By Jamie Carter
The Ocracoke Seafood Festival fundraiser, benefiting the Ocracoke Health Center, will be held on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4 and 5, at the Berkley Barn.
On Friday night, we will have BBQ chicken plates to go. Starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, we will have family friendly games and the silent auction at 3 p.m., fresh seafood platters and Mexican food tent at 4 p.m., our live auction at 6 p.m., and live music to end the night.
The dinners, at $20 per plate, will include pasta salad and green beans. Mexican food prices vary.
Anyone who wants to donate an item, volunteer, be a sponsor, or make a donation can get those details at www.ocracokeseafoodfestival.org.
Our 2026 fundraiser focus is to bring X-ray imaging to Ocracoke Health Center.
The current option for X-ray means a trip to Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head, a three-hour journey, one way.
Putting X-ray in Ocracoke will mean that the Health Center will be able to determine things like fracture versus sprain and will have the capacity to treat simple sprains and breaks without the half-day trip off island. Our plan will involve building renovations to meet radiation exposure guidelines and purchasing the new machine.
The current timeline has the project completed and fully functional by the end of 2027.
Anyone interested in donating items for the silent or live auction or being a sponsor, please contact the Health Center: noneal@ocracokehealthcenter.org or send a text message to 252-588-2246.
Those who can’t attend the festival and wish to help can send donations by mail to P.O. Box 543, Ocracoke, NC 27960 or online at www.ocracokeseafoodfestival.org.
The Health Center and its Pharmacy, located behind the health center, serve residents, day-trippers and vacationers in all sorts of primary care capacities.
Because we are the only primary care on the island, we see a range of summertime ailments like sunburn, swimmer’s ear, jellyfish and sting ray stings, fishhook removals, laceration repairs, along with chronic-disease management like hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. We are open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For after-hours care, we do have an RN-answered line that can triage non-emergencies.
The retail pharmacy serves patients and non-patients to fill prescriptions and provide over-the-counter items.
Visitors can have their usual providers send in prescriptions to our pharmacy if they forget to bring their meds on vacation or they run out.
Jamie Carter is the CEO of the Ocracoke Health Center.
