Southport NC – Get Ready for Some Red White and Blue!

If you fancy a simpler time… if you still like parades and pageantry, arts and crafts, music and street dances, the smell of greasy food, kids and parents in their finest patriotic colors, well you might just like what the Southport 4th of July festival has to offer. I'm pretty sure there's not a birthday celebration anywhere quite like it.

Come down today and see the crowd favorite Fireman’s Competition… It will be a heated one this year… literally. The forecast calls for a little break in the heat, with a chance of thunderstorms to cool things off. This is good news for the firemen in full turn-out gear. On July 2-4, there will be musical entertainment starting at 1 pm at the Garrison and the Waterfront Stage. The popular Kid’s Games on the Garrison lawn for 5 and under and the Waterfront Park for kids 6-11 is Thursday, with registration at 8am and free t-shirts to the early birds.  Also on Thursday at the Garrison is the always moving Naturalization Ceremony starting at 4pm. This year the 4th falls on a Friday and North Carolina's largest and oldest 4th of July Parade starts at 11AM. No matter how many times you see it, it is ALWAYS a huge crowd-pleaser. The bands, the belles, the clowns, the Shriners, the dancers, and much more, make for an all around old-fashioned good time. And then for my favorite event of all, there is nothing like lying on a blanket by the water, looking out at all the boats anchored in the river, listening to the last band, waiting on darkness to fall, and hearing that first BOOOOM… and the fireworks begin! After 30 years, I never get tired of it. One little insider tip for those driving in, park on the EAST side of Howe St. facing out of town so you'll be making rights headed out. You'll find your traffic time cut in half when you are getting out after the fireworks. Click HERE to see a map of this year's traffic flow patterns. Be safe out there and "let freedom ring." Happy Birthday America.

     

              

        

As always, if you are looking to call Southport home, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Everyone needs a good buyer's agent, right? I'm you girl… southportsoundings@gmail.com  910-540-0551

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Southport NC - North Carolina's Official 4th of July Celebration

If you live in Southport, it's that time again....time to hang the buntings, replace that faded "Old Glory," clean off the front porch for visitors, and get ready to sit back and watch another 4th of July festival in Southport unfold. Is it really almost here? You betcha... the Fireman's Competition will kick things off today! It seems early but it's not. The town never looks better than it does right now. If you feel like I do, that there seems to be a serious lack of patriotism in our Country these days, then this is just what the doctor ordered.

Tomorrow at 5PM, bring your chairs and come to the Garrison for the 2nd Marine Division Band Concert. There's not a better spot to enjoy a Sunday evening, with the mouth of the Cape Fear as your backdrop. Another highlight of Southport's 4th of July festival is the Naturalization Ceremony that also will take place at the Garrison on Friday, July 3rd at 4:45. If you've never attended one of these, you'll just have to take my word for it ... you just can't help but walk away feeling a little misty eyed and moved by the earnest exuberance of these brand new Americans who have gone through so much to get here so they might have the opportunities that we all take for granted.

Oak Island always hosts a pre-4th day of activities called Beach Day at the Cabana and Middleton Park. This year it is on Wednesday, July 1st and is a jam packed day of family fun ... horseshoe competition, kids games, live music, volleyball and bocce tournament, and topped off by their own fireworks display at Ocean Crest Pier.

On Thursday, the 4th of July festivities hit wide open, and for the next three days, Southport will transform itself into a virtual sea of red, white, and blue. The smells of funnel cakes, bloomin' onions, curly fries, and philly steak are surely gonna draw you in even if you had planned to be good this year. The Arts and Crafts Fair gets started at 10AM at Franklin Square Park, as well as the National 4th of July Art Show next door at Franklin Square Gallery. The Dennis Walton Band kicks off an afternoon of music and entertainment at the Waterfront Stage starting at 1:00PM. And I just found out today that the Brunswick Big Band is headlining the evening slot from 7-10PM. Normally it's the Wilmington Big Band fills this slot so I know our local musicians are all fired up about the chance to wow a big festival crowd. And I'm sure they will! Note that many of them will be pulling "double duty," as there'll be little time to rest before the Brunswick Concert Band performs on the Garrison Lawn at 4PM on Friday, just prior to the Naturalization Ceremony.

Southport's 4th of July Festival continues full throttle on Friday, starting out bright and early for the much-anticipated Kid's Games at the Waterfront Park. Registration is at 8:30. I know it's hard to get up and get your kids there at that time of morning in the summer...I remember...but it's always worth it and the three-legged races and the watermelon rolls won't wait. They might just get lucky... the smile on the face of your little one being handed a blue ribbon... priceless.

The fun in the sun continues throughout the day and is capped off by the Street Dance from 7-10. This year's dance is hosted by the Peace and Love band from Charlotte playin' your favorite oldies and dance classics. This is where you go when you want to see all the people you haven't seen since last 4th of July!

It's been a long time since the 4th finished up on a Saturday ... well, seven years to be exact. It'll be nice cause then you still have Sunday to relax in much needed peace and quiet. So Saturday morning you might as well come on in to town real early and find you a shady spot to put out your chairs. Then you can go over to the Methodist Church, who's been having a pancake breakfast on the 4th for the masses as long as I can remember. North Carolina's largest and oldest 4th of July parade starts at 11AM and no matter how many times you see it, it is ALWAYS a huge crowd-pleaser.

Down on Bay St. in front of the Garrison, will be a classic car show, and at the Waterfront Park, Civil War re-enactors will provide a chorus of cannons to keep us awake. The Saturday night band this year is Carl Newton and the 5th Avenue Band. I'm not familiar with them but from the sound on their website, they'll get the crowd out of their seats, and on the dance lot with their unique brand of classic soul. Of course, no 4th of July celebration is complete with fireworks, and fireworks there'll be alright. Having lived in downtown Southport for 25 years now, I can say for sure the fireworks are still my favorite part...lying on a blanket by the water...watching the bobbing of boats out in the river until the launch barge fires that first missile in the air. Then it's just time to relax and enjoy the show. Happy Birthday America.

My only real advice for getting out of Southport after the fireworks, is to park on the East side of town facing out. Here's a map I made last year...hope it helps.

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Southport NC - Spring Activities Abound

I am behind in my reporting of local events here in Southport NC. Easter Weekend is upon us and with it, the beginning of "tourist season" and the abundance of activities that comes with it. We've had our share of winter this year, and even a couple rare dustings of snow, but nothing compared to the wrath of "Old Man Winter" that was felt in many parts of the country. We are ready...and with the smell of jonquils in the air, it's time to sit back and have a look at all the opportunities for fun and frolic in and around Southport.

Getting on with it, Southport Parks and Rec will hold its annual Easter egg hunt "extraordinare" on Saturday March 28-10AM at the Garrison lawn on the Waterfront. So as not to get a "sneak peek" beforehand, all kids 7-12 will meet at Franklin Square Park. For anyone visiting the area who has not experienced this much-anticipated Southport event, do not be dismayed when you arrive with your kids and see several hundred children. There will be literally thousands of candy eggs (malted chocolate) plus numerous prize eggs. I remember one year my oldest daughter found an egg with a $20 bill in it. It was "a very BIG deal." In addition, on Saturday before Easter, I believe, is the only "adult easter egg hunt." Stewart Hardware has been having one every year as long as I can remember. You can call them at 457-5544 for details. I also hear that their Spring shipment of baby chicks and ducks has arrived!

For the grown-ups, on March 29th at the Southport Community Building is a "Red, White, and Brew" wine tasting, sponsored by the Friends of the NC Maritime Museum at Southport. Time: 2-4. Call 457-0003.
Whenever you're in Southport, you owe it to yourself to check out the the latest collection of local art at Franklin Square Gallery. I am always amazed at the talent in our midst. If you're not familiar with any of our artists, here are a few favorites. (I have a weakness for watercolors.) I love the whimsical works of Susan Dade, the haunting Empty Porch series by Susan Mauney, the unique jug art/pottery of Betsy Sellers, and the nostalgic coastal scenery of Suzanne Ellett. From now until May 1, you can see the budding art work of Brunswick County High School students.


To officially kick off the upcoming season, and welcome the arrival of warmer weather, Southport will host its annual Spring Festival hosted by Downtown Southport, Inc and the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club. It will be held on Easter Weekend, April 10 and 11 at Franklin Square Park. There will be over 100 craft booths, lots of food vendors, live music, kid's games, plant sales, and much more. This festival gets bigger every year and honestly the attendance is staring to remind me of the 4th of July. It seems like everyone vacationing on our area beaches makes a point to get to Southport for at least one of the days. And Saturday only, is the not-to-be-missed Robert Ruark Chili Cook-off. Ruark spent much of his beloved childhood under the salty eye of his colorful Grandfather whose home has recently been converted to fabulous bed and breakfast. I was a little skeptical when I saw the white clapboard seaman's home turn to gold, but I have to admit, it is absolutely striking. The new Robert Ruark Inn is on the corner of Lord and Nash St. I wrote about Ruark's Old Man and the Boy in another blog. It's a wonderful book.



Where We Live is a local grassroots organization in Boiling Spring Lakes which gives testimony to the "can do" attitude of its founders of Jen Iapalucci and Eleanor Erickson. They saw a need to build communities and provide outlets for children and families, and boy have they taken the bull by the horns. When there wasn't a good playground for their children to play, they raised the money for one through many a creative endeavor. Now the Grand Opening of Muse Park Playground is April the 18th! When local kids were having to drive to Wilmington for music and art lessons, they started of offering Kord Music and Pint-Sized Picassos. Check out the calendar and other offerings. You'll be amazed. So the BIG thing they have coming up is their 1st Annual Live Green Music and Arts Festival, "a celebration of music, art, and Mother Earth," in Bolivia on April 11th. Click here to view the flyer or print one to put up in your neighborhood.



For the theatre go-ers among you, you know that Spring means the "Spring musical" for local theatre companies. For Stage II Productions, it means Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, which will be performed at the Amuzu April 24-25, and April 30-May 3. Shows at 8:00, Thurs. - Sat and also matinees Sat. and Sun. at 3:00. Founder of Stage II, Briton Campbell was a pirate in Brunswick Little Theatre's 2000 run of Pirates. Now she has a chance to direct and I'm looking forward to seeing it inside the historic walls of the Amuzu. Tickets on sale at their office on 807 Howe St. and Ricky Evans Gallery...or call Briton at 540.2801. You'd better hurry....opening night has already sold out!
In what has become a popular outdoor event every year, Brunswick Little Theatre will present Beehive, the 60's Musical at Franklin Square Park. It is a retrospective of the great female acts of the 60s and 70s including the Shirelles, the Supremes, Petula Clark, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, and more. The show has just been cast and word on the street is that the voices in this show are unbelievable! I'm excited just hearing about it. This is a free show folks...donations appreciated of course. It will run two weekends, May 22-24 and May 29-31. Bring your chairs or blanket and a bottle of wine and enjoy an evening under the stars. Co-sponsored by the Southport Department of Tourism.



Now here's something new and different .... on May 12-16, the City of Southport and the Cape Fear Audubon Society are sponsoring Ibis Fest, celebrating the unique ecology of the Lower Cape Fear. Besides classes and presentations on topics such as birding, nature writing, photography, and native plants, you will be transported to various study sights by van, bus, or boat. For those who aren't familiar with Southport, right across the river lies Battery Island, North Carolina’s largest breeding rookery for ibises, egrets, and herons. It is a welcome sight around here each spring when the ibis fleet arrives. Every morning at sunrise you can view thousands of white ibises overhead as they leave the island for a day of inland feeding. Then the last couple hours of sunlight brings them back to roost. I can sit on my porch in the evening and watch them heading home, flock after flock, in well-rehearsed migration.
And finally, something that has really caught my eye.... on April 26th is the Sweet Tea Jamboree from 3-6PM at Orton Plantation Gardens. Everyone knows how much I love Orton...and sweet tea...it's pretty much a done deal. Oh and I forgot, there will be bluegrass music....check.... And speaking of bluegrass, we will miss our annual Spring trek to Wilkesboro and Merlefest this year. This is mostly due to belt-tightening but I can promise you it is the most phenomenal gathering of musical talent you're ever apt to experience in one place spread out over a four-day weekend. Just ask the 80,000 who come back year after year. You may have never heard of it but it is a very big deal. Music is such a blessing.


Well that's about all the damage I can do in one blog. There's plenty more on the calendar. I've just hit the high spots. If you want to know more, I'll be happy and try to steer you in the right direction, just email me or give me a call at 910.540.0551.

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