Anne Bonny: The Other Pirate

• Ocracoke

Join Storyteller Lou Ann Homan as she guides you around the village sharing sea stories of Anne Bonny and other pirates. These family storytelling trips will begin at the Community Store on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. and will take about an hour. The cost is $7 for adults and $5 for children. No reservations are necessary. Meet her if you dare!

Beach Outfitters

• 1053 Irvin Garrish Highway
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-6261

Beach Outfitters is part of Ocracoke Island Realty. They rent bikes, beach chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards and cottage items too cumbersome to pack, such as televisions, baby highchairs, grills and kitchen appliances.

Bella Fiore Pottery

• 80 Back Road
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-2826

Sarah Fiore’s working studio showcases her vividly colored pottery. Her works are microwave, oven and dishwasher safe, including plates, bowls, mugs, sushi sets and dishes, and all have handmade glazes. The gallery also stocks all-natural bath products, ceramic art, wooden sculpture, aromatic candles, handmade local jewelry and distinctive objets d’art. Think functional luxury.

Chiropractic Services

• Ocracoke
• (252) 489-1688

Call for an appointment with “Dr. Rudy” (aka Dr. Howard M. Ruderfer) for full-spine chiropractic and extremity adjusting, therapeutic massage including Cayce-Reilly, neuromuscular, reflexology, craniosacral and chakra balancing. His main practice, Hatteras Island Chiropractic, is located in Buxton, but he makes house calls on Ocracoke. 

Coastal Helicopters

• 158 Ocean View Road
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-8074

If you have ever wondered what Ocracoke Island looks like from above, this is your chance to get the bird’s eye view. With rates that can be prorated by the tenth of the hour, this is the ultimate way to shoot aerial photography and videography. Both tours and charters anywhere on the Outer Banks are available. The pilot is FAA Commercial certified.

Cottage Ghost Tales

• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-6300

Acclaimed professional storyteller Lou Ann Homan has been steeping herself in island lore and will captivate and delight your family and friends with an evening of storytelling in your cottage or home. Ghost and pirate tales are a specialty and are appropriate for all ages. Cost is $150.

Coyote Music

• Ocracoke

This singing and songwriting couple of Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro have a loyal following on their home island and well beyond with their engaging and spontaneous presence and colorful music tinged with folk, rock, blues and jazz. During the summer, they perform at Deepwater Theater and Music Hall where they are principal performers in the Ocrafolk Opry and with Molasses Creek. They are also part of the NC Arts Council Touring Artists and perform all over the state and beyond. Listen in for their music in the Nicholas Sparks movie, Nights in Rodanthe, released in September 2008 starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane! You’ll find their CDs for sale all over the island (and even a documentary film inspired from one of their songs about Marcy’s cancer survival); get one to bring some of the island’s magic home with you. Marcy and Lou are available for wedding music on the island.

Curtain Box Hunting—Russell Williams

• Ocracoke
• (252) 921-0191

Williams is a licensed guide with more than 21 years of experience who has appeared in both Wildfowl and Carolina Adventure magazines. He transports hunters to curtain blinds or sink boxes, a type of blind developed on Pamlico Sound and legal only in Hyde and Dare counties. Reservations should be made before Thanksgiving, and packages including accommodation can be arranged through the Pony Island Motel.

Deepwater Theater and Music Hall

• 82 School Road
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-3411

Deepwater Theater and Music Hall is the home venue of Molasses Creek, Ocracoke Island’s hometown band that’s built a loyal following with its blend of soulful singing, bluegrass fiddlin’ and occasionally wacky sense of humor. From June through September, Molasses Creek plays here on Thursday evenings. Other weekly shows in 2010 include the Wednesday night Ocrafolk Opry featuring a panoply of local musicians, storytellers and special visiting guests. New this year is a program of Ocracoke Stories, “You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet,” with local storytellers Philip and Amy Howard. Their schedule and information about yoga classes and other special events is posted at the entrance to the theater and around the village. Doors opens at 7:30 and shows begin at 8 p.m. Ticket prices are around $10-$15 for adults and $5-$7 for children. (MC/Visa are accepted; there are no advance ticket sales.)

Down Creek Gallery

• 260 Irvin Garrish Highway
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-4400

If you are looking for local, North Carolina, regional and national art check out one of Ocracoke’s newest galleries. Located in the heart of the village on the waterfront and representing more than 130 artists, you will find unique jewelry, pottery, art glass, metal, wood, mixed media, local painting, photography and much more. During the summer, the gallery hosts Expose Yourself to Art, bi-weekly receptions to meet the artist showcasing local artisans and their work. The gallery was the winner of a Top Retailer of American Craft award for 2009 from NICHE Magazine. Be sure to stop by.

Downpoint Decoys

• 340 Irvin Garrish Highway
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-3269

This rustic shop is filled to the brim with decoys and sportsman’s paraphernalia. The resident carver has been nationally recognized for his work and is a native who can tell you a salty tale or two. There are old and new decoys, lures, oars and other crafts and scrimshaw that are great for bringing a nostalgic seaside feeling to any home.

DWI Case Management and Treatment for Addictions

• Ocracoke
• (252) 261-4512

Jo Ann Hummers, EdD, LCAS, offers DWI assessment and treatment in person and case management (by phone, mail and/or e-mail) for an out of state resident who gets a DWI in North Carolina. She offers affordable and confidential assistance to comply with NC Division of Motor Vehicles regulations. Also available is counseling for smoking cessation, alcohol and other drug abuse/addiction or gambling addiction.

Ocracoke AA meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. at the upstairs room at the Fire Station on the Back Road on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Free Workout

• 999 Irvin Garrish Highway, Ocracoke Community Center
• Ocracoke

Aerobics, toning and strength building classes for people of all levels and ages are offered weekday mornings at the Community Center. The classes are free and meet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:30 a.m. from May until October and at 8 a.m. during the winter months. All equipment is supplied.

Hammock Hills Nature Trail

• 4281 Irvin Garrish Highway
• Ocracoke

Just across from the National Park Service’s Ocracoke Campground, the Hammock Hills Nature Trail is a 3/4-mile trail through the island’s maritime forest and salt marsh. It’s a great trail for nature lovers and bird watchers, and there are informative signposts along the way. The hike takes about 30 minutes. Parking is available for several cars, or one can walk or bike there on the new paved biking trail that starts at South Point Road at the village line.

Historic Ocracoke Tours and Tales—Ocracoke Ghost and History Walk

• 170 Howard Street, Village Craftsmen
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-5541

Led by native islanders descended from pirates, these 90-minute, one-and-a-half-mile walking tours are sure to entertain and educate. The tours explore either the Around Creek or Down Point areas of the island and cost $12 ($6 for children 6-12 years old; children younger than 6, free). Tours leave from the Village Craftsmen at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday nights. Limited to 24 people, reservations are strongly recommended. Group and special tours can be arranged. Call for off-season schedules.

If you enjoy storytelling and tales about Ocracoke, visit Deepwater Theater on School Road at 8 p.m. on Monday evenings during the summer for a program called, “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet” for more quirky tales and strange stories about Ocracoke.

Island Artworks

• 89 British Cemetery Road
• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-3892

Island Artworks is a fun place to browse and shop. Owner/artist Kathleen O’Neal sells her own hand-crafted jewelry here along with blown glass, contemporary crafts, mosaics, photography, watercolors, pottery, woodworks, sculpture, garden accessories and many other works of art. Island artists are well represented.

Island Guide Services

• Ocracoke
• (252) 928-2504 or (252) 928-2509

Licensed guides Kenneth Tillett and Earl Gaskins both have more than two decades of experience, hunting expertise and local knowledge. Tillett’s great-grandfather, Charlie McWilliams, and Gaskins’ grandfather, Thurston Gaskill, both led parties for the Green Island Hunting Club. Island Guide Services continues the tradition, offering stake and pit blinds, decoys and transport.

Island Path Massage and Personal Path Retreats

• 59 Creek Road
• Ocracoke
• (252) 475-0869

“Have Table Will Travel” is the motto of licensed massage therapist Ken DeBarth. After 30 years of practice as a primary care and emergency medicine physician assistant, Ken decided to attend the Cayce/Reilly School of Massotherapy in Virginia. He now offers relaxation and therapeutic massage at Ocracoke Massage or at your rental accommodation. His lifetime of experience with health and healing and his calm and reassuring manner enable him to offer you a memorable massage experience.

In addition to massage, he and his wife, Ruth Fordon, a life coach and former psychotherapist, are available for consultation and/or for designing Personal Path Retreats that focus on health issues and the challenges of life transitions. They have a special interest in assisting burned out medical personnel and have designed a module called The Healers Path. Island Path also offers workshops for midlife women and for writers.

July 4th Celebrations

• Ocracoke

Ocracoke is famous for its July 4th celebrations. This family-oriented fun-filled day starts off with the Sandcastle Competition at the Lifeguard Beach followed by sky diving, a street parade with floats and entertainment, such as the ever-popular visit from Blackbeard himself, and many other activities.

Lake House Day Spa at The Castle B&B

• 155 Silver Lake Harbor Road
• Ocracoke
• (252) 588-0777

This day spa on the island is found at The Castle B&B. The Lake house Day Spa offers a wide array of relaxing and therapeutic massage and innovative spa treatments including but not limited to Swedish massage, deep tissue massage and hot stone massage. Spa treatments include salt and sugar scrubs, masks and steam showers. Pamper yourself at The Lake House or yours—house calls are available! Call ahead for appointments.