The 2022 OBX History Weekend set for March 30 to April 2 will focus on the questers, inventors, dreamers and pioneers whose paths included the Outer Banks.
The theme for this year’s free, interactive weekend geared to the public is Searchers of New Horizons.
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OBX History Weekend 2022 kicks off March 30 with special tours by the National Park Service of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial. No reservations are required.
During the symposium there will be discussions led by internationally recognized historians, archaeologists and anthropologists, as well as presentations, entertainment, site tours and living history reenactments during the three-day event.
“The program is designed as a gathering of scholars from around the world to discuss from their own unique perspectives the remarkable emergence of new research which is certain to stimulate excitement and discussion on the Outer Banks,” organizers said.
The following is the symposium schedule:
- Symposium Day 1: Thomas Harriot will be held at The Lost Colony’s indoor Gazebo Theatre from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 31. The full day of half-hour presentations, all geared to the public, will focus on the English naturalist, astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, translator and Roanoke colonist, Thomas Harriot and his associates, including Sir Walter Raleigh, John Dee and others.
- Symposium Day 2: Native Americans, lost colonists’ fate & Gen. Billy Mitchell
There will be presentations at two different sites on the second day of the symposium.- “Native Americans & the Lost Colonists’ Fate” is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 1 at The Lost Colony’s indoor Gazebo Theatre at Fort Raleigh.
- The second presentation on Gen. Billy Mitchell starts at 9 a.m. April 1 at the Pioneer Theatre on Budleigh Street in Manteo. A field trip is planned at 2 p.m. to the Billy Mitchell Airstrip in Frisco at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
- Symposium Day 3: Questing Aviators with links to the Outer Banks
“Aviators – Those Magnificent Men & Women and Their Flying Machines” will take place at the The Gazebo Theatre at Fort Raleigh from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 2. There will be presentations on the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager and more.
Organizers recommend reservations, which can be made online, for all three days of the symposium.
Sponsor Spotlight
The Dare County Arts Council will open the Searchers of New Horizons Exhibition, which features historic artifacts and art exhibits on historical figures discussed during the symposium, at 6 p.m. March 31. A wine and cheese reception is planned for symposium attendees. Costumed docents are to be onsite for the exhibition curated by Alexandra Klingelhofer. The public can view the exhibit April 1-9.
The First Colony Foundation, a nonprofit focused on research and education of Sir Walter Raleigh’s attempt to establish English Colonies at Roanoke Island in the 1580s under his charter from Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth R & Co. a nonprofit educational, historical and professional theatrical organization, and The National Park Service – Outer Banks Group are producing the symposium. OBX History Weekend has been held since at least 2017.
