Ocracoke volunteers will be hard at work on Saturday afternoon (May 2) cooking and preparing the fish fry dinners at 4 pm to help Milly King (of Buxton) with her leukemia battle. From left are Alex Garrish, Jenny Mason and Lucy O’Neal. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
Monday, April 27: Ocracoke School Middle School baseball at home vs. Hatteras. 4 pm. Community Park
Wednesday, April 29: Howard’s Pub: Ocracoke Rockers kick off the Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament, 8 pm
Thursday, April 30: Ocracoke School varsity baseball at home vs. Columbia. 4 pm. Community Park. We will celebrate our seniors as soon as the game is over.
Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament.
Friday, May 1: “What’s Happening on Ocracoke,” Guest Jamie Tunnel Carter, CEO of the Ocracoke Health Center, 11:30 am, WOVV 90.1 FM on the island and wovv.org.
Saturday, May 2: Fish fry & bake sale fundraiser to help Milly King (of Buxton) with her leukemia battle at the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department Cook Shack, 4 pm; live music from 4 to 6. See flyer below.
Sunday, May 3: Church services: Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 pm but it is important to confirm because a priest may not be available to visit the island. Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960, look for Our Lady of the Seas.
Islanders give Eduardo Chavez a final farewell as he departs Ocracoke. Photo by Jeanne Brook
By Jeanne Brook
Early on an April morning a group gathered in front of the Ocracoke post office on Irvin Garrish Highway.
They wanted to wave a final good-bye to a cherished community member. Eduardo Chavez Perez was beginning his journey back home to Mexico, where family excitedly awaited his return.
It was an opportunity for members of the Ocracoke community to gather once again to send their best wishes to the man who had fed them with love from the taco truck he started 15 years ago and owned with Karen Rhodes. It closed in the fall but has reopened as El Mariachi under new ownership.
At least 25 folks showed up, some with hand-made signs and some wearing their Eduardo’s merch.
Anne Loughrey ignited the idea of this gathering when she said she was going to wave goodbye to Eduardo on his way to the Hatteras ferry. She used to run out to Irvin Garrish Highway for a final wave to her kids who were leaving the island.
It has been something of a tradition in Ocracoke. Amy Howard said they often used to go to the Swan Quarter ferry to wave goodbye to friends and family as the boat left the dock.
Steve Brook, who was driving Eduardo to South Dock, picked up Eduardo from his home off Lighthouse Road, and Eduardo was videoing as they took the long way around for one last view of Silver Lake and the Back Road.
He slowed down as they neared the post office.
Eduardo videos Ocracoke Island as he departs. Photo by Drena Galarza
“Eduardo was videoing as we drove by,” Steve said. “He first thought they were kids waiting for the school bus. Then he thought they were protestors, and then he said, ‘Oh my God. Frickin’ gringos.’”
Had they stopped for the group, this surely could have set off another round of tears.
As one sign read, life will be “a little less flavourful” on Ocracoke without Eduardo. But it was with the joy of having known him as he and Steve disappeared from view into the rising sun.
Update: Eduardo made it back to Mexico safely.See his latest post on Eduardo’s Taco Stand on Facebook.
Eduardo indulges in a lobster roll in New England before he departs the United States. Photo courtesy of Eduardo Chavez
The group gathers in front of the post office. Photo by Jeanne Brook
Ocracoke Earth Weekend, now in its third year, is happening on Ocracoke today (April 25) through Sunday, April 26, bringing together nature, culture and community for a full weekend of events.
The weekend kicked off on Friday night (April 24) at 7 p.m. with a concert by mahaloJazz at Ocracoke Alive’s Deepwater Theater.
Saturday and Sunday activities will began with a morning bird walk and activities following the conclusion of the Ocracoke Island Scallywag Races today.
This year’s lineup features something for everyone, including garden tours, bird watching, nature walks, and yoga for those looking to connect with the island’s natural surroundings.
History and heritage take center stage with a presentation on the raising and restoration of the Ocracoke Lighthouse Double Keeper’s Quarters, as well as a look at the island’s storied fishing industry.
A presentation on oyster farming will highlight the role of aquaculture in the region’s coastal ecosystem.
On Saturday evening, film lovers can catch a screening of DamNation, hosted by Ocracoke’s own acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ben Knight.
Additional activities are planned throughout the weekend.
The weekend was the brainchild of island resident Beverly Meeker, who proposed the idea in the fall of 2023.
Founded in 1970, Earth Day is nationally celebrated on April 22.
The Ocracoke Earth Day Weekend Celebration is sponsored by Ocracoke Alive, with financial support from Ocracoke Occupancy Tax, NC Arts Council, Pony Island Inn and Charles & Sarah Saunders.
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 festival features live music day and night, traditional Ocracoke square dancing, children’s crafts, talks by local fig experts, and vendor booths offering fig preserves, fig cakes, fig art, fig trees, fig beer, local cookbooks, and other fig-tastic items.
Chef Jamie is the executive chef of The Hackney in Washington, Beaufort County, where his connections with local fishers and love of seafood have garnered him a stellar reputation and a James Beard Best Chef Southeast Finalist 2024.
Hailing from Jacksonville, he grew up moving around a lot with a dad in the Marines before resettling back in his home state.
He started working in his first restaurant at 16 years old as a dishwasher and worked his way up to manager by the time he was 18. He joined the Army and served in Iraq before attending culinary school in Savannah, Georgia.
The showpiece of the Fig Festival is the Fig Cake Bake-Off, where bakers are invited to submit entries in one or more of three categories: Traditional, Innovative Dessert and Savory. Young bakers are encouraged to enter the Youth category. Chef Jamie is excited to serve as a guest judge at the Bake-Off.
Chef Jamie will be the Fig Festival’s special guest at the annual Savory Fig Dinner on Thursday evening, Aug. 6. This popular fundraising event features savory fig dishes from local chefs and one special item made by Chef Jamie. Space is limited; tickets for this evening will go on sale on Wednesday, July 1.
During the weeks leading up to the Fig Festival and following, island eateries will offer fig-infused menu items both savory and sweet to celebrate peak fig season. Local fig preserves are available in several island shops.
Ocracoke Fig Festival will also continue to support the annual John Simpson Memorial Scholarship, funded by festival proceeds. The scholarship is awarded to an Ocracoke graduating senior each year. John is remembered as a Fig Festival vendor, award-winning Fig BBQ sauce creator, fig tree grower, artist, decoy carver and supporter of Ocracoke’s heritage events.
The Ocracoke Fig Festival is produced by Mended Wing Theatre Company, a grassroots, arts-based, charitable nonprofit with a home base on Ocracoke.
For more information, including details about the Bake-Off, donor information, vendor spaces, volunteer opportunities, and the Fig Festival schedule, visit ocracokefigfestival.com.
Church services: Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 pm but it is important to confirm because a priest may not be available to visit the island. Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960, look for Our Lady of the Seas.
Ocracoke Oyster Company: Has fried chicken dinners, 11:30 am.
Storm induced flooding along Irvin Garrish Highway, Ocracoke, in October 2025. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
From our news services
Residents of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands are invited to share their perspectives as part of a new research project examining how local connections influence views on coastal adaptation strategies.
The survey, led by researchers at North Carolina State University, focuses on communities from Rodanthe to Ocracoke and aims to better understand how residents’ experiences and ties to the southern Outer Banks shape their preferences for addressing storm-related flooding. It is a follow-up survey to a survey islanders may have taken about a year and a half ago.
Researchers say the input will help provide a more complete picture of how communities view potential solutions, particularly as Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands continue to face challenges from erosion, overwash and coastal flooding.
The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is intended for research purposes only, with no financial profit generated.
Community participation is considered a key component of the study, as responses will help inform ongoing discussions about resilience and long-term planning along the Outer Banks.
The survey takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete and is open to residents and others with ties to the Outer Banks.
Robert Charles Garrish of Ocracoke died April 15, 2026, surrounded by family at Sentara Heart Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia.
Known as Bobby, he was the husband of Linda Garrish.
He was born on January 24, 1939, to Uriah Wahab Garrish and Maude Thomas Garrish on the midwife’s front porch overlooking Silver Lake.
Raised in a fishing family, Bobby was a private commercial fisherman for more than 50 years, taking a break only while serving in the Army during Vietnam.
He built his own boats and helped construct countless others for net fishing and crabbing. This legacy is carried on by his son-in-law Ernest Doshier and grandson Alan Doshier of Gecko Charters.
After retiring from the water, Bobby worked for the National Park Service briefly, then worked 21 years with the N.C. Ferry Division.
Bobby earned many nicknames in his lifetime. Known as Daddy, Poppy, and Big Bobby to his family, and his friends named him Bobcat and the Cuban due to an infamous wild streak and piracy adventures.
He was a 32nd Degree Master Mason. His hobbies included driving fast, sharing fishing stories with Alan, feeding squirrels, gardening, holding court under the house, mowing fig trees, calling his children 10 times a day, dodging dingbatters on his golf cart and sleeping with one eye open in case someone tried to steal his “gas tank.”
He was preceded in death by his sisters Maude Ellen Balance, Brittina “Tink” Helpenstill, Grace Gaskill, and Chloe O’Neil as well as many beloved pets.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children Christopher Styron, Darlene Styron (Ernest Doshier) of Ocracoke; Angel Garrish (Sara Rasberry) of Fayetteville, Charlene Scott (JR Scott) of Chesapeake, Virginia; a grandson, Alan Doshier of Ocracoke; and an island full of extended family.
Bobby shared his unwavering, unconditional love with family and friends his entire life. It was an honor to know and love him in return.
To read Bobby’s and his cousin’s reminicences about life “back in the day” on Ocracoke, click here.
While not required, in lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to: Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association, P.O. Box 1689, Ocracoke, NC 27960. www.ocracokewaterman.org Details of memorial will follow.
Ocracoke is an island where folks think they can find the purported treasure of Blackbeard, but island homes and businesses will unveil their own treasures for all to peruse and plunder as the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association hosts the spring Ocracoke Island-Wide Yard Sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 16.
The rain date is Sunday, May 17.
Maps showing participating yard sale locations will be available the week of May 11 at the Ocracoke Variety Store, the post office and online at www.ocracokeisland.net.
Charlie and Debra Ralston unload household items at a previous yard sale. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer
Citizen science volunteers monitor clouds such as this one over the Pamlico Sound in July 2025 for precipitation activity. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
From our news services
Have you ever wondered how much rain fell during a recent thunderstorm? How about snowfall during a winter storm? If so, an important volunteer weather observing program needs your help.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network, or CoCoRaHS, is looking for new volunteers across North Carolina. The grassroots effort is part of a growing national network of home-based and amateur weather spotters with a goal of providing a high-density precipitation network across the country.
“We are in need of new observers across the entire state,” said David Glenn, CoCoRaHS state co-coordinator and meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City. “We would like to emphasize rural and coastal locations, and areas of higher terrain across the mountains.”
CoCoRaHS came about as a result of a devastating flash flood that hit Fort Collins, Colorado, in July 1997. A local severe thunderstorm dumped over a foot of rain in several hours while other portions of the city had only modest rainfall. The ensuing flash flood caught many by surprise and caused $200 million in damage.
CoCoRaHS was born in 1998 with the intent of doing a better job of mapping and reporting intense storms. As more volunteers participated, rain, hail, and snow maps were produced for every storm showing fascinating local patterns that were of great interest to scientists and the public.
Recently, drought reporting has also become an important observation within the CoCoRaHS program across the nation. In fact, drought observations from CoCoRaHS are now being included in the National Integrated Drought Information System.
North Carolina became the 21st state to join the CoCoRaHS program in 2007, and by 2010, the CoCoRaHS network had reached all 50 states with nearly 10,000 daily observations. Through CoCoRaHS, thousands of volunteers of all ages document the size, intensity, duration and patterns of rain, hail and snow by taking simple measurements in their own backyards.
Volunteers may obtain an official rain gauge through the CoCoRaHS website (www.cocorahs.org) for about $42 plus shipping. Besides the need for an official 4-inch plastic rain gauge, volunteers are asked to review simple training modules online and submit their reports using the CoCoRaHS website or phone app.
The process takes only five minutes a day, but the impact to the community is tenfold: by providing high quality, accurate measurements, the observers are able to supplement existing networks and provide useful data to scientists, resource managers, decision makers and others.
“CoCoRaHS observers provided valuable data for both Hurricanes Florence and Helene,” said Sean Heuser, CoCoRaHS state co-coordinator and manager of the NC ECONet at the state Climate Office of NC. “For these high intensity events, whether they are tropical systems or afternoon thunderstorms, CoCoRaHS observers are able to fill in gaps and provide a clearer picture of where we see precipitation maximums. We also use CoCoRaHS Condition Monitoring reports to determine weekly drought conditions across the state and give recommendations to the U.S. Drought Monitor authors.”
“Monitoring weather and climate conditions in North Carolina is no easy feat,” said Heather Aldridge, CoCoRaHS state co-coordinator.” CoCoRaHS volunteers help by painting a better picture of precipitation patterns across North Carolina, filling in data gaps where there are no nearby stations. Reporting rain, hail, snow, and drought conditions is a fun activity for all ages!”
“An additional benefit of the program for the National Weather Service is the ability to receive timely reports of significant weather such as hail, intense rainfall, or localized flooding from CoCoRaHS observers that can assist meteorologists in issuing life-saving warnings for severe thunderstorms,” says David Glenn, CoCoRaHS state co-coordinator and meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City.
To become a CoCoRaHS observer, go to the CoCoRaHS website and click on the “Join CoCoRaHS” emblem on the upper right side of the website.
After registering, take the simple online training, order your 4-inch rain gauge and start reporting.
This cloud formation is known as an undular bore, seen at the north end of Ocracoke, April 21, 2024. These occur when two air masses of different temperatures collide. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer
Ocracoke’s familiar water tower, which is a landmark visible for miles across the sound and serves as the first glimpse of the island for those on the Pamlico Sound ferries, will be replaced by the end of this year.
Built in 1977, the water tower is located on Water Plant Road behind the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum and is situated on National Park Service property under a long-term lease agreement.
Construction has begun for the new water tower, which will be painted blue with OCRACOKE on it and is adjacent to the existing one.
Cutline: A new water tower for Ocracoke will be built alongside the old one.
It will have the same height, 128 feet, and hold the same amount of water, 150,000 gallons, said Earl Gaskins the plant systems manager of the Ocracoke Sanitary District (OSD). About 10 antennas will be at the top and may serve as perching sites for Peregrine Falcons and Great Horned Owls, two species that have been observed on the current tower.
The planning and design work was completed by the Garner engineering firm Municipal Engineering, who will provide onsite construction management and oversight. Phoenix Fabricators, an Avon, Indiana, firm that specializes in elevated water tanks, was awarded the construction contract.
Funding comes from a Water Tower Replacement Project Grant of $5.9 million approved by the State Water Infrastructure Authority managed by the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and derives from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), a federal economic stimulus bill passed under the Biden administration, said Scott Bradley, president of the OSD board of commissioners.
Bradley said the grant also includes replacing the 65 old fire hydrants and flushing hydrants on the island in partnership with the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department. That project has been completed. Most of the hydrants were more than 45 years old and, like the old water tower, suffered from prolonged exposure to salt air and water.
OSD also received a $150,000 Asset Inventory and Assessment grant.
This funding will allow the OSD to map and inventory all 16 miles of existing water mains, assess the condition of pipes, identify priority areas for maintenance or replacement, document neighborhoods that do not currently receive OSD water and develop conceptual options for future service.
By law, the ARPA money must be spent and the projects completed by December, Bradley said, noting he expects the tower to be done by September.
The OSD was formed in 1972 and began to place water lines in Ocracoke village in anticipation of a water tower.
Prior to that, the village relied on wells and cisterns that gathered rainwater.
Thanks to grant funding, back then property owners paid a hookup fee of $30. These days the cost to add a water line to a new structure is more than $5,000.
Because this replacement project derives from grant money, there will not be increases to the monthly water charges, Bradley said.
Ocracoke’s water plant gets water via “reverse osmosis,” in which brackish water is pushed through a membrane to remove the salt.
Three wells at the plant extract the raw water from the Castle Hayne Aquifer more than 600 feet underground. While the upper layers of this water lens contain fresh water, its lower depths contain brackish water from which the plant draws its water.
Castle Hayne aquifer is the most productive freshwater aquifer in North Carolina, spanning 12,500 square miles in the eastern coastal plain. Composed primarily of limestone and sand, this highly permeable, shallow aquifer provides over 60 million gallons of water daily.
In addition to Ocracoke, it is the principal water supply for New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.
In addition to Gaskins, OSD staffers are Janie Garrish, Robbie Lewis, Carson O’Neal and Marcus Lawson.
The elected sanitary board members who oversee the operation are Bradley, Bill Caswell, Flavia Burton, Regina O’Neal Boor and Bobby O’Neal.
Once the new water tower is up and functioning, the old tower will be demolished.
