Though there is no official word yet on when public facilities in North Carolina’s wildlife refuges will reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge will be ready to welcome visitors, as they wrap up the final touches on an extensive inside-and-out renovation. “We are close enough, [that] we could open now,” [...] Island Features |  Full Article

Since so many of us are cooking and baking more often and running through our pantry supplies while limiting our trips to the store, here is a list of substitutions that may be helpful. 1 cup self-rising flour = 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup cake flour = 1 cup [...] Island Features |  Full Article

The island watermen, which includes Hatteras and Ocracoke Inlet and Pamlico Sound fleets, have been able to get out again! And that means fresh, local seafood is finally becoming available. This is certainly welcome news. My freezer is now depleted. Don’t look for it in the supermarket. You will find it at our fish houses [...] Island Features |  Full Article

So what if we can’t have our 2020 Ocrafolk Festival?  We can still have fun! What Is It?: Ocracoke Alive is having a poster contest for the 2020 Ocrafolk Festival that Wasn’t. Prizes: Top Cash Prize $400. Other Prizes Include Special Treats from Ocracoke Island (Gift Certificates from Island Businesses and more!) Deadline for entries: June 3 Viewing [...] Island Features |  Full Article

Lifeline Outreach OBX and the culinary outreach organization, Mise en Place, are joining forces to offer a new way to feed the Tri-villages and Hatteras Island communities. The two organizations are sponsoring a new soup kitchen, starting May 16, to allow folks to enjoy a home-cooked meal and a little comradery with neighbors, while still [...] Island Features |  Full Article

In a coordinated effort among the three counties of the Outer Banks, the area will reopen to visitors on Saturday, May 16. When the rental homes, hotels and motels do reopen, it may appear to be business as usual. But for the people who work in the hospitality business, it will be anything but. “This [...] Island Features |  Full Article

On Saturday, March 14, Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all North Carolina schools to close. Classes would continue, but instruction would be entirely online. Two days later, the nonprofit Outer Banks Community Foundation rolled out the first of its COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants, which it awards in times of crisis. The $4,500 grant awarded to the Dare Education Foundation helped [...] Island Features |  Full Article

By the staff at the Institute for the Study of the Americas, UNC Chapel Hill Ocracoke Island’s residents can trace their ancestry to many parts of the world. In March, the Ocracoke community welcomed a group of visitors from UNC Chapel Hill the week of March 9 to learn about the island’s connections to Latin [...] Island Features |  Full Article

A young girl with magical powers dwells in Hatteras village. Haley Rosell realized for the first time that she “really had a way with birds” when she bonded with a newly hatched chicken. That little peep followed her everywhere she went, and Haley loved it. “But Turk was the first bird I really, truly bonded [...] Island Features |  Full Article