The North Carolina Coastal Federation is planning to serve a spread of steamed local oysters, a low country boil, vegetarian options, and other favorites during this year’s “A Roast for the Coast.”

The fundraising event for the nonprofit begins at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 24 on the grounds of the New Hanover County Arboretum in Wilmington. The event is to be held rain or shine.

Proceeds will go to the organization’s efforts to restore native oysters, such as its oyster shell recycling program. The shells collected are used to build and restore oyster reefs in the lower Cape Fear River and along the coast.

Tickets can be purchased online. Cost is $70 for Coastal Federation members or $80 for nonmembers and includes two drink tickets for wine or beer, plus unlimited nonalcoholic beverages. 

The online silent auction opened Tuesday. Bidders do not need to attend the event to win. 

Attendees have access to a $10 voucher for Uber rides using the code, rqmkbnvbzkk, or this link.

Those who register by 5 p.m. Sept. 30 and use the code EARLY will receive 10% off their ticket price.

The Coastal Federation publishes Coastal Review.

Organizers of an afternoon fundraiser set for later this month invite folks to raise a glass to growing seafood and meet area aquaculture specialists to learn more about “a growing opportunity.”

Nacho Brewery in Morehead City is hosting the event set for 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at 2900-6 Arendell St., in the Morehead Plaza shopping center. All proceeds from beer and food sales will go directly to the Carteret Community College Aquaculture Technology Program.

Organizers said the event will support workforce development and promote the future of sustainable seafood in coastal communities.

According to the college’s website, “Aquaculture is defined simply as the farming and husbandry of aquatic organisms. This can be growing seafood or ornamental specimens for commercial sale, environmental enhancement, research, or education.”

The college says its program curriculum is comprehensive, covering hatchery, grow-out, processing and marketing.

“Students learn practical skills that prepare them for future employment in a variety of industries or for continuation at a four-year institution,” according to the college.

The fundraiser will include hands-on experiences with marine life, marine science trivia and delicious craft beer brewed in Carteret County.

It’s also possible to donate online to support the college program, just select “Aquaculture Program” from the options.

Every summer, the women of Ocean City Beach organized crabbing trips to Topsail Island’s north end. On a waxing moon, when the tide was exactly right, moms and their kids skimmed the saltwater shallows hunting blue crabs, as many as they could carry. The fat jimmies and sooks were the promise of delectable family recipes: rich gumbo, savory crab casseroles and delicate crab-stuffed eggs.

“My mom would always say that on a growing moon, you get more crab meat than on a wasting moon,” Kenneth Chestnut says. “I didn’t believe it, but I became a believer.”

Chestnut’s faith arrived one unforgettable day. The tide had just begun to turn, creating tranquil waters that are a guaranteed feast for hungry blue crabs. Suddenly, the marsh teemed with them, and harvest baskets quickly overflowed.

“It was almost biblical,” Chestnut marvels. Faced with this unexpected bounty, the women had to think fast. How would they get such a haul home?

“They told us boys take off our jeans — we had on swimming trunks underneath — tie up the bottoms of them and fill them with crabs,” Chestnut says, chuckling at the memory.

Back at Ocean City Beach, everyone went to work steaming the mountains of crabs. Pickers meticulously avoided damaging the fragile back shells. Those were always set aside to dry in the sun for use in one of the most beloved dishes: deviled crabs.

Chestnut’s mother, Caronell, took her version to Michelin-star level. She began by sautéing minced onions and celery in rich butter before adding flour and milk to create a luxurious bechamel sauce. After gently folding in sweet crab meat and chopped, hard-boiled eggs, Caronell Chestnut mounded the exquisite mixture into the sun-bleached shells. She finished each serving with a dusting of cracker meal and “small tip of butter” before baking them golden brown for a neighborhood feast.

And it wasn’t just crabs at those delicious gatherings.

“They would prepare dishes and then share dishes. All kinds,” Chestnut reminisces. Food was the heartbeat of the hamlet, a profound expression of connection, so central, so vital, that someone eventually realized Ocean City Beach needed its own cookbook.

More than recipes

The crabbing and cooking memory Kenneth Chestnut relates resonates deeply with my own childhood in Jacksonville, just 25 miles away. Yet, our neighborhoods were worlds apart.

The Chestnuts were Black; my family was white. Although the Civil Rights Act had been law for a decade when we first drove through Ocean City Beach on our way to and from favorite crabbing spots in the early 1970s, Topsail Island’s lines of segregation were clear.

We understood Ocean City Beach as separate, “the Black beach.” Its enduring community cookbook, originally published in 1980 and titled “Ms. Winnie’s Seafood Cook Book,” is a powerful testament to Maya Angelou’s profound truth: “Human beings are more alike than we are unalike. And the minute we began to understand, just the slightest part of that, we recognize ourselves as family.”

Winnie Robinson, a long-time Ocean City Beach resident, painstakingly assembled that first recipe collection as a fundraiser. Chestnut imagines she walked house to house, asking cooks to share their most delicious creations.

The sumptuous dishes, often elaborate in their seasonings — fish chowder with a splash of white burgundy wine, dill- and nutmeg-scented clam fritters, grilled sesame trout, sweet-and-sour sauteed croakers, to name a few — tell a complex story.

In 1949, Edgar Yow, a white man and former Wilmington mayor, witnessed the harsh realities of racism. He envisioned a haven where people of color could enjoy the shore and own oceanside homes in peace.

Yow held seaside property and collaborated with Kenneth Chestnut’s father, Wade Chestnut, and Wade’s siblings to turn part of the acreage into the milelong Ocean City Beach. By 1954, this determined community had 15 homes, a welcoming motel, a bustling restaurant and, soon after, an Episcopal chapel, a church summer camp and the iconic Ocean City Fishing Pier.

“When growing up, I would go on the beach and I would see it was really crowded to the left, really crowded to the right, recalls Carla Torrey, editor of the cookbook’s latest incarnation, “Tried and True Recipes.” “And there would maybe be me and two other people on our beach. And I always was like, ‘Why is that? Is there something special about me?’”

“And then I later realized why. That it was this invisible line where nobody crossed over and came on our beach.”

Unwelcome at many restaurants and living somewhere set apart for no other reason than its residents’ skin color, Ocean City Beach’s talented chefs cultivated a culinary utopia.

Torrey shows a fuzzy black-and-white photo of a community garden thriving even in dry, sandy soil. She yearns for the creamed corn one neighbor prepared fresh from the cob. Chestnut recalls his dad salt-curing mullet in a barrel and neighbors carefully tending molting crabs that would become fried, soft-shell delicacies.

Kitchen creativity, Torrey and Chestnut explain, blossomed during the summers. Moms and their kids, home from school, lived at Ocean City all week. Working dads joined their families on weekends. The women supported each other by sharing meals and recipes. Those carefree days offered them the luxury of time to lovingly prepare food and experiment with fresh ideas.

“It was a joy to her if she didn’t feel pressured to cook,” Chestnut remembers about his mother. “I think that was why she especially loved it down here.”

Each cook infused delights with flavors and methods passed down through the generations along with the latest trends, like Carol King’s Prawn and Egg Curry and Bessie W. Hill’s shrimp-stuffed eggplant.

As Winnie Robinson herself wrote in the original cookbook’s acknowledgments, “Our source has been the ‘world of food.'”

Cooking up the future

Today, 30 Ocean City Beach homes survive from a peak of 100 that existed before hurricanes Fran and Berta took their tolls in 1996. Storms also claimed the Ocean City Beach pier, leaving behind only a solitary tower standing sentinel on a scrubby oceanfront lot. The village nearly blends into the relentless sprawl all around. In 1990, North Topsail Beach absorbed Ocean City Beach into its town limits.

The triumph of civil rights has slowly, gently, loosened ties to this community born of necessity. “Descendants (of original homeowners) can go anywhere and buy anywhere, as opposed to just here,” Chestnut notes. “That’s the way it should be.”

Yet, the important story of Ocean City Beach is far from forgotten. It lives on in an exhibit at Surf City’s Missiles and More Museum, tracing Topsail Island’s history. The community holds a place on both the N.C. Civil Rights Trail and the Jacksonville Onslow African-American Heritage Trail. A roadside marker near the old pier entrance humbly sums up Ocean City Beach’s founding. Blue street signs delineate its roads.

And there’s the cookbook.

While the societal injustices that compelled Ocean City Beach’s creation are a painful memory, they don’t diminish the deep nostalgia families feel for the idyllic summer days they spent in the village. Ensuing generations cling to heirloom recipes and the cherished tradition of sharing meals, a legacy of resilience and joy expressed in the community cookbook.

Chestnut carries on his mother’s clam fritter recipe, the one with dill and nutmeg. His daughter still prepares her grandmother’s Shrimp and Rice Surprise, an easy, irresistible mélange of ham, sausage, shrimp, mushrooms and melty cheese.

Torrey, driven by a passion for preservation, spent hours immersed in Robinson’s pages. She brought forth treasured recipes and solicited new ones for “Tried and True Recipes,” published in 2014, including her own elaborate citrus crabcakes with coriander and blood orange aioli.

Sales of “Tried and True Recipes” help fund maintenance of the chapel and community building, which continue to host gatherings. Potlucks and an annual Labor Day block party happen annually.  

Proceeds also support Ocean City Beach’s annual Jazz Festival. Every Fourth of July, people of all colors come together for two days of music. Torrey’s husband, Craig, organizes a historic walking tour during the event, guiding visitors through streets that hold so many stories.

“Tried and True Recipes” is always available at the festival and year-round online. Both the cookbook and the Jazz Festival are powerful vehicles to tell the story of Ocean City Beach, Carla Torrey says.

“And hopefully keep the history going so it’s not forgotten.”

Caronell Chestnut’s Deviled Crabs

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ stick butter or margarine

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Seasonings as desired

1 pound crab meat

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Cracker meal or cracker crumbs

Butter or margarine

Sauté onions and celery in butter or margarine until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and add flour, milk, Worcestershire and seasonings. Return to heat and cook until thick. Add more milk if necessary for the right consistency. Mix this with crab meat and hard-boiled eggs. Fill crab shells or a baking dish with mixture. Sprinkle top with cracker meal or cracker crumbs. Place a tip of butter or margarine on top of each shell. Bake at 350 degrees until brown (about 25-30 minutes).

The nonprofit partner for national parks on the Outer Banks has opened its annual program that allows supporters to symbolically adopt sea turtle nests along Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Outer Banks Forever, a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the official fundraising partner of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial, organizes the Adopt A Sea Turtle Program raises funds for projects at the national seashore, which protects more than 30,000 acres from south Nags Head to the Ocracoke Inlet.

A donation of $100 or more reserves a 2025 sea turtle nest. Nest assignments begin in early June and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.  

As nests become available for adoption, the donor will be assigned a nest and will receive an adoption certificate by mail or email with initial information about the nest.

When the nest hatches later in the summer or fall, the supporter will receive a personalized update in the mail with information National Park Service rangers collect about your nest, including the number of hatchlings that made their way out to sea. The average incubation time for our nests is 61 days.

National Park Service rangers monitor the 70-plus miles making up the seashore and gather data about the hundreds of sea turtle nests laid each season.

Leatherback, loggerhead, green, Hawksbill and Kemp’s Ridleys are the five species of sea turtles that typically nest on national seashore beach. There were more than 300 sea turtle nests in 2024 along the national seashore, including rare Kemp’s Ridley and Leatherback sea turtle nests.

“No individual or group who participates in this program can claim ownership of a sea turtle nest, eggs, or hatchlings. Nature is also unpredictable. If your adopted nest is lost to a weather event or damaged by some other means, we will assign you a new nest that may or may not be shared with another individual or group,” organizers said.

Contact Development & Adoption Programs Manager Nicole Erickson at nicoleerickson@obxforever.org with questions.

BUXTON — A team of dedicated outrigger canoe paddlers from the Wrightsville Beach Outrigger Canoe Club is preparing to embark on the final 110-mile stretch of its journey along the entire North Carolina coast.

Over the past two years, these paddlers have been working to raise awareness about the crucial need for clean water.

Their initiative, called We the Water, not only aims to shed light on the importance of clean water but also serves as a fundraiser for the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s vital work in enhancing coastal water quality.

“This journey has been a true labor of love,” said Coastal Federation Coastal Management Program Director Kerri Allen, who is also a WBOCC paddler, regarding the significance of this effort. “Clean water is not just a need, it’s a right, and using outrigger paddling to tell the story of our coast and shed light on these issues has been extraordinary.”

The nonprofit Coastal Federation publishes Coastal Review.

The team will begin Friday, setting off from Buxton to paddle toward the North Carolina-Virginia border, with an anticipated arrival by Saturday. During their journey, the paddlers plan to make several stops, and the public is encouraged to join in and show their support. For more information on their schedule, please visit, here. A traditional Hawaiian blessing of the canoe will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Swell Motel. The community is encouraged to attend.

Upon the completion of this 110-mile trek, the group will return to Historic Corolla Park, to mark the official conclusion of their three-year, 325-mile paddling initiative. To learn more about the We the Water paddling initiative, extend your support for their fundraising efforts, or participate in a silent auction, please visit the Coastal Federation’s website at nccoast.org/paddle.

The paddling initiative has also been supported by a gracious number of sponsors, including Airlie Pointe Yacht Charters, BeUnlimited Yoga, Slice of Life, Stellar Blu Construction, The Aladon Network, Family Dental Care of Wilmington, and The Beatty Pittman Team.

Many readers know that Coastal Review is published by the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

The nonprofit membership organization established in 1982 focuses on restoring the state’s coastline and advocating for an accessible, healthy, productive coast.

The Coastal Federation launched Coastal Review in February 2012 to fill a gap in coastal environmental reporting that was in decline in traditional media. The award-winning, nonprofit news service is a longtime member of the North Carolina Press Association and publishes Monday through Friday.

One way to support Coastal Review and the organization that publishes it is through this year’s Pelican Awards, which recognizes stewards for their commitment to the coast, and the Taste of the Coast celebration set for Saturday evening in Morehead City.

“These events are incredibly special to us as a way to bring our community together to honor our award winners and to celebrate our spectacular coast,” Development Director Sarah King said in a statement. “We are incredibly grateful to all our sponsors, partners, and friends who make this event, and all our work protecting and restoring the coast, possible.”

This year, 13 Pelican Awards will be presented during the ceremony that begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Carteret Community College’s Joslyn Hall. Doors open at 5 p.m. There is no charge to attend, but registration is required because of limited seating.

Following the awards ceremony will be the Taste of the Coast celebration. Treated as a separate event, 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday in the Crystal Coast Civic Center will feature live music, a silent auction, seafood and drink pairings including North Carolina oysters from area oyster growers.

Tickets, available on the website, are $60 for Coastal Federation members and $70 for nonmembers for the celebration. Because the bidding is online for the silent auction, those interested in participating are encouraged to bring their smart phones.

This year’s Pelican Awards and Taste of the Coast Celebration are made possible by leadership support from First Citizens Bank and other important event sponsors.

“First Citizens Bank has partnered with the North Carolina Coastal Federation for many years, and we have witnessed first-hand the impactful work they do. It was the right decision to increase our commitment and become the title sponsor,” said First Citizens Bank Executive Director of Trust and Fiduciary Services Phillip Strickland. “While we have grown from a $50 billion bank to a $200 billion bank within the last 20 months, we will continue making an increased effort in investing in the people and communities we serve.”

Post has been updated

Did you know that a group of sharks is called a shiver? And did you know that there are nearly 500 species of shark found worldwide? File those facts away for the shark-themed trivia taking place as part of a conservation fundraiser in Atlantic Beach.

Scheduled for 5:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 10, at Crystal Coast Brewing Co. in Atlantic Beach, Suds for Sharks is a family-friendly event highlighting shark conservation and research.

In addition to trivia, there will be a silent auction with shark-themed items donated by local artists, and an exclusive sand tiger shark-themed beer. The brewery will donate $1 from every shark-themed beer sold to conservation projects. Tanja’s Hella Fat Food of New Bern will also be on-site.

“Events like Suds for Sharks is a way that we can bring the community together for a great conservation cause,” said Emily Fessler, aquarium education curator. “The more we can learn about and understand sharks, the better we’re able to protect these animals and their habitat to help them not only survive but thrive for future generations.”

All donations will go to the nonprofit North Carolina Aquarium Society to support the North Carolina Aquarium Conservation Action Committee’s shark conservation projects for shark field research, outreach, and conservation.

 “We’re grateful for community partners like Crystal Coast Brewing Company who are able to get involved in conservation efforts and help make events like Suds for Sharks a fun experience,” Fessler said.

To learn more about the nonprofit aquarium society and to donate, visit the website.

Lifelong Ocracoke resident Alton Ballance can trace ancestors on both sides of his family back to the barrier island’s first settlers, he writes in the preface of his 255-page book, “Ocracokers.”

The book that is about “Ocracoke and Ocracokers, past and present, and how both have adapted to the changes that have taken place within the last few years” was published in 1989 by UNC Press.

His parents both grew up on Ocracoke, with roots going back generations to the 1700s. “We were related to so many people,” he told Coastal Review recently.

His late father, Lawrence, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and his mother Vera, was “an Island girl” who was born in 1918 in the house where Alton Ballance lives today. “And she lived over 77 years there and died there,” he explained.

Ballance said that he remembers his childhood fondly “because of the connection to the outdoors, the families and the voices, the stories, the humor.”

Growing up in the 1960s and ’70s in the island village “was a time when you had immediate contact with people like grandparents, who had themselves grown up in the age of sail and in homes without running water or electricity and they depended on sailing across the sound to trade or go to Carteret County” to shop or get medical care.

Ballance will be taking the same Pamlico Sound route his ancestors likely took to Carteret County on Friday, Feb. 23, when he visits Harkers Island — one of the 13 unincorporated, tight-knit communities north of Beaufort referred to as Down East. He’ll be the guest speaker for the winter Taste of Core Sound.

The annual fundraising dinner at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center includes a family-style feast and two auctions. Located at the end of Island Road, the center is next to the Cape Lookout National Seashore visitor center.

Previously a teacher at Ocracoke’s K-12 school and staff at North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching on the island, Ballance has owned The Crews Inn on Back Road since 1989, served on Hyde County Board of Commissioners from 1984 to 1992 and was on the state’s Coastal Resources Commission, which establishes rules for coastal development, from 1996 to 2002. He has two daughters, Emma Reese, 11, who lives with her mother in High Point, and Vera, 23, who lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Ballance explained that the book is in three parts. The first is the history of Ocracoke through World War II, including the island’s geological formation. The second part focuses on the Ocracokers themselves, those who represent the island when he was growing up, and finally, what “launched us into where we are today,” including the National Park Service, tourism, and school.

He acknowledges in the preface that some of the people in the book have died or don’t do what they used to since he started writing the book in the late 1970s, but “this difference doesn’t bother me too much because the book really is about the past, about the people and events who have made Ocracoke what it is today. For all that might happen to the island in time to come, it will always have its past – a past full of rich history, some of it alive today.”

Ballance began working on the book in the late 1970s and it took to the late 1980s, to get it done. “It took me a while.”

The book went through through several revisions as it was transferred from handwritten pages, to manual typewriter, to electronic typewriter and finally, a computer.

The idea for the book happened shortly after Ballance graduated from high school.

He attended University of North Carolina Asheville for a few years — hitchhiking across the state the day before Thanksgiving one year to surprise his family — before transferring to UNC Chapel Hill.

At Chapel Hill, he discovered the library’s North Carolina collection and became interested in trying to record the stories of Ocracoke’s past and its people, which eventually became the core of “Ocracokers,” he explained.

He did much of the work after graduating from UNC and going back to Ocracoke around 1980. “I spent a year fishing with these old guys that I portray in the book,” he said, and writing, interviewing and keeping journal.

He said he took his first teaching job in Hillsborough after that year but moved back home to teach at Ocracoke School. He taught at the kindergarten through 12th grade school from 1982 to 2003. He also worked on his master’s through Middlebury College in Vermont, where he could take summer classes.

He became interested in village politics because of the Anchorage Inn being built on Ocracoke at the time and decided to run as the village’s representative for the Hyde County Board of Commissioners. This was in 1984.

He described the Anchorage Inn as a “brick building, like a roadside interstate hotel that had been jammed on a residential lot,” adding it was “Only 3 or 4 feet from the highway” and at some point, a ladder had to be on the highway to finish the project.

“So, I was interested in introducing the island’s first development ordinance. I wrote it myself in 1985 and so what got introduced was height limit, and setbacks and parking and things like that,” he said.

Before that, there were no development rules. “That wasn’t easy. To go from nothing to something, and most people, I think, were supportive,” he said.

While teaching, he heard about the program, North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, or NCCAT, where teachers could take seminars in Cullowhee. He made his way there in the mid-1990s and the director at the time approached him about expanding the program to Ocracoke.

The first program they developed on the island was held in 1995 and took place a few times a year. Then one day, Ballance said they were heading over to historic Portsmouth Village, now protected as part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, and were discussing how the Coast Guard was downsizing and leaving Ocracoke. As well as its World War II-era station on the shore of Silver Lake empty.

“We had a dream to make the old station an eastern campus for NCCAT, he said.

“It took an act of Congress — literally and figuratively — for them to give the building to the state (for NCCAT) and we came very close in the late 90s to getting it,” he said, “But then Hurricane Floyd and a few other things put the brakes on the funding.”

When the effort reignited in 2003, he stepped away from teaching and began working to get NCCAT eastern campus to Ocracoke, which he succeeded in doing and it is still in operation today.

Though not offered anymore, one of the most popular seminars was called “Salty Dogs.” Groups of teachers would spend the day on commercial fishing boats. They would clean what they helped catch and then cook the seafood in Ballance’s backyard.

The teachers after that experience “would never look at seafood the same way again because of the complexities,” from having to be your own lawyer and accountant to having to take the risks. “I’ve seen my two nephews, who are commercial fishermen, you know, they make zero one day because they lost gear, and the next day make $10,000, so you’ve got to be really in tune to a lot change.”

Ballance led seminars at NCCAT until 2018, when he decided to spend more time at The Crews Inn.

“I’ve spent my time renovating. I’m kind of a do-it-yourself person, so after Hurricane Dorian (in 2019) I had rebuilt whole first floor of the inn, and my house, and The Crews Inn cottage,” he said.

Ballance told Coastal Review that he feels like Ocracoke and Down East are both kind of “at the end of the road,” the center’s slogan, and are “kindred spirits” for their coastal connection and concerns with when storms come along.

“You have to learn to be resilient if you’re going to keep living there. You’ve got to get used to pushing sand around, you’ve got to get used to being flooded, you’ve got to get used to having your roof blown off, trees down, and your backyards growing wetter,” he said. “We’ve got some of the same sort of concerns.”

About Taste of Core Sound

Taste of Core Sound begins at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 with a reception that includes oysters on the half shell.

The dinner, served at 7 p.m., is to include “Hancock Salad” with homemade poppy seed dressing, venison bites, stewed conchs, assorted fruits and cheese, oyster dressing, shrimp and grits, scallop fritters, redhead ducks and rutabagas, Ocracoke pork tenderloin, winter collards, sweet potato pudding, squash casserole and light rolls. For dessert, culinary students at East Carteret and West Carteret high schools are baking Down East fig cakes.

Ballance, who is slated to start his talk around 8 p.m. after dinner is served, will also be on hand to sign copies of his book throughout the event.

Visitors will have a chance to bid on decoys, collectibles and waterfowl art during live and silent auctions.

Davis Springle carved this year’s contemporary decoy for the live auction.

He said that both of his grandfathers started taking carving classes at the community college after retiring “so when I was growing up I was always helping them sand a decoy head or painting ‘abstract’ decoys,” he said.

He began carving decoys while in college, after joining his grandfather, Clinton Barnes, at the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild and have been carving since. “I usually carve Core Sound style decoys but will occasionally carve and paint a more decorative bird. I enjoy carving wood ducks the most but have carved most of the birds local to our area.”

A vintage decoy will also be auctioned.

Tickets are $100 per member or $125 each for nonmembers, and that includes an annual membership. There’s also the option to reserve a table with seating for 10 for $1,000. Call the museum at 252-725-1500 or visit www.coresound.com/wintertaste or at the giftshop in downtown Morehead City.

CEDAR POINT — For the second year in a row, the Wrightsville Beach Outrigger Canoe Club is teaming up with the North Carolina Coastal Federation to advocate for clean water by paddling the North Carolina coast.

Last September, the club launched an outrigger canoe from Sunset Beach and paddled to Carteret County, roughly 120 miles.

The second leg of the three-year endeavor begins Thursday at the Boathouse Creek Walking Trails in Cedar Point. Paddlers will wrap up this leg two days later and 125 miles farther up to coast in Hatteras Village.

The team of 20 will take turns paddling the six-person Hawaiian-style outrigger canoe. Traditionally found in Polynesia and Hawaii, outrigger paddling has deep cultural and historical roots throughout the Pacific and is relatively novel on the East Coast. It includes fostering and preserving Hawaiian culture and practices connected to paddling, the canoes, the ocean, the land, and the people, organizers said.

During their journey, the paddlers said they will advocate for clean water, empowered local communities, pollution awareness, and the need to protect the most vital element of our lives: water. Money raised will support the Coastal Federation and its clean water advocacy work.

“Outrigger paddling is a connection to the ocean like no other, and I cannot think of a better way to tell the story of our coast than from the canoe,” said Kerri Allen, a paddler, club member, leader of this initiative and advocate for the Coastal Federation. “It is our kuleana (responsibility) to be stewards of our coast — leaving it better than we found it — and that is what we aim to do through this journey.”

A small kickoff event, including a traditional Hawaiian blessing, or pule, of the canoe, was held Wednesday in Cedar Point.

You can also follow the journey, in-person or virtually. A live tracker will show the location of the paddlers on the Coastal Federation’s webpage, and the community is encouraged to meet the paddlers at stops along the way or even on the water.

“Whether via kayak, paddleboard, or even motorboat, the paddlers welcome the audience!” organizers said.

The club thanked North Carolina Sen. Michael Lee, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for providing a support vessel, and its sponsors: Stellar Blu Construction, Aladon, Zulu Marine Services, Kim Crouch, The Coastal Real Estate Group, Primo Hoagies Wilmington, BeUnlimited Yoga, and Sea Green Natural Cleaning.

Learn more about the We the Water paddling initiative.

Since beginning the Coins for Conservation program at Inlet Inn in Beaufort a little over a year ago, owners Jay Tervo and Barbara McKenzie have raised more than $12,000 to benefit the coastal environment.

McKenzie said she and her husband became owners of the inn in May 2019. A professional pianist, she said in an interview that her husband pitched the idea of buying the inn to her, and they went for it. She said it was something new and that she was ready to take a break from the pressures of performing.

In August 2022, they began Coins for Conservation, a voluntary giving program that “creates fundraising partnerships between community businesses and trusted nonprofit eco-partners serving our Eastern NC community.” The platform was officially launched in May with a kick-off event in Beaufort.

McKenzie explained that the idea was inspired by a similar program she learned about while visiting St. Simons, Georgia. They were staying in a historic downtown inn there and noticed a small charge on the bill for Pennies for Preservation.

After learning more about the voluntary giving program during her visit, “I was really inspired by what they were doing in that community,” she said. “I knew that we could do something like that here, and that it would be really important to do something like that here.”

McKenzie said they designed the program “to showcase major environmental partners in the area,” which for them, she said is the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Friends of the Reserve, and Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle Project.

The way the program works is any kind of business based anywhere visits the coins4conservation.com website and chooses one, two, three or all four nonprofit eco-partners listed. The business representative is to then contact the leadership of the nonprofits they want to support and together develop a strategy to raise funds. The business then works with that nonprofit to execute their plan.

The program is not a nonprofit, she said. Rather, Coins for Conservation is “Saving Nature’s Treasures” by funneling donations directly to the environmental organizations “that actually do the work in securing the environmental protection that we need here.”

When they launched Coins for Conservation last summer, McKenzie said they began adding $4 to each reservation. Guests were made aware that the donation is completely voluntary and that guests could easily opt out by speaking to the front desk.

Not many have though: McKenzie said they have “97-plus-percent participation rate.”

Looking back, she said, most of the people who choose to opt out are those traveling for business. But, there are others who donate extra.

Guest reception “has been really great,” she said, adding that most Beaufort visitors want to be able to protect what’s there, and they see that it’s really precious. “If we don’t do something to educate and promote environmental good practices, then it won’t be here.”

She reiterated that the entire program is voluntary. “The donations are voluntary. The business participation is voluntary, and who we choose to give the donations to from our guests, it’s voluntary.”

The Inlet Inn’s eco-partners are the Friends of the Reserve and the Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review.

Coastal Federation Business Engagement Director Catherine Snead said that the organization is extremely grateful to the Inlet Inn for this initiative and their proactive approach to local conservation.

“They recognized the need for safeguarding our coastal ecosystems, and implemented a plan to raise awareness and make a positive difference in our community by giving back. The funds generated by Coins for Conservation will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on our shared coastal environment,” Snead said. “The Coins for Conservation model represents a perfect synergy of commerce and compassion, and the Coastal Federation wholeheartedly thanks Barbara and Jay for their invaluable support. Together we will ensure the continued health and resiliency of our coastal habitats for generations to come.”

The Beaufort Hotel joined the program in May. Their voluntary fee goes to the Friends of the Reserve. “And that is just going to be a huge contribution,” McKenzie said.

Beaufort Hotel General Manager Peter Grills told Coastal Review that in the two months they have been participating, June and July, fewer than 5% of their guests have chosen not to donate the $3 per stay.

“Many guests comment and thank us for giving them the opportunity to help keep the area as it is,” he said.

“We are always looking for ways to give back to the community we operate in. We chose the Friends of Rachel Carson Reserve as our recipient for this year, as we have always done work with them,” Grills said. “We have a community service day with our company, Concord Hospitality, where we go into the community to do volunteer work.”

Since opening, the Beaufort Hotel has taken a team to the island and assisted by clearing walking trails. “We do this every November, and it’s fun for our associates to participate. The choice to give to the Friends that support the reserve was a natural fit for us.”

Volunteers with the Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle Project connected the group’s president, Michele Lamping, with Coins for Conservation. Lamping is an aquarist and sea turtle specialist at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.

Lamping founded the nonprofit in 2021 to support the volunteer organization that protects nesting sea turtles, nests and hatchings in Atlantic Beach during nesting season May 1 through Sept. 30. She established the nonprofit to be a way to receive donations for the project.

Lamping said any donations they receive through Coins for Conservation will go to operating costs that the volunteers have been funding out-of-pocket since starting the volunteer AB Sea Turtle Project began 15 years ago.

The funds will help buy materials to create shade cloths that are put around a nest to block light pollution from streets and houses, equipment like shovels and sand buckets, and maintenance for the utility vehicle they use to get between nests.

“Now, our big conservation impact that we’re trying to deal with is our biggest killer of turtles in Atlantic Beach, light pollution,” she said, and any funds they receive will go to educational materials to get that message out, especially on their website.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation is trying something different for this year’s annual fundraiser set for Aug. 5 in Morehead City.

In years past, the Pelican Awards, when those who have gone above and beyond for the coast are recognized, and Taste of the Coast celebration have been treated as one event. This year, the ceremony and Taste of the Coast are being offered as separate celebrations.

The 2023 Pelican Awards is scheduled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Joslyn Hall at Carteret Community College. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. with a light wine and cheese reception. This ceremony is free to attend but organizers are asking guests to register beforehand.

The Taste of the Coast celebration kicks off at 7 p.m. in the Crystal Coast Civic Center, located next to Joslyn Hall. There will be live music, fresh North Carolina oysters, a live and silent auction, plus wine, beer and seafood pairings.

Celebration tickets can be purchased online at $50 for Coastal Federation members or $60 for nonmembers. Those that register by 5 p.m. Friday receive 10% off the ticket price. Use discount code EARLY.

The Coastal Federation publishes the award-winning Coastal Review, a daily, Monday-Friday, online news service that covers North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties.

When you support the Coastal Federation’s work to preserve coastal waters, promote living shorelines, boost the oyster population, advocate for effective coastal management and keep N.C. free of marine debris, you’re also supporting Coastal Review’s mission to inform and educate the public what’s happening on our coast.

There are also opportunities to sponsor the celebration, join as an oyster grower or donate to the silent auction. Contact the Coastal Federation’s Business Engagement Director Catherine Snead at catherines@nccoast.org for more information.

Learn about the threats that sharks face globally and how research off the state’s coast is helping to better understand shark behavior over a pint during Suds for Sharks.

The fundraising event is to take place 5:30 to 8 p.m. May 19 at Crystal Coast Brewing Co., 219 West Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Crystal Coast Brewing Co. are partnering on the free, family-friendly event.

“Events like Suds for Sharks is a way that we can bring the community together for a great conservation cause,” Emily Fessler, aquarium education curator, said in a statement. “The more we can learn about and understand sharks, the better we’re able to protect these animals and their habitat to help them not only survive but thrive for future generations.”

During the fundraiser, the brewery will have a shark-themed beer available, Nacho Shack of Havelock will have a food truck on-site, there will be shark-themed trivia and a silent auction with local art. All donations will go to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums conservation program SAFE: Sharks and Rays for shark field research, outreach, and conservation.

Sharks like sand tiger sharks, a species which is found in abundance off the North Carolina Coast, are considered critically endangered in other parts of the world. Decades of mismanagement of the sand tiger shark and slow reproduction have caused sand tigers to be listed as a species of concern by National Marine Fisheries Service and listed as vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“We’re grateful for community partners like Crystal Coast Brewing Company who are able to get involved in conservation efforts and help make events like Suds for Sharks a fun experience,” Fessler said.

The theme for the winter edition of Taste of Core Sound set for the evening of Feb. 24 is “Back Home Again.”

The fundraising event at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island is the first to be held at the museum since before Hurricane Florence in 2018, Executive Director Karen Amspacher told Coastal Review.

Taste of Core Sound programs had been held in the winter and summer in the museum for years but the last was the summer of 2018. The hurricane that hit in September that year caused extensive and costly damage to the museum.

“Thanks to Sammy (Boyd) at Southern Salt, we were able to hold this event there for the Winter Taste 2019 and 2020, but then COVID came and Taste was put on hold,” Amspacher explained. Southern Salt is a downtown Morehead City restaurant.

“We are eager for folks to come and enjoy the gallery and all the building improvements — that we continue to work on — and spend some time visiting and enjoying the old-home cooking that the Taste of Core Sound is famous for,” Amspacher said. “Our cooks are back in the kitchen stewing redheads and oysters, frying fresh bay scallops, roasting pork tenderloins, and the list goes on.”

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with oysters on the half shell followed by family-style dinner of stewed oysters, fresh bay scallops, hot crab dip, seafood casserole, wild game, pork tenderloin, collards, sweet potatoes and more, plus, Harkers Island lemon milk pie for dessert.

In celebration of the bay scallop season, a special item on the menu are fresh local scallops. The scallops are “a treasured reminder of what Harkers Island was ‘back in the day’ when scallop-houses were alive with women shucking all day and all night,” organizers said.

Dr. Stan Rule is the speaker for the evening. The Beaufort resident will share his research on the hunting camps of Core Banks, “Hunting Camps of the Banks & Stories from the People Who Loved Them.”

In addition to the dinner and program, there will be a silent and live auction.

The live auction, which will benefit the Redhead Society, Core Sound’s Education Fund, will include a heritage decoy, an Andrew Mason redhead, the work of one of Stacy’s numerous highly recognized carvers of Core Sound waterfowl history, donated by Jackie Booth. The auction will also feature an Ocracoke-style redhead decoy from Carver of the Year for the Redhead Society, Doug O’Neal, one of the museum’s summer volunteer carvers.

The silent auction will include donations by area artists, photographers and carvers, along with items local businesses.

Tickets are $100 per person for museum members and for nonmembers $125, which includes an annual membership. Tables of 10 can be reserved for $1,000. Organizers said tickets are selling quickly. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 252-728-1500.

PINE KNOLL SHORES — Registration is open for the 15th annual Kayak for the Warriors hosted by the town in May.

The three-day event features a gala and silent and live auction, golf tournament and 3.2-mile kayak and paddle board race, and barbecue lunch benefiting Hope For The Warriors.

The Warrior Gala and Auctions kick off this year’s series of events 6-11 p.m. Saturday, May 14, at the Atlantic Beach Double Tree Inn. The $75 per person ticket price includes two drink tickets, hors d’oeuvres, dinner and music by Bryan Mayer and the I-42 Band. The silent auction begins online May 7 and closes out at the gala, but everyone can continue bidding up until the close. Peruse the items online.

On Friday, May 20, the third annual Kayak for the Warriors Golf Tournament kicks off at 8:30 a.m. at the Country Club of the Crystal Coast. The shotgun start tournament is $85 per player and includes 18 holes of golf, cart and lunch. Prizes will be awarded for first- and second-place teams, the longest drive and closest to the pin. Hole-in-one prizes are to be awarded by Hyundai of New Bern. Also, players can purchase mulligans. Registration for the golf event closes May 15.

On Saturday, June 4, the signature kayak and paddleboard race begins at 10 a.m. The 3.2-mile race starts at Garner Park and moves through Bogue Sound and the Pine Knoll Shores canals. Registration is $50 for a single kayak and $100 for a tandem. Both include a T-shirt and lunch. Loaner kayaks are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and need to be reserved by emailing coordinator@k4tw.org.

The Warrior Trophy is awarded to the paddler or team who brings in the most donations.

For those preferring to stay on land while supporting local veterans, military members and families, lunch is available for $10 per person or $15 per family.

Tickets for the Wine & Dine Basket, containing over $1,000 of restaurant certificates and wine, are available for $10. The drawing will be held at the kayak/paddleboard race June 4, but you do not need to be in attendance to win. For information and to purchase tickets, contact coordinator@k4tw.org.

“We are excited to be bringing back our Warrior Gala and auctions after a two-year hiatus.” said Jean McDanal, Kayak for the Warriors event organizer. “It should be a fun evening with great food, a great band, and lovely items on which to bid. Once again, our volunteers have been undaunted in their efforts to put our three events together. We are so incredibly grateful to the generosity of our supporters. Without these two groups of people, none of this would happen.”

“As Hope For The Warriors celebrates its 15^th year of serving military families, so does Kayak for the Warriors,” said Robin Kelleher, cofounder and president of the nonprofit organization. “The Town of Pine Knoll Shores and its dedicated volunteers have all been with us since the very beginning.”

Since 2008, Kayak for the Warriors has raised more than $700,000 benefiting Hope For The Warriors and its programs.

Founded aboard Camp Lejeune, Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit that assists veterans, service members and military families with a variety of programs including health and wellness, sports and recreation and transition services.

To learn more about Kayak for the Warriors or to purchase tickets or register for any event, visit k4tw.org or for questions email coordinator@k4tw.org.   

For more information on Hope For The Warriors, visit hopeforthewarriors.org, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  

The North Carolina Aquariums Run for the Planet is going virtual Sept. 12-20, and organizers say this year it is more than a race, “It’s movement to make a difference for participants, the aquariums and the planet.”

While the aquariums in Kure Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Roanoke Island have been closed to the public for more than five months due to COVID-19, officials said daily animal care and virtual education programming have continued. Without visitation since March 17, the aquariums have been operating with no attendance revenue, a major funding source.

To register for the 2020 North Carolina Aquariums Run for the Planet visit ncaquariums.com/NCA-Virtual-Run-for-the-Planet. Proceeds from the race will go to the conservation and sustainability efforts of the three North Carolina Aquariums and Jennette’s Pier.

Participants from anywhere can register for the 1-mile race, which is $15, or $35 for the 5K, 10K or the 13.1-mile half-marathon. Racers will use the app, RaceJoy that has live leader boards, turn-by-turn directions and a way for friends and family to compete and show support.

The Fort Fisher aquarium usually holds a 5K Race for the Planet in the spring, but was postponed this year to the fall, giving organizers time to re-imagine and expand the race as well as make it virtual.

Registration gives access to a private Facebook group where participants can post pictures of themselves making the world a little greener to compete for prizes.

For those runners who opt out of the T-shirt, $10 of their registration fee is to be donated to the aquariums.

Get stuffed to the gills 6-9 p.m. March 14 during an Oyster Roast at Capt. Bob Beck’s Marina Cafe at 110 Marine Blvd. in Jacksonville.

During the oyster roast that will benefit Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Crystal Coast Waterkeeper, and White Oak New Riverkeeper Alliance, there will be live music plus shrimp, corn, and all-you-can-eat sustainably harvested oysters from Oysters Carolina.

The oysters from Oysters Carolina are pulled from the farm on Cape Lookout and Harkers Island the day they’re delivered.

Tickets are $40 per individual or $35 per Coastal Carolina Riverwatch members and can be purchased online. Proceeds go to support the organization’s work to protect area waterways.

Home to both Crystal Coast Waterkeeper and White Oak New-Riverkeeper Alliance programs, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch serves a total area of 320 miles of rivers and streams, 140,104 acres of estuaries, and 129 miles of coastline.

DURHAM – Learn about the work of the North Carolina Coastal Federation Dec. 15 while slurping oysters and sipping beer at Eastcut Sandwich Bar.

Eastcut Sandwich Bar, Ponysaurus Brewing and the federation, which publishes Coastal Review Online, are bringing the oyster, beer and oyster adoption party to the Triangle for the event,  Oysters + Oyster Saison + NC Coast + Live Music.

Eastcut will be serving fresh oysters from 2 to 10 p.m. or until they run out, paired with Ponysaurus Brewing oyster saison beer. $1 from every pint of the oyster saison will be donated to the federation. There will also be live music provided by the Nash Street Ramblers from 4 to 7 p.m.

“Folks from Eastcut Sandwich Bar and Ponysaurus could not be more enthusiastic about supporting the federation’s efforts to restore oysters in North Carolina,” said Kelly Bodie, the federation’s membership director in a statement. “I know we’ll have a blast celebrating together.”

Bodie will be at the event to help attendees register for the Adopt-an-Oyster program that benefits the federation’s 50 Million Oyster Initiative. New “parents” will be able to follow their oysters’ growth on the North Carolina coast. The 50 Million Oyster Initiative is a three-year campaign to restore 50 million oysters to North Carolina waters in order to improve water quality, provide habitat for important marine life and improve local economies and tourism.

Contact Bodie at kellyb@nccoast.org for more details.

Learn More

• Oysters + Oyster Saison + NC Coast + Live Music

MOREHEAD CITY – Sip on a pint while helping raise money for sand tiger shark research and conservation during Suds for Sharks 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Crystal Coast Brewing Co., 702 Arendell St.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and the brewing company are hosting the free, family-friendly event to bring awareness to the importance of shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina, as essential habitat for sand tiger sharks, according to the press release.

There will be a silent auction for shark-themed items, with all donations marked for local sand tiger research and conservation. The brewery will also unveil a new beer crafted for the event, and $1 from every beer sold will go toward shark conservation. Dank Burrito’s food truck will be on site for the event.

“The robust sand tiger shark population off the North Carolina coast provides valuable opportunities to study this species locally and gain knowledge that might support sustainable populations globally,” said Hap Fatzinger, Aquarium director, in a statement. Adding that even though there may be an abundance of this species found off the North Carolina coast, more people need to be aware that northwest Atlantic and global populations still need help.

During the event, two speakers that have worked with sand tiger sharks will share their experiences.

Avery Paxton, a scientist with South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction and Conservation, is currently researching female sand tiger sharks, will speak during the fundraiser about how the local dive communities are working together to better understand this species and the ecosystems around their survival.

Underwater photographer Tanya Houppermans, who has won several awards for her images of sand tiger sharks in North Carolina, will share what she has seen firsthand while photographing these creatures. She will highlight the natural resources and opportunities along the coast and the new citizen science program called Spot a Shark.

MOREHEAD CITY – Meet Dinah the barred owl, Isabeau the red-tailed hawk, Nigel the eastern screech owl, either Little Girl or Sammie opossum and possibly Drake the Duck during the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter’s 23^rd annual Taste of Carteret  Friday, Nov. 17, in the Crystal Coast Civic Center.

The wildlife hospital’s biggest fundraiser of the year, tickets are $35 each for the event that features a buffet-style dinner made possible through donations from several county restaurants, an open bar, silent auction, live entertainment by duo Now & Then and a meet and greet with critters that call the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter, or OWLS, home. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. Call the shelter at 252-240-1200 to buy tickets.

Items up for bid during the silent auction range from jewelry to home decor and gift certificates as well as work donated by local artists including Debra Pagliughi, John Althouse, Sam Bland, Bright Walker and others.

OWLS Executive Director Brooke Breen said that the money raised at Taste of Carteret, minus the cost of the venue, goes directly back into the shelter. The nonprofit organization does not receive any funding from state or federal government and relies solely on donations and grants to provide around-the-clock care for the sick and injured animals brought to OWLS.

Right now, the shelter is caring for baby squirrels, as well as a large number of raptors, migratory birds and local fish eaters.

“We have loads of loons, cormorants, pelicans, gannets, terns, gulls, black skimmers and scoters come in every fall and winter,” she said.  “They each will eat their own weight in fish per day and the average stay for these guys is two weeks. That’s a lot of fish, but you also have to consider the size of the fish being proportional to the animal. We can take any fish less than 8 inches long. Mullet, spot, croaker, menhaden, pinfish, silversides, minnows … “

The two, full-time staff members, Breen and Lainey Gottuso, and one part-time staff member, Jennifer Frame, have their hands full with caring for the wildlife brought into the shelter, but are able to provide the care needed with the help of volunteers.

“We are open every single day of the year, including holidays. The way it all works out is because we have such a great group of volunteers,” Breen said. “They are the heartbeat of our clinic. We would never be able to care for the plus/minus 1,300 animals per year without their dedication. All the donations go to the cost of medicines, specialty foods, utilities and improving or adding enclosures.”

Adult volunteers with an interest in helping at OWLS are welcome to apply year-round, though, Breen said there is currently a waiting list for training new adult volunteers. Junior volunteers, ages 13-17, are encouraged to lend a hand during baby season in the spring. Breen said that if a child needs to complete service hours for school, staff may be able to make arrangements.

OWLS also receives a lot of support from Scout programs.

“We love our Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts,” she said. “Many of the enclosures and projects that we have are from these kid’s hard work and love of community.”

They also receive support from children in other ways, besides donations of time.

“In the past few years we have had children gift us with items on our wish list in lieu of presents for their birthday,” Breen added. “This is so cool. We absolutely are flattered that kids want to help the animals more than get presents.”

When asked what needs the shelter has, Breen explained that besides monetary donations, there are some items the shelter needs to have stocked at all times, such as Dawn dish soap, bleach, fragrance-free laundry detergent, Pine-Sol, toilet paper, paper towels, Pecans, green peanuts, acorns, any in-shell nut, freshly caught or frozen local fish, rabbit feed, Purina cat chow and black oil sunflower seed.

There are also items needed on a seasonal basis and vary depending on the types of animals. “Spring/summer baby season was incredibly long this year, in fact, we are still getting in infant squirrels,” she said.

“We do have a few larger scale needs, such as a new street sign off Highway 24 so that people trying to bring us patients can find us more easily,” she said. She also mentioned that the riding lawnmower used to maintain the two-acre campus and the clinic refrigerator are both beyond repair.

“There are several other items such as replacing the bridge across the pond and mending the privacy fence that would be lovely to have done,” she added.” This is the time of year that we have a little slack in the patient load, so we try to get the projects and repairs done now. In baby season, there’s no time for anything other than patient care. We work 12-plus hour days to raise all those orphaned or injured babies.”

To visit OWLS or have OWLS present one of its outreach programs to an organization, contact Breen at 252-240-1200. Monetary donations can also be made on the organization’s website.

Learn More

• Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter

MOREHEAD CITY – Party with a purpose with “Beers for a Porpoise” from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Crystal Coast Brewing, 702 Arendell St.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is partnering with the brewery for the fundraising event to help save the vaquita porpoise, which is nearing extinction with fewer than 30 left in the world.

“Beers for a Porpoise” is an effort to spread awareness about the vaquita, a critically endangered aquatic mammal similar to but smaller than the dolphin, and to raise much-needed funds for projects to save these animals from extinction.

“We wanted to create this event to bring awareness to the community that every animal matters and the vaquita’s disappearance could have an effect on other animal populations,” said Aly Mack, aquarium volunteer coordinator who is organizing the event. “We heard that Billy, one of the managers at Crystal Coast Brewing Co., was interested in giving back to the community and being involved in wildlife conservation. So, we got in touch and realized it was a perfect fit.”

There will be a special presentation starting at 6 p.m. by Duke Marine Lab Director Andy Read, a member of the International Committee for the Recovery of the vaquita.

Admission is free. Urban Street Eats will be catering the event, and $1 from each Crystal Coast Brewing Co. beer will go to Vaquita CPR, a conservation, protection and recovery action plan for vaquita.

“It’s a great opportunity to get together, and we are excited to partner with a great local organization. We’re delighted to be able to share our space for the night and hope to bring awareness to causes such as the critical endangerment of the vaquita,” Crystal Coast Brewing Co. shared in a statement.

The vaquita is a porpoise only found in the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico; it has been in trouble for some time due to illegal fishing of the Totoaba, a large fish similar in size to the porpoise.

The Government of Mexico adopted an action plan that would allow the International Committee for the Recovery of the vaquita to attempt to bring in and protect as many porpoise as possible.

It’s a risky endeavor involving the finding, catching, housing and caring for vaquita. If the funds can be raised, the operation could take place starting this October in conjunction with ongoing efforts to remove illegal fishing gear in the Gulf of California.

The North Carolina Aquariums, through the North Carolina Aquarium Society, have contributed $10,000, and member contributions have reached $1,300.

Help is still needed, which is why the aquarium and Crystal Coast Brewing Co. partnered for the event and several similar events have been held across the country at other Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher held a similar event earlier this summer.

The Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter will host its 22^nd annual Taste of Carteret dinner fundraiser on Friday Nov. 18 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City.

The event will feature an open bar and a buffet with food from Tight Lines, Mongolian Grill and Red Fish Grill, among others. A live band will provide entertainment and attendees can bid on items in a silent auction that includes paintings, sculptures, gift cards and jewelry.

All of the proceeds from the event will benefit OWLS, to help fund feeding, transporting, housing and meeting the medical needs of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife.

Brooke Breen, director of the shelter, said the event serves as a way to connect to the community.

“It’s a really good community support system,” she said.

OWLS is a nonprofit wildlife hospital in Newport, North Carolina that treats thousands of animals every year. The organization’s goal is to rehabilitate and release wildlife and to educate the public on how to coexist with animals. The organization, which started in 1988, relies on the generosity of the public for funding.

Tickets to the dinner are $35. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.

To purchase a ticket, call OWLS at (252)240-1200.

To Learn More

• Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter website