Thanksgiving weekend will be busy on Ocracoke with several events detailed below. Correction to Boat Parade start time, which is 6:30 pm. Also, change in Lighting of the Commons to 6 pm.
Turkey Trot to precede turkey feasting Nov. 27
The 10th annual 5K Turkey Trot on Ocracoke Island will take place at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27.
Runners begin and end at 1718 Brewing Ocracoke.
The event price is $35 per person regardless of age, and registration ends at 4:15 p.m. Nov. 26.
Participants receive T-shirts and a medal, and prizes for the age-group winners are homemade pies.
Race Director Angie Todd is looking for pie donations.
This is a fun, relaxed race, but it is timed.
Proceeds of the race will go toward local charities.
To sign up, visit online at https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Ocracoke/OcracokeIsland5KTurkeyTrot.
Historic home tour, boat parade, concert set for Nov. 28
The Ocracoke Preservation Society will bring back its popular Historic Home Tour on Friday, Nov. 28.
This will be the first home tour since before Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
Four unique homes along Lighthouse Road and Howard Street within the nationally recognized Ocracoke Historic District will be featured on the tour from 2 to 4 p.m.
“The home tour is an incredible opportunity to step back in time and experience the design and details of historic structures on the island from folks so intimately involved,” said OPS Administrator Warner Passanisi. “This event is a unique opportunity for visitors to experience Ocracoke inside and out.”
The tour will culminate at 4:30 p.m. with a first look at the renovation of the Island Inn.
Built in 1901, the building has been an Odd Fellow’s Lodge, a school, a Navy officer’s club, a coffee shop, a hotel and more.
Purchased by the Ocracoke Preservation Society with community participation, the building is being renovated as a community, education and visitors center.
The history of the Inn will be shared by two local island elders.
A limited number of tickets for the tour and the talk inside the Inn are $50 each and are already going quickly.
The home tour will be followed at 6 p.m. by the lighting of the Commons, a public garden space next to the Inn, and the Boat Parade on Silver Lake harbor sponsored by the Ocracoke Seafood Company (the Fish House) from 6:30 to 7 p.m.
Ocracoke Seafood Company (aka the Fish House) organizes it and is offering cash prizes — $500, $200 and $100 – judged by off-islanders selected from the spectators.
“The Ocracoke Parade of Boats is a celebration of life on the water: if it floats, it’ll be lit up!” said Susie O’Neal, manager of the Fish House. To read about last year’s boat parade, click here.
Spectators can view the parade from anywhere along Silver Lake Harbor.
If you would like to participate, please contact the Fish House at 252-928-5601.
The evening will end with an Ocrafolk Opry concert at 8 p.m. in the Deepwater Theater.
“The Opry features the incredible musical talent of the island, spanning three generations,” said David Tweedie, the fiddler for Molasses Creek.
For more information and to purchase a ticket for the Home Tour, go to https://www.ocracokepreservationsociety.org/ops-events/historichometour
Holiday Market to be held in Ocracoke School Nov. 29
The Ocracoke Civic & Business Association will host a Holiday Gift Market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, in the Ocracoke School Commons.
This event allows Ocracoke individuals who don’t have a storefront to sell anything from gift certificates to hand-made goods to larger items. Island businesses also can participate.
All vendors are responsible for their own transactions.
Island businesses and individuals wishing to participate should send an email to ocba@ocracokeisland.net.
