Ocracoke Alive Fall Membership Meeting, Arts Partnership 2016 and more. . .

Dear friends,

Another year has come full circle and we are looking forward to seeing you on Ocracoke Island for our Fall Membership Meeting at Deepwater Theater on Thursday, November 19, 7 PM. Come join Ocracoke Alive as we share stories, dessert, news from this past year, and dreams for the future!

Ocracoke Alive's Arts Partnership Program 2016 Seeking Guest Teachers and Sponsors.

 

In 2015, Ocracoke Alive initiated the Art Partnership Program to bring visiting artists into the Ocracoke School for 17 weeks of creative programming.  The students (and staff) had such an incredible time! Last year’s classes included such offerings as painting, basket making, soap, photography, baking, paper construction, pottery, jewelry, tie-dye, and more.

This year Ocracoke Alive again invites artists and teachers to inspire the island students by sharing their talents. Instructors from the Ocracoke community will receive a stipend, and teachers from off Ocracoke will receive housing for themselves and up to 3 guests. “The natural beauty and remoteness of Ocracoke has long been an inspiration for artists from around the world,” say director David Tweedie.  “This program provides a wonderful opportunity for off island artists to retreat from the outside world for a week of creative rejuvenation while helping to inspire the Ocracoke’s next generations.”

Teachers interested in applying to the program can do so through the Ocracoke Alive website at www.ocracokealive.org.

Ocracoke Alive relies upon financial contributions towards the $8000 estimated cost of the program and donations of housing for guest artists.  Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to "Ocracoke Alive, PO Box 604, Ocracoke, NC 27960" and online credit card donations can be made through the Ocracoke Alive website atwww.ocracokealive.org

Ocracoke cottage owners can receive a tax letter from Ocracoke Alive for their donation of a week of housing for an instructor between January and May.  For more information contact info@ocracokealive.org or call 252-921-0260 (David Tweedie).

Skipjack Wilma Lee Labor Day Gala a Great Success!
Thanks to everyone who helped support the Skipjack Wilma Lee at our Annual Labor Day Gala! The event raised almost $2000. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon dockside at the Community Square, chatting with fans and supporters. After many trials, we happily report that we have completed our first full season without storms or interruptions to our programming! We look forward to developing further events aboard our flagship in 2016!

Finley Woolston and his Joyful Band of Singers to Return to the Ocracoke Methodist Church for a Christmas Concert
On Friday, December 18, Finley Woolston will be bringing his Joyful Band of Singers to Ocracoke Island for a Christmas Concert at the Methodist Church. The nineteen member choir will present a selection of holiday music from across the centuries and around the world. If you have never viewed the beautiful Christmas decorations in this historic church, this is a perfect event for you. Ocracoke Alive produces the community concert in partnership with the Ocracoke UMC, and helps provide dinner and lodging for the performers. Many thanks to Finley and crew for sharing their talents!

Thanks all for this newsletter. Look forward to seeing you on the island. Thanks for all of your support!

Join our Annual Skipjack Wilma Lee Labor Day Gala! This and Other Breaking News!

Join Ocracoke Alive’s Annual Skipjack Wilma Lee Labor Day Gala!

Ocracoke Alive is celebrating and hope you can join us for this year’s Skipjack Wilma Lee Labor Day Gala, Sunday, September 6, 3-6 PM at the Community Square Docks on Ocracoke! In the spring of 2015 we completed repairs to the Skipjack Wilma Lee following storm damage sustained during Hurricane Arthur. We are happy to announce that the Wilma Lee is now in tip-top shape and has been hosting dockside talks and sailing trips all summer season. 

As we approach the fall of this year, Ocracoke Alive is looking forward to furthering the development of heritage and educational programs aboard our flagship! You can help! The Skipjack Wilma Lee Labor Day Gala is a great way to join the fun and renew your support. Drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be served.  Contributions of $100 or more will also receive space on the Sunset Cruise following the party.

            Please make donations payable to Ocracoke Alive, PO Box 604, Ocracoke, NC 27960. Suggested levels of contribution are $50, $100, $200, $500, & $1000. Online credit card contributions can be made through Ocracoke Alive’s Skipjack Wilma Lee page at www.ocracokealive.org. The rain location for the event is the Working Waterman’s exhibit, Community Square (thank you Ocracoke Foundation!). We appreciate all of your help. Questions? Contact info@ocracokealive.org or (252) 921-0260.

A Tale of Blackbeard Musical Wraps up the 2015 Season

(Thanks to Eakin Howard for all these great photos!)

             On Monday, August 17^th, pirates uttered their final ARRGGs and Village Girls danced their final numbers for the season, wrapping up a very successful run of A Tale of Blackbeard.  Author and accompanist, Julie Howard, is now riding the train back to her wintering grounds in Bellingham, WA and life is returning to normal for cast and crew. Ocracoke Alive would like to give them an eight-cannon-salute for all of their hard work throughout this year!

Casting began as early as March and performers really put their hearts into the production with weekly rehearsals.  “My favorite parts of community theater are getting to know Ocracoke residents that I rarely cross paths with in my daily life, and seeing what amazing talents are unearthed by the time the production goes to stage.” said Ocracoke Alive board member David Tweedie (Mr Farthingham this year). “Everyone has a gem of a performance hidden within their personality. Community theater helps them uncover it and polish it up for the everyone to celebrate.  It is an incredible labor of love, and well worth the effort!”

            A secondary goal for this year’s production was the adaptation of the Ocracoke School gym into a theater space.  Ocracoke teacher and thespian, Charles Temple, led this design by engineering curtain walls that created the illusion of a smaller theater space within the huge expanse of the gymnasium.  With the lights off and strings of bulb lighting bordering the curtain panels, the space was transformed into a 200 seat courtyard amphitheater.  We look forward to the reappearance of this new auditorium at future school & community productions.

            Ocracoke Alive would also like to thank this year’s directors, Courtney Conner & Desiree Ricker, Ivey Belch for assistance in sound, Megan Alderidge and Katy Mitchell for their makeup talents that helped the cast look lovely or exceptionally disgusting, Mark Brown for set painting, Charles Temple for his light wizardry(and George Roberson), Debbie Leonard & Karen Lovejoy for keeping the production on the rails, Amy Campbell, Heather Johnson & Linda Ward for costuming, Molly Lovejoy for running sound, Gary Davis and Sally Schwoeppe for managing the box office and sales, Becky Boos and McKenzie Novak for prop management, and all of the volunteers behind the scenes who sold tickets, constructed the sets, and added their talents to the show.  Finally, a big thanks goes out to Ocracoke School PTA and Walt Padgett for giving us all the support we needed to pull this off!  A portion of profits from this year’s show return to the Ocracoke PTA and remaining proceeds go towards helping Ocracoke Alive create more great programming in the Ocracoke Community.

Ocracoke Alive Planning Island Heritage Program for Students

             This fall, Ocracoke Alive is planning a new community program called Island Heritage.  Board members, Desiree Ricker, Allison O’Neal and David Tweedie have been meeting over the summer to work on this new offering to Ocracoke students 4^th grade through High School.  The working plan features eleven weeks of workshop courses, beginning late September and running through early December.  The Ocracoke subjects will range from Fishing and Crabbing, to Island History and Culture, to Cooking & Gardening.  Ocracoke Alive will be partnering with the Afterschool program to bring this to the community.  Classes will be offered to older students during the week and to younger students on Saturday mornings.  We will keep you posted as the program develops. Feel free to contact us if you have questions or suggestions. If you would like to help support the program with a donation, you can do so through a link on the Ocracoke Alive donations page.  Feel free to contact info@ocracokealive.org for more information or call 252-921-0260.

Ocrafolk Festival is at our heels!

Hey there friends,

Can't stop to chat long, but just wanted to update our posts that the Ocrafolk Festival is barreling down upon us for this next week.  Volunteers are scurrying around the village . . . and we can't wait!  Hope you can join us.  You can find out all about the details at http://www.ocracokealive.org/ocrafolk-festival.html.  Hope you can join us!

Your friends at Ocracoke Alive

Ocrafolk Festival 2015 Performers, Sponsorships Announced . . . and more!

Greetings friends of Ocracoke Alive,

We have almost reached April 1st, and though the weather on Ocracoke alternates between lovely spring and blustery winter, Ocracoke Alive pushes on ahead as if fair sailing weather is right around the corner.  These past couple of weeks, a steady trickle of spring breakers popped up on the island as the local business owners yawn, stretch, and peer out of their windows and trying to decide if they should turn their signs to "Open." Here is what we have been up to!

Ocrafolk Festival Announces 2015 Performer Lineup, Entices Sponsors with Fabulous Rewards!

Click on this link to find out more how to become a sponsor.  Donations are tax-deductible.

June 5-7 will herald the 16th annual Ocrafolk Festival on Ocracoke Island. The flagship event of Ocracoke Alive is one of the most popular weekends for visitors, as word of the event spreads across North Carolina and beyond. Last year, Our State Magazine featured the event as a top ranked NC festival, and several years ago it was ranked as one of the top 10 Island Festivals in the world by Coastal Living Magazine.  The Ocrafolk Festival's unique setting, and Ocracoke Alive's attention to detail helps create a weekend that is treasured by visitor and resident alike. The festival features musicians, storytellers, artisans, and characters from the NC region and beyond.  Popular events include a Fish Fry, Squaredance, Art Auction, Paperhand Puppet Parade, Gospel Sing, Bluegrass Jam, and performances by over 27 groups that will make fans of folk music and storytelling swoon.

Sponsors are a critical component of bringing the Ocrafolk Festival to life each year. The sponsors' passion for preserving the event through their donations fuels almost half of the total cost of the weekend. And the Ocrafolk Festival staff works hard to create unique rewards that make contributors feel a special part of the event.  As a sponsor you can not only receive the usual festival T-shirts and media recognition, but also an invitation to an Admiralty Party aboard Ocracoke Alive's Skipjack Wilma Lee, pre-release tickets to limited seating events, passes to the Fish Fry, reserved parking near festival grounds, and Supporter Level Buttons that enter you in drawings all weekend. Best of all, your sponsorship helps make sure that this unique event continues for another year!

Ocrafolk Festival 2015 Announces Performer Lineup

Mipso

The Yes Team

Victor and Penny

Los Tarascos de Michoacan

Kaira Ba

Blue Eyed Bettys

We had a great time this winter finding new music for the Ocrafolk Festival 2015!  Groups making their debut this year include the Blue Eyed Bettys, Kaira Ba, Los Tarascos de Michoacan, Victor & Penny, Mahalo Jazz 2, and the Yes Team. Returning to the stage we have . . . festival hosts Molasses Creek, storyteller Donald Davis, Martin Garrish, Mipso, The Outliers, Donald Thompson Band, The Alberti Flea Circus, Paperhand Puppets, Craicdown, Jacob Johnson, The Green Grass Cloggers, Bob Zentz & Jeanne McDougal, John Golden, Louis Allen, Philip Howard, Capt. Rob Temple, Chainsaw Artist Clyde Jones, Jef the Mime, Ocrachicks, and more.


Find out more about the lineup at www.ocracokealive.org/performers.html

Arts Partnership Program Celebrates the First 9 Weeks of Artists in the Schools

On Friday, March 27, from 4-6 PM at the Down Creek Gallery on Ocracoke, Ocracoke Alive celebrated the first nine weeks of the Arts Partnership Program with a Student Art Show, featuring photographs, paper popups, tie-dye, fresh baked bread, recycled critters, and paper quilling created by students. The Ocracoke community gives a huge THANK YOU! to all of the sponsors and volunteers who helped make this program possible.  Students and school staff have been abuzz with the creative energy swirling around the program. We hope to be posting a slide show soon of activities so that you folks at home can see what has been happening. It looks like we will have some funding to continue the program into fall.  If you would like to help this program continue, there are three things that we are looking for . . .

1. Funding . . . of course always helpful.  You may make a tax deductible contribution towards the program by visiting the Ocracoke Alive website at www.ocracokealive.org/donate.html for Paypal or Credit Card contributions, or by mailing a donation to "Ocracoke Alive (memo Arts Partnership Program), PO Box 604, Ocracoke, NC 27960.
2. Visiting artists. Would you like to spend a week here on Ocracoke Island in exchange for teaching in the program?  Ocracoke Alive will set you up with housing. The programming is moderate enough so that you will have personal time to stroll the village and beaches.  Artists who provide their own housing can receive a stipend. Details and teacher application at www.ocracokealive.org/community-programs.html
3. Donate Ocracoke lodging for a visiting artist. If you own an house or condo on Ocracoke Island and would like to donate housing for a week in the off season to house a visiting artist (and receive a tax-donation letter from Ocracoke Alive), please contact David Tweedie at info@ocracokealive.org or 252-921-0260.

Thanks! For your help!

A Tale of Blackbeard Returns to the Stage in the Summer of 2015

Arrg! Get ready to swing yer cutlasses and jig around Ms. Euphemia's boarding house . . . Julie Howard's A Tale of Blackbeard is returning to the Ocracoke stage for a 7-show run this summer (Mondays, June 29-August 10th at the Ocracoke School Gym).  We have been holding auditions at Deepwater Theater this week and are lining up pirates and village girls for the return visit of Ocracoke's most infamous pirate. The show will be in partnership with the Ocracoke PTA which will receive a portion of the revenue. Ocracoke teachers will be able to sell food concessions to raise money for their classrooms, and any additional monies raised will go towards Ocracoke Alive programming in the community.

Photo by Brenda Kremzer

If you are interested in being a part of the production on or off stage, we are always looking for volunteers to work on costumes, sets, lights, sound, backstage, and to work as ushers and helpers at the shows. You may also become a sponsor for the 2015 run by visiting www.ocracokealive.org/donate.html.  Please contact us at info@ocracokealive.org or 252-921-0260 for questions about volunteering or donating.

That's all the news for now!
Your friends at Ocracoke Alive
www.ocracokealive.org

Ocrafolk Festival Artisan Application 2015 Opens, Arts Partnership First Week A Great Success!!

Hi there friends!

It may be blustery and chilly on Ocracoke, but we are keeping warm with lots of new activities! Read all about them below, and visit our new website at www.ocracokealive.org. It is still under construction, but it getting pretty close! The new website also features an updated calendar system so that it will be easier than ever to keep track of upcoming Ocracoke Alive events. Read more about what has been happening below.

Ocracoke Alive began its Arts Partnership Program for Ocracoke students this week featuring two guest artists, Lauren Strohl of Ocracoke's Graceful Bakery creating artisan bread with preK-3rd grades, and Jean Skipper guiding 4th-8th grades in the creation of Recycled Critters. Oh what fun! Many thanks to our sponsors and to the Ocracoke Methodist Church for use of the Rec Hall and Captain's Landing for providing housing for Jean Skipper during her visit.

To find out how to financially support the Arts Partnership Program visit http://www.ocracokealive.org/community-programs.html

Next week our courses are Native American song, dance and visual arts with Pat Garber (PreK-3), and fabricating copper jewelry with Kathleen O’Neal (4th-8th). Can't wait!

Here are some photos:

Ocrafolk Festival Artisan Applications are now open (January 31-March 31). If you are interested in being considered by the artist jury for participation in this year's Ocrafolk Festival, June 5-7, we are inviting you to apply! All the details for the online application (and a print out application) can be viewed online at www.ocracokealive.org/artisan-application.html

The Wilma Lee is back in Ocracoke harbor safe and sound! We have just ordered a new Jib sail, and a busy bee is hard at work creating covers for the new sails. If you are in Ocracoke and would like to join up with the crew of the Skipjack Wilma Lee to lend a hand sanding and refinishing bench tops, please contact Tom Pahl at wilmalee@ocracokealive.org. If the weather is nice, there's no better place to be on a Sunday afternoon than in the sunshine on Ocracoke's Silver Lake!

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!

Ocracoke Alive News Update: Skipjack Wilma Lee Party (You're Invited!), A Tale of Blackbeard Finishes the 2014 Season, and a Poetry Invasion!

Hello friends of Ocracoke Alive!

We hope that everyone is doing well off the island and that you might have had the opportunity to pay Ocracoke a visit this summer. This week teachers returned to school in preparation student arrival next week. This time of year island visitors quickly transition from larger family groups to couples of all ages and small children. We had a bit of cooler weather mid-summer, but the humidity has been turned back up for these dog days of summer, making a dip in the ocean even more appealing.

A Skipjack Wilma Lee Boom and Sail Party August 31st . . . and you are invited!

Repairs to the Skipjack Wilma Lee are proceeding smoothly after the damage she sustained during hurricane Arthur. The boat has been hauled out at Moores Marine in Beaufort, NC and the workers there anticipate that she may be back in the water by mid-September. Captain Rob has also ordered a new mainsail to replace the one shredded during the hurricane, so we hope that she will be complete and back in action heading into fall.  Total damage to the vessel appears to be in excess of $60,000. Many thanks to Traveler's Insurance for their quick response in our time of need!

Ocracoke Alive is working diligently to come up with the $18,000 needed to pay for the downpayment on the insurance ($7500) and the new sails (around $10,000).  Ed and Susan Norvell have generously offered a matching grant of $5000 and so we have put together a fundraising party on Ocracoke from 5-7 PM on Sunday, August 31 at the Kugler cottage.  You need not be present to help us out with a contribution, but we would love to see you if you are on the island! Wine, beer, hors d'oeuvres, and an excellent sunset have been ordered for the event.  Allan Casavant has generously contributed the use of the beautiful historic soundfront home for the occasion!

If you would like to participate, let us know the number of guests that will be attending.  Tax deductible donations can be made payable to Ocracoke Alive, PO Box 604, Ocracoke, NC 27960. Online credit card or Paypal contributions can be made through the link at the top of our Skipjack Wilma Lee page on the Ocracoke Alive Website. Thanks for all of your help! Questions? Contact info@ocracokealive.org or (860) 933-0259 (Wilma Lee Committee Chair, Tom Pahl).

Here are some snapshots from the boatyard.

 

  

 

Ocrachicks concert raises over $700 for the Skipjack Wilma Lee

On July 27, the Ocrachicks of Ocracoke held their annual summertime concert and contributed the over $700 towards the repairs for the Skipjack Wilma Lee. Organized by storyteller Lou Ann Homan, the show featured, music, stories, and theatrical performances by island residents and talented friends from off. Performances at the sold-out show ran the gamut of heartfelt to humorous, and the backdrop was provided by Kitty Mitchell who did a lively painted illustration of the songs and stories on a canvas at the back of the stage. Ocracoke Alive sends out a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the wonderful evening.

A Tale of Blackbeard finishes a Successful 2014 Show Run! T-shirts Now Available Online

August 11 brought a close to the theatrical summer season of Julie Howard's A Tale of Blackbeard with a rousing sold out show at the Ocracoke Community Center. The revival of this wonderful show on its 40th anniversary filled the audience every Monday night for this summer run. If you didn't get a chance to see it or were turned away at the door in 2014, keep checking back at the Ocracoke Alive website for next year's plans. We hope to bring it back next summer for another round! Many thanks to all of the cast, crew, volunteers, and donors who helped bring this revival to life! If you missed getting a T-shirt, they can be ordered online through the Ocracoke Alive website store at www.ocracokealive.org. They come in red and black. Also, visit the new A Tale of Blackbeard website at www.ataleofblackbeard.com for historical archives and more information on happenings with the show.

 

 Ocracoke Alive helps bring NC poet Phillip Shabazz to the Island

Phillip Shabazz shares original work from his new book

 This July, island visual artist and poet, Bob Ray, approached Ocracoke Alive about assisting in funding to help bring NC poet Phillip Shabazz to the island for an event that would feature him and other island writers on August 8th.  We were honored to lend a hand to a beautiful evening set amongst live oaks at the stage next to Books to Be Red.  The show featured works by Bob Ray, Carme Prete (read by Mickey Baker), Pat Garber, Carol Soo Lee, Kelly Shinn, and Richard Bryant as well as special guest Phillip Shabazz. Thanks to Bob Ray, all the participants, and host Leslie Lanier and Books to be Red for putting together a thoughtful and entertaining evening. We hope it will be the start of many more such productions!

Bob Ray holding court!

 That's all for now. Thanks for keeping in touch! We have more plans for the fall. We'll update you in our next newsletter.

Ocracoke Alive