This weekend sets the tone for the upcoming Fall fishing season in Southport, NC, as the 29th Annual US Open King Mackerel Tournament starts Friday, October 5th.
Always the first weekend in October, this Grand Slam event offers one of the biggest purses in sports fishing, with the winning fish fetching $25,000. Over $100,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded. With over 500 boats competing, the tournament brings an estimated 2 million dollar impact with it to Southport and the Brunswick County area. This is a pretty big deal for a little town with a population of less than 3000 people. 
But Southport is no stranger to big-time events, as it hosts the largest and longest running 4th of July Festival in North Carolina, welcoming 50,000+ visitors every year. The event is sponsored by the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce. One of the unique aspects of this tournament is the fact that most of the winning fish are caught within 15 miles of shore, with some caught much closer inshore. This allows the guy (or gal) in a 16’ skiff to compete with the big rigs of a 40’ offshore monster. And to make the whole thing family friendly, there’s the 
Captain Charlie’s Kids Fishing Tournament running Saturday from 10-4 at the Southport City Pier. Sponsored by the Southport Parks and Rec, and the Southport Lions Club, kids 16 and under compete in a “catch and release” format. A free tee-shirt goes to the first hundred kids, and it’s free hot dogs and drinks all around. Prizes are donated by local merchants.
If you’re visiting the area but not into fishing, there’s plenty of other goings-on locally and within an easy drive. The biggest draw is Riverfest. This huge annual event, is held in Historic Downtown Wilmington, on the banks of the Cape Fear River. The weekend-long event offers river races, live music, lots of arts and crafts, food
booths, and a children’s carnival. Don’t miss the big-time fireworks display on Saturday night. If you love theatre, there’s the musical biography Hank Williams: Lost Highway playing at City Stage, and Jekyll and Hyde, at Thalian Hall. Both of these venues are fabulous in their own right and offer a very unique theatre experience. By then you'll be ready to head back to the slower, gentler, pace of Southport.
Back at home, shoppers can have a hay day. With antique, boutique. and unique gift shops scattered all about town, it's hard to see it all. To top it all off, there’s a maritime museum, a variety of walking and bike tours, a super art gallery, great restaurant choices, all within easy walking distance of downtown. Fall is the perfect time to travel just about anywhere in North Carolina. We are blessed to live in a truly beautiful State with much diversity and opportunities galore.
