cruises aboard the Wilma Lee – those may require modification, depending on the outcome of our inspections and assessments. Contributions are tax-deductible and the campaign ends August 1st.
2. Send a tax-deductible contribution directly. You can do so with a credit card through Paypal by clicking on the donation button here.
or by mailing a check to “Ocracoke Alive, PO Box 604, Ocracoke, NC 27960” with a memo to “Skipjack Wilma Lee Fund” 3. Join our “Boom and Sail Party.” If you can come to Ocracoke Island and are interested in joining us for a fundraising party, let us know and we will keep you posted on how to get a ticket to a fun-filled celebration to raise money for the Skipjack Wilma Lee. Email us at info@ocracokealive.org or call at 252-921-0260. Ocrafolk Festival 2014 a great success!  The Ocrafolk Festival kicked off the weekend with a fish fry at the Ocracoke Preservation Society before moving across the street to the fundraising auction at the Berkley Manor (hosted by Philip Howard, Dolores Gilbert, Lisa Landrum, and a dedicated crew of volunteers). Friday night activities rounded out with a World Music Jam with Beleza and friends at the Live Oak Stage and a dance at the Community Center with the Ocracoke Rockers and Raygun Ruby.
(Photos by Rachael Dalkilic)
The music, stories, and fun continued over the weekend, featuring performances by new Ocrafolk participants Mipso and the South Carolina Broadcasters, a storytelling evening with Donald Davis, and the return of many favorites like Molasses Creek, Caravan of Thieves, Cassie & Maggie MacDonald, Jacob Johnson, Shana Tucker, Paperhand Puppets, and a slew of other talented artists. The weekend also highlighted forty incredible artisans from Ocracoke, eastern Carolina, and beyond. Many thanks to all of the volunteers and sponsors who helped make the weekend possible. Next year’s dates are June 5-7. If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact us at info@ocracokealive.org, or visit our website at www.ocracokealive.org for more details on how to help bring this creative weekend to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke Alive brings musical pirates and village girls back to the stage in “A Tale of Blackbeard”
(All photos courtesy of Brenda Kremser, copyright 2014)
This spring and summer, the Ocracoke Island community has been abuzz with excitement over the return of “A Tale of Blackbeard” by Julie Howard. Written in 1974, the musical details the final days of Blackbeard on Ocracoke. This wonderful production features fourteen musical numbers performed by a cast of over twenty island residents playing pirates, village girls, and a smattering of unforgettable village characters. There are snatches of truth and facts woven into the play, but it is by and large purely a tale, loosely based on Blackbeard’s 1718 battle with Lt. Robert Maynard and on a real-life Ocracoke boardinghouse, run by islander Euphemia Curtis in the mid-1800’s. Returning on the 40th anniversary of the original staging, A Tale of Blackbeard has a special significance to Ocracoke Alive because it was out of this very musical that the Ocracoke Players non-profit came into existence in 1978. Four years ago The Players emerged from hibernation and was renamed Ocracoke Alive making the circle complete! Ocracoke Alive wants to thank Julie Howard and the directors, Charles Temple and Desiree Ricker, along with the committed and talented cast and crew, stage hands, designers, and sponsors who enthusiastically jumped on board and made the production possible. Shows run on Monday nights at 8 PM, June 9-August 11 at the Ocracoke Community Center. Some presold tickets are available online at www.ocracokealive.org/blackbeard and the remaining tickets are available as walkups at the door. So far, all of the shows have been sold out, so if you are interested in attending we recommend being in line at the door by 6:40 PM for the door tickets (on sale at 7:30 PM). Julie Howard and her son Stefen are also working on uploading past photos, programs, and memorabilia so keep checking back to the website for more updates and blasts from the past! Ocracoke Alive sponsors other activities in the Ocracoke Community
Ocracoke Alive has continued its work this spring and summer supporting programming on the island. In April, we helped sponsor Ocracoke School’s 2014 Arts Week, helping to bring in artists to work with Ocracoke School students for classes in dance, painting, weaving, mask making, boat building, pottery, and more. Thanks to Kitty Mitchell for organizing this inspiring week! On June 5, Ocracoke Alive sponsored two school concerts with Grammy Award-winning songwriter and performer, Cathy Fink, at Deepwater Theater. Cathy also attended Donald and Merle Davis’s Storytelling Workshop and happened to be the lucky winner of Ocracoke Needle and Thread Society’s festival quilt. Kids and adults enjoyed her songs, stories, and mesmerizing claw-hammer banjo performance.
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