Ocracoke Working Waterman's Festival

Join us in celebrating the 1st annual Working Waterman's Festival on Ocracoke Island! This Ocracoke Heritage Event aims to share the rich history and continuing tradition of working on the water in Ocracoke. Since the first inhabitants of the island, Ocracokers have made their living on the water. Islanders originally worked as pilots, guiding ships through the treacherous Ocracoke Inlet. Their livelihood has depended on fishing, crabbing, clamming, oyster harvesting, decoy carving, and becoming guides for duck hunting and fishing. Fishing in particular is a huge part of Ocracoke's history - from Islanders becoming charter fishermen and commercial fishermen, to beach fishing and working in fish houses. All of these occupations continue today, handed down through the generations. 

The Ocracoke Preservation Society has worked with local watermen to create the Working Waterman’s Festival so as to keep these traditions and the history and heritage of this important work alive. The festival plans to celebrate and bring awareness to the long history of working on the water in the Ocracoke community, as the water has been and continues to be a way of life for many who call the island home. The Working Waterman’s Festival will directly benefit the Ocracoke Preservation Society and serve as a fundraising event so that this significant piece of Ocracoke Island can be preserved.

Vendor booths and exhibits will be present at the festival, with porch talks throughout the day providing details on some of the traditions. An Ocracoke Fish Fry, Silent Auction, Raffle, and Baked Sale have been planned. T-shirts and posters will be sold. For more information and vendor contracts, please go HERE.

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Mark your calendar now for this exciting new event for OPS and the Ocracoke Community and help us honor and thank our working watermen!