This is the Heart Nebula (IC1805) It’s about 7,500 light years away from us and has a visual magnitude of +6.5. The Heart Nebula is located near the constellation Cassiopeia. It’s pretty hard to see this massive nebula through a telescope, but you can easily see the cluster of bright stars in its center. These [...] Island Features |  Full Article

The Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo (RWS) Civic Association recently announced that the Tri-villages community will host its first-ever Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 4 at 5:30 p.m., and the Hatteras Island community is welcome to attend and celebrate the season. The event will be held outside of the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community Building at 23646 N.C. Highway 12, [...] Island Features |  Full Article

The Hatteras Village Christmas Parade, which is celebrating its 30th year in 2021, will be held on Saturday afternoon, December 11, at 2:00 p.m. The parade includes cash prizes for first, second, and third prize winners, as well as an additional prize for the most festive golf cart. Entries are currently being accepted for the [...] Island Features |  Full Article

As the weather cools and the crowds start to taper off, there is one contingent of visitors who still frequent the Outer Banks in droves once the off-season is in full swing – the migrating birds at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. As a result, the rare human visitors who also make a trek [...] Island Features |  Full Article

The Fair Haven United Methodist Church (UMC) in Rodanthe is once again bringing a Christmas Tree Farm to Rodanthe, in an event that serves as both a fundraiser for the church, as well as an opportunity for islanders to pick up a tree and make their holiday season brighter. The Christmas Tree Farm was first [...] Island Features |  Full Article

Islanders who prefer to skip the crowds and the stressful scene of a traditional Black Friday will have an opportunity to enjoy an island-style shopping spree this year, thanks to several planned markets that will be showcasing dozens of local artists and vendors. The Avon Farmers Market, which is a favorite weekly event in the [...] Island Features |  Full Article

Hatteras Village will host its annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Community Dinner on Wednesday, December 1, at 5:30 p.m., per a recent online announcement. The decades-old tradition, which was revitalized in 2019 as a public event, will feature the official lighting of the community Christmas tree in the village triangle, (next to the Hatteras Village [...] Island Features |  Full Article

The Rodanthe Pier had an unusual visitor on Monday afternoon – a wayward deer that was spotted in the ocean waves, swimming towards the shore from the end of the pier. “At Christmas, you have ‘elf on a shelf’…At Thanksgiving you have…..deer under the pier!” stated the Rodanthe Pier in a social media update. The [...] Island Features |  Full Article

We are now into what is commonly known on the Outer Banks as the “off-season.” I am not sure that there is an absolute date on which the off-season begins. Years ago, it probably would have been right after Labor Day, but we’ve become more of a shoulder season destination – with visitation even slipping [...] Island Features |  Full Article