Rock the Cape and Dare Day Highlight the Week

Outer Bankers love their traditions. But they're also wide open to new experiences, particularly those that combine good times, good food, good music and a good cause.

Notable among our new events is Rock the Cape, an eight-hour musical kick-off-to-summer benefit for the Dare County Arts Council's outreach to Hatteras Island and the Community Music School program. Held at Koru Beach Village's oceanfront Beach Klub in Avon on Friday, May 31 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., the fundraiser will feature local music, artists, food and drinks, a kids' zone and more. No one brings the surf rock/swamp pop/rockabilly fun like North Carolina band and event headliners Southern Culture on the Skids. If you're not groovin' by the end of a SCOTS show, then you need to check your battery. Bring your appetite...wink, wink...there may be fried chicken in the air. Outer Banks bands Formula, Waterhigh, Ruth Wyand Trio and the DCAC's Community Music School will provide musical entertainment throughout the day. Tickets are $12 in advance, $18 at the door and are available at Koru Village in Avon, Dare County Arts Council's gallery in Manteo, Cloud Nine in Nags Head and from BrownPaperTickets.com.

Securely ensconced among Outer Banks traditions is Dare Day, a Roanoke Island festival considered by many locals to be the unofficial kickoff to Summer. Now in its 38th year, Dare Day promises a fun and festive day of food, crafts, music and other entertainment. On Saturday, June 1 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Manteo, children can hop aboard a kiddie train, wonder at a magic show, have their faces painted and play an assortment of games. Adults will appreciate the beautiful waterfront and the furniture, toys, carvings, clothing, jewelry, birdhouses, paintings, wind chimes, photography and more displayed by 100+ vendors. Delicious aromas will fill the air from seafood, Polish sausages, hamburgers and hot dogs! Cold beverages run the gamut from fresh-squeezed lemonade to slushes and soft drinks.

Another Outer Banks entertainment staple is The Lost Colony, now entering its 76th season in Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island. Over the years, generations of locals and visitors have witnessed playwright Paul Green's visionary tale of the disappearance of those initial English colonists. But wouldn't you love to get an insider's backstage view of how all that onstage magic takes place each night? Of course you would! The Lost Colony's popular Behind the Scenes Tour offers a behind-the-curtain peek at how The Lost Colony comes to life. Learn fun historical facts, see costumes and weaponry up close, watch stunt demonstrations and see cast members doing last-minute preparations. The tour is especially popular with children. Tours depart from the box office at 7 p.m. and last approximately one hour (limit 50 people). Tickets are $7/person or $25 for a family four-pack (tour tickets are sold separately from show tickets for The Lost Colony; show tickets are required to stay for the show). And don't forget, if you're watching the family budget (and who isn't these days?), adult tickets are half-price on Saturday nights!

Other Happenings

The Whalehead Wednesday Wine Festival is the place to be in Corolla on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Each Wednesday the Whalehead Gallery, Sanctuary Vineyards, Vineyards on the Scuppernong, and Corolla Wine, Cigar and Gourmet join together to present local, national and international wines, great tastes and local musicians in this beautiful soundfront setting. Admission is free for non-drinking adults and children. Paid admission for those interested in wine tastings includes a discount coupon for Whalehead's audio interpretive tour and a souvenir wine glass for sampling the vino. Parking is free and leashed pets are welcome!

How many times have you shown your vacation photos while prefacing the display with the sheepish disclaimer, "Trust me, it was more impressive in person?" Hatteras Island photographer Betty Horan can help. Benefit from Betty's 25 years of experience during a 1½ hour class of tips and tricks of beach photography Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Studio 12 Gallery in Avon. Learn about light, composition and places for great Island photos. For ages 10 and up, the price is $18/person, and pre-registration is required.

The Links Ladies invite all women golfers, from newbies to veterans, to participate in the Links Ladies Get Pinked! Golf Tournament on Saturday, June 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nags Head Golf Links. Compete for the longest drive, longest putt, best dressed team, best decorated carts and more, all while benefiting the Outer Banks Hospital Development Council's Get Pinked! Campaign. Entry forms are available in the Nags Head Golf Links pro shop. A luncheon is included, and a party follows the event. For more information contact Kathleen Brehony at (252) 473-4004 or {encode="kbrehony@earthlink.net" title="kbrehony@earthlink.net"}.

On Hatteras, four locally owned galleries situated from Avon to Hatteras Village have joined together to offer the Hatteras Island Art Tour from Saturday, June 1 until Tuesday, June 11. Pick up an Art Tour card at Kinnakeet Clay Works, The Gaskins Gallery, Family Jewels or Blue Pelican Gallery and have it stamped at each shop you visit. When the card is full it becomes a $10 gift certificate honored at any of the four stores.

Kiteboarding enthusiasts will want to check out the Triple-S Invitational held this week at Real Watersports in Waves on Hatteras Island. The world's top 24 men and women kiteboarders will be competing in surf, slicks and slider disciplines in what is the most sought after victory on the professional kiteboarding circuit. Several parties and bands promise a celebratory atmosphere to match the competition.

Cloning - it's not just for science fiction anymore. Join local living legend, Quentin Bell, at the Elizabethan Gardens on Saturday 10 a.m for "Cloning with Quentin Bell," a 2-hour workshop on plant propagation techniques. Bell and his family have been involved with The Gardens since its beginnings in the early 1950s. Garden and Nursery Manager, Jeff Lewis, will provide cuttings of shrubs, soil and trays. Mr. Bell will provide his knowledge and techniques! Ticket and pre-registration are required. For information call (252) 473-3234 or visit the website.

Hatteras Realty in Avon has a great hands-on educational activity for kids ages 4 to 12 on Tuesday, June 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Kinnakeet Sound Safari begins with a trailer ride to Hatteras Realty's "secret" beach on the Pamlico Sound. Kids will explore a unique marine environment that is part of the world's largest estuary system and see shells, fish and birds. Highlights include catching and releasing local blue crabs making their home in the Sound's shallow waters. At the tour's end a sandwich lunch with drinks will be provided followed by a little wet fun on the ol' slip & slide water game. Bring a bag with your name, a change of clothes, sunscreen, towel, sunglasses or hat, bathing suit and water shoes. Cost is $30 (cash, check or credit card). Pre-registration is required and can be done during Saturday and Sunday check-in.

See OuterBanksThisWeek.com for even more local events and activities.

This week you have a chance to win two ultimate umbrellas and 10 beach chairs for a week from Ocean Atlantic Rentals and a $50 gift certificate to Hurricane Mos!

For more information about Ocean Atlantic Rentals, check out their website.

For more information about Hurricane Mo's, check out their Facebook page.

Last Week's Winner

Congratulations to Wendy DeLawder!!!

You won a $50 gift certificate to Blue Pelican Gallery and $35 gift certificate to Gidget's Pizza and Pasta on Hatteras Island!

For more information about Peppercorns Restaurant, click here.

For more information about The Comedy Club of the Outer Banks, check out their website.