Ocracoke Fig Festival returns on August 2-3
The 11th annual Ocracoke Fig Festival returns on August 2-3 with special guest Sheri Castle, host of the Emmy Award-winning cooking show “The Key Ingredient,” and multiple events that will be held at The Berley Barn and venues throughout Ocracoke Village.
The festival, which is sponsored by the Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS), features live music, storytelling, children’s activities and crafts, talks by local fig experts, and vendor booths offering fig preserves, fig cakes, fig trees, local cookbooks, and other fig-centric items.
The schedule of events for the two-day celebration is below.
All events are free, except where noted. Parking is available at the NPS lot adjacent to the OPS Museum. For more information about the festival, visit the Ocracoke Preservation Society’s website, or check out the event’s Facebook page.
Friday, August 2
10 a.m.-6 p.m. – Figtastic vendor booths
10 a.m.-6 p.m. – Ocracoke Catering Company serving pork, chicken, seafood with Fig preserves &BBQ sauces
1-3 p.m. – Book Signing with Chef Sheri Castle, author of “The New Southern Garden Cookbook.” Bring your own well-loved copy or purchase one at the OPS Museum Gift Shop or Fig Festival Booth.
Noon-10 p.m. – Cash bar with beer, wine, & soft drinks
3-5 p.m. – Fig Preserves Contest – Drop off your entry at OPS Museum before 2 p.m. Anyone can enter Fig Preserves in two categories: Traditional or Innovative (includes combinations with other fruits). Tasting Tickets/Ballots are $3 each; voters choose the winners!
4:30-6:30 p.m. – Live Music with Martin Garrish & Friends
6:30-7:30 p.m. – Traditional Ocracoke Square Dance (outside — weather-permitting) with Philip Howard & Molasses Creek 7:30-10 p.m. – Live Music with Raygun Ruby
Saturday, August 3
10 a.m.-3 p.m. – Bring Fig Cake Bake-Off entries to Berkley Barn
10 a.m.-4 p.m. – Ocracoke Catering Company serving pork, chicken, seafood
10 a.m.-5 p.m. – Silent Auction fundraiser for OPS
10 a.m.-6 p.m. – Figtastic vendor booths
11 a.m. – Ocracoke Fig Cultivation & Culture talk with Chester Lynn
11 a.m.- 1 p.m. – Figgy tie-dye and Fig Leaf Painting for kids
Noon-10 p.m. – Cash bar with beer, wine, & soft drinks
Noon: Q & A with Chef Sheri Castle
1-3 p.m. – Book Signing with Chef Sheri Castle, author of “The New Southern Garden Cookbook.”
3 p.m. – Fig Cakes go on display in Barn
4 p.m. – Fig Cake Judging, followed by Serving of Fig Cakes
5 p.m. – Silent Auction Ends
5 p.m. – Live Music with Molasses Creek
7-10 p.m. – Dance with the Ocracoke Rockers
