Featured Stories
Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department to host fundraising dinner
From our news services
Instead of their monthly lunch/dinner fundraiser regularly scheduled for Saturday, May 30, the Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department (SQVFD) will host...
Cape Hatteras National Seashore advises: swim at lifeguard beaches and sign up for swimming...
MANTEO, N.C. — Cape Hatteras National Seashore will staff five lifeguarded beaches this year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from Memorial Day...
Scallywag runners log several firsts
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
The Ocracoke Island Scallywag Weekend Runfest April 25 and 26 had several firsts in this year’s 5K/10K and half-marathon...
Chronicler of the Ocracoke brogue, Walt Wolfram, to retire
By Peter Vankevich
For 33 years, Professor Walt Wolfram brought his graduate students to Ocracoke during their spring break to spend a week teaching middle...
Ocracoke Fig Festival to feature (little) Washington Chef Jamie Davis
The Ocracoke community will celebrate the summer’s fig bounty with special guest chef Jamie Davis Aug. 6 to 8 in the Berkley Barn.
The free...
General Island Information
The Ocracoke lighthouse was 200 years old in 2023. Photo: C. Leinbach
Island Images
A Snowy Owl over the Ocracoke dunes. Photo: P. Vankevich
Snowy South Point Road. Photo: P. Vankevich
Northern lights seen on Ocracoke Nov. 12, 2025. Photo by Ocracoke Harbor Inn
An Ocracoke canal. Photo: C. Leinbach
The Ocracoke ponies. Photo: P. Vankevich
Ocracoke summer surf. Photo: C. Leinbach
The Island Inn Commons in bloom. Photo: C. Leinbach
Sunset cruise on the Pamlico Sound. Photo: C. Leinbach
May 2026 print issue.
The Ocracoke Observer website won first place in the 2020-2021 NCPA contest Online Division, plus four other awards. It has won more than 60 awards, many in first place, since joining the N.C. Press Association in 2015 and entering the contest starting in 2016.
