Ocracoke Alive's new Arts Partnership with Ocracoke School, the Skipjack Wilma Lee returns to the island, and a holiday concert with the Joyful Band of Singers

Hello friends!

Ocracoke Alive is rounding out the year with lots of exciting news!

Ocracoke Alive creates Arts Partnership Program to Bring Arts Back to Ocracoke School. . . Seeks Financial Support from Ocracoke Supporters

First of all, we wanted to let everyone know about our progress working with Ocracoke School in our new Arts Partnership program. Many of you may have read about the elimination of arts programming this school year at Ocracoke School.  The position in arts instruction held by Kitty Mitchell for many years was cut in the fall of 2014 due to the trimming of state and county budgets, removing the last bits of arts curriculum from Ocracoke School. Previously the school has not had music or theater, and now it has no arts education.

Ocracoke Alive believes that in our quickly changing society, creativity and out-of–the box thinking are some of the most critical survival tools a youngster can possess. A fully-balanced, creative individual can bring a fresh perspective to whatever field and path they may choose in life. A quick look around the Ocracoke community and the visitor comes face to face with a multitude of community members making their living in the creative arts, from potters to painters, musicians to soap makers. Creativity is important in every community, but especially in one that relies on tourism.

In an effort to help provide continuous arts education at the local K-12 school, Ocracoke Alive has reached out to artists on and off of Ocracoke, to create an Arts Partnership program that will host visiting teachers for seventeen weeks this spring semester. We are thrilled with the enthusiastic response from the community and these teachers.

The estimated cost of this program is $7000-8000 for one semester. To help fund the program, Ocracoke Alive has been asking supporters of our community to consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Contributions can be made by sending a donation to "Ocracoke Alive, PO Box 604, Ocracoke, NC 27960 (memo Arts Partnership Program)" or by making a donation with credit card or Paypal account through the Ocracoke Alive homepage at www.ocracokealive.org.

Stay tuned for more details on the program after the turn of the year.

Thanks for your help!

Skipjack Wilma Lee returns to Ocracoke, Sails A-Flyin'!

After a most dramatic 2014 season, the Skipjack Wilma Lee has returned to her home berth at the Community Square docks in Ocracoke harbor.  For those of you who are new to this story, on July 4th, hurricane Arthur swept through Ocracoke Island bringing with it high winds and a small tornado which struck Ocracoke Alive's flagship, doing over $70,000 worth damage. Fortunately, our insurance covered most of this damage, but we still had to raise around $20,000 to cover the deductible and replacement sails. After an Indiegogo crowd fundraising campaign and an appeal to our supporters, Ocracoke Alive reached it goal and even raised enough to cover a much needed new sail cover.  A big thanks to all of you who helped us in our time of need. We are continuing to work with NC Learn in developing educational programming and are looking forward to spring weather when we can get the boat back in action. If you are headed Ocracoke direction, please come visit us on the harbor!