Fall on the Outer Banks tastes delicious.
As summer winds down and the weather starts to cool, the local event calendar fills up with some of the tastiest festivals of the year.
Think German food and cold beer, chowder competitions, fresh local seafood, barbecue, oysters, wine and plenty of live music to go along with it.
These events are more than excuses to eat and drink. They celebrate the people, traditions and industries that make the Outer Banks what it is, and several raise money for local nonprofits and community causes.
Get these on your calendar and arrive thirsty and hungry!
Oktoberfest at Outer Banks Brewing Station
Sunday, September 20 | Outer Banks Brewing Station, Kill Devil Hills
Sunday afternoon parties are the best way to end the week, and an Oktoberfest theme is a guaranteed good time. Break out the lederhosen and raise a stein at Oktoberfest at Outer Banks Brewing Station. The Sunday afternoon celebration runs from noon to 3 p.m. with a traditional German buffet, cold beer, live oompah music and plenty of Oktoberfest-style competition.
The buffet and beer flow from noon to 1:30 p.m., then the games begin with a stein-holding competition, a keg relay, a cornhole tournament and the best lederhosen contest. House drafts are $5 throughout the entire weekend.
General admission is $25. Get tickets here.
Can't make it to the main event? Come early on September 19th, and enjoy $5 drafts, fresh oysters, live music, and German-inspired seafood by the sea.
Autumn Ale Faire
Saturday, September 19 | The Elizabethan Gardens, Manteo
The Elizabethan Gardens’ second annual Autumn Ale Faire brings regional brews, wine, cider, food, live music and family fun to the Gardens’ 10 waterfront acres.
This year’s event is especially meaningful as The Elizabethan Gardens celebrates its 75th anniversary. The theme is “Restoration,” with proceeds helping preserve and restore historic treasures on the property. Along with food from Red Sky Catering and live music by Face 2 Face, there’s a beer garden, a Kid’s Zone with crafts, yard games, a bounce house and a dry slide. Dogs are welcome too.
Tickets are $50.25 for adults, $20 for ages 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and younger. Dog admission is $6.50. Get tickets here.
Day at the Docks and HICF Chowder Cookoff
Friday & Saturday, September 18 & 19 | Hatteras Village
Day at the Docks is an annual Hatteras Village tradition that created after Hurricane Isabel in 2003 to celebrate the “Spirit of Hatteras” and the commercial and charter fishermen who anchor the community.
The two-day celebration kicks off Friday with Seafood Under the Stars, followed by the main Day at the Docks festival on Saturday. Expect demonstrations, dock chats, children’s activities, the Seafood Throw Down, vendors, the Blessing of the Fleet and more.
Don’t miss the Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation Chowder Cookoff from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. A $10 tasting fee lets you sample the entries — and help choose the winner. All proceeds benefit the Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation.
Admission to the festival is free, with food and beverage sold on site.
OPCA Clam Chowder Cookoff
Saturday, September 19 | Ocracoke Community Center, Ocracoke
Another chowder showdown happens farther south that same day. The third annual OPCA Clam Chowder Cookoff runs from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Ocracoke Community Center.
For $10, guests can sample chowders and cast their votes for their favorites. Proceeds benefit the Ocracoke Community Pool Association and its efforts to build a community pool for water-safety instruction.
Knotts Island Ruritan Club All You Can Eat Fall Festival
Saturday, September 19 | Ruritan Park, Knotts Island
Boat or ferry over to beautiful Knotts Island in Currituck County to enjoy all-you-can-eat shrimp and oysters and all the fixin's. There will be live music, raffles and alcoholic beverages sold separately. The fun runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
Food tickets cost $55. Buy tickets here.
Photo: Celebrate local seafood at Crabdaddy Seafood & Wine Festival. Photo courtesy Sanctuary Vineyards.
Crabdaddy Seafood & Wine Festival
Saturday, October 10 | Sanctuary Vineyards, Jarvisburg
Crabs, wine, beer and barbecue – that's the taste of fall in Currituck County.
The Crabdaddy Seafood & Wine Festival at Sanctuary Vineyards celebrates the annual arrival of local crabs from the Currituck Sound with seafood from I Got Your Crabs, smoked meats from Spare Parts BBQ, sides and an old-school Currituck fish fry while supplies last.
Add award-winning Sanctuary wines, cold beer, live music and Harvest Hayrides through the vineyard, and you have a pretty full fall afternoon.
The festival runs from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $60 for adults and $30 for children. Buy tickets here.
Photo: Feast on seafood all day long at the Outer Banks Seafood Festival. Photo courtesy Outer Banks Seafood Festival
Outer Banks Seafood Festival
Saturday, October 17 | Soundside Event Site, Nags Head
This event puts Outer Banks seafood heritage front and center.
The Outer Banks Seafood Festival takes over the Soundside Event Site in Nags Head from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with seafood all day, local history and storytelling, vendors, the Fishing Village and Hook ’Em and Cook ’Em Stage.
The music lineup includes SOULone, Daniel Jordan Band, The Main Event Band and Funkamongus.
General admission is $20, with VIP options available. Buy tickets in advance here.
Outer Banks Brewtäg
Saturday, October 24 | Soundside Event Site, Nags Head
Beer meets aviation at one of the Outer Banks’ more unusual fall festivals.
Brewtäg combines local food, Eastern North Carolina beers and live music with teams launching handcrafted, half-barrel-keg-powered flying machines from a flight deck. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s part food and beer festival, part homage to the Outer Banks’ long love affair with flight.
Proceeds benefit The Rogallo Foundation, which honors flexible-wing inventors Francis and Gertrude Rogallo and works to preserve their legacy and support education and research related to flight.
Admission is free. Beer vendor punch cards are $30 each, and food will be for sale.
Photo: Oysters take center stage at the Roanoke Island Oyster Shellabration & BBQ. Photo courtesy of The Lost Colony
Roanoke Island Oyster Shellabration and BBQ
Sunday, November 1 | Safe Harbour Marina, Wanchese
Oysters and barbecue share the spotlight at the second annual Roanoke Island Oyster Shellabration and BBQ.
The Roanoke Island Historical Association event brings together an expanded lineup of North Carolina oyster farmers and local barbecue vendors. Guests can sample shucked and roasted oysters along with barbecue, chowders, biscuits and desserts, with live music from Partly Crowdy.
Even the shells go to good use: All oyster shells will be recycled in collaboration with the North Carolina Coastal Federation.
The event is for ages 21 and older and runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Safe Harbor Tiki Hut in Wanchese.
Tickets are $95 and include all food, two drink tickets and entertainment. Buy tickets here.
Currituck Bulls & BBQ
Saturday, November 7 | Currituck County Rural Center, Powells Point
Finish the fall food-festival season with barbecue and bull riding.
Currituck Bulls & BBQ runs from noon to 6 p.m. at the Currituck County Rural Center, with the rodeo starting at 3 p.m. Expect bull riding, barrel racing, mutton bustin’ and more.
Local barbecue restaurants will compete in a People’s Choice contest, with $10 tasting tickets giving guests samples of each barbecue and side before they vote for the best BBQ and Best Fixin’.
Event admission is $15 for ages 6 and older; children 5 and younger are free. Tickets are available online only, and organizers warn that the event sells out every year.
About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.
