Fall festival preview
From Riverfest to Cucalorus, two dozen festivals encompass arts, food, health and even plants
Sept. 15-16 marks the last full weekend of summer. It also offers a preview of fall festival season with four — count 'em — four festivals scattered around Southeastern North Carolina. It only snowballs from there. Find out when your favorite festivals are happening and learn out about some new ones with this close-to-comprehensive list.
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SEPTEMBER
Carolina Beach Dragon Boat Regatta & Festival
Sept. 14-15, Carolina Beach: The sixth annual Carolina Beach Dragon Boat Regatta blends sports with the arts, as teams design, decorate and race 45-foot-long "dragon boats." The festival kicks off on Friday with a concert by the rock band Machine Gun at the SeaWitch Cafe and Tiki Bar. Race day is Saturday, with teams racing 300 meters down the Carolina Beach Yacht Basin. Proceeds benefit Step Up For Soldiers, which helps recently disabled veterans. CarolinaBeachDragonBoat.com
Sept. 15, Calabash: Third annual festival focused on health and wellness is run by the Community Movement Alliance, which aims to get movement arts like yoga, tai chi and martial arts into the public schools. In addition to vendors with information on nutrition, fitness, green living, meditation, acupuncture and more, the Carolina Soul Fest will also feature live music, dance, arts and crafts and what's billed as a "one-of-a-kind kids' zone." 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at 9480 Ocean Highway West, Calabash. CarolinaSoulFestival.com
Cape Fear Native Plant Festival
Sept. 15, New Hanover County Arboretum: Festivals aren't just for the arts. This fourth annual event 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday celebrates the plants native to our region that thrive with less care than most non-native plants. Purchase plants for your garden, get a meal from a local food truck or entertain the kids with live music, games, crafts and more. Facebook.com/CFNativePlantFestival
Sept. 15-16, Poplar Grove Plantation: This end-of-summer festival runs 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at Poplar Grove, located on the New Hanover-Pender county line. Highlights include arts crafts vendors; live music from bluegrass stalwarts Folkstone Stringband; barnyard tours and wagon rides; and plenty of stuff for the kids to do, including games, bounce houses and balloon animals. PoplarGrove.org
Sept. 20-23, Wilmington: It's the 16th year for this film festival, which has hosted such acclaimed filmmakers as Ava DuVernay, Anthony Hemingway and Giancarlo Esposito. Put on by the Black Arts Alliance, it features a juried selection of independent feature, documentary, short and student films from African-American filmmakers. This year's four-day event will take place at venues including CFCC Union Station, Jengo’s Playhouse, the Hannah Block Historic USO/Community Arts Center and Kenan Auditorium, with $500 prizes awarded in each category. BlackArtsAlliance.org
Sept. 21-23, the Carolina Beach Boardwalk: Since its debut in 2013, this food festival has changed dates and venues a couple of times, moving between August and November and from Battleship Park to North Watefront Park to, now, Carolina Beach. Put on by the founders of the Twin City RibFest in Winston-Salem, the music-heavy celebration features several teams competing in a barbecue rib cook-off alongside a number of non-competing food vendors. Musical highlights include beach music icons The Band of Oz on Friday, alt-rockers Jimmie's Chicken Shack on Saturday and local favorites L Shape Lot and Justin Cody Fox on Sunday. PortCityRibFest.net
American Craft Walk Wilmington
Sept. 22, downtown Wilmington: It's the third year for this art festival presented by the Downtown Business Alliance and organized by Joan and Mike Loch. It features 83 vendors, craftsmen and artists in booths set up on Front Street between Orange and Walnut streets, with street decorations by Wilmington chalk artist Elena Trofimchuk. "Our goals are to gather together and celebrate an array of talented craftsmen, draw people to our wonderful downtown, and keep the event business friendly," Joan Loch said in a news release. In collaboration with American Craft Walk Wilmington, Thalian Association Community Theatre will have its fourth annual ArtFall Juried Art Show and Sale Sept. 20-22 at the Hannah Block Historic USO/ Community Arts Center. AmericanCraftWalkWilmington.com
Brunswick County Intercultural Festival
Sept. 29, Odell Williamson Auditorium: It's the 14th year for this festival, which celebrates the cultural diversity of Brunswick County and Southeastern North Carolina and takes place on the grounds of Odell Williamson Auditorium on the campus of Brunswick Community College. Food trucks will serve up a variety of culinary options, and costumes, exhibits and vendors representing multiple cultures will be on display. Kids can enter an art contest, and entertainment includes the Thai Angel Dancers, Barynya Russian musicians, Ryukyukoky Matsiri Daiko Japanese dancers, Jinwright Gospel Singers and more. This year's festival is dedicated to Mike Sapp, longtime manager of Odell Williamson Auditorium, who died in May. BCIfestival.org
OCTOBER
Oct. 5-7, New Hanover County Arboretum: The Friends of the New Hanover County Arboretum and the Wilmington Art Association team up to present this annual event and fundraiser, which places work by area artists — paintings, sculpture, pottery and more — throughout the arboretum grounds. It's billed as "the largest coastal outdoor art show in North Carolina," and features a raffle and silent auction, live music and prizes for the artists, which are voted on by attendees. NHCarboretum.org
Oct. 6-7, downtown Wilmington: It's the 40th year for the Port City's biggest fall festival, which started in 1979 and helps usher in October every year. Throngs will pack the downtown streets for food, vendors, live music, a massive kids' zone, fireworks and much more. Three years ago the festival created the title of Miss Riverfest to oversee the festivities. This year's Miss Riverfest is Jacquelyn Brinson, who was crowned Aug. 25. WilmingtonRiverfest.com
Oct. 6, MarineMax: Nearly three dozen food and beverage vendors will be set up for this sixth annual event, which showcases a variety of fare from establishments in and around Wrightsville Beach. Attendees and judges will vote for their favorites, and proceeds benefit the Wrightsville Beach Foundation, which supports such causes as Meal on Wheels, the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project, The North Carolina Holiday Flotilla and more. WrightsvilleBeachFoundation.org
Oct. 6, Wrightsville Beach Park: In these divisive times, a festival that's all about watching dogs catch Frisbees is something we all can get behind. This year marks the 25th annual Bark in the Park, with canine athletes competing to see who can catch the most and furthest-thrown discs, as well as in such categories as best-dressed and most personality. Free to watch. TownOfWrightsvilleBeach.com
Oct. 13, Halyburton Park: To quote the old Hank Williams songs, the N.C. Forest Service will be settin' the woods on fire at Wilmington's Halyburton Park to demonstrate the importance of controlled burns in forest management. That's just a small part of the Fire in the Pines festival, though, which will also include jugglers from the Juggling Gypsy, live music from Hawaiian band Da Howlies, educational displays, live animals, a hayride, food trucks and plenty of stuff for the kids, including a scavenger hunt, crafts, a visit from Smokey the Bear and more. FireInThePines.org
Oct. 13, MedNorth: Billed as a "community block party," this 10th annual event uses live music, food and kids' activities to promote healthy lifestyles, preventative care and MedNorth's facilities on North Fourth Street. MedNorth.org
Oct. 13-14, Ogden Park: It's the 20th year for this multicultural festival, which was founded in the late 1990s by Lucy Vasquez, who still runs it. Festival Latino celebrates the Latino community in Southeastern North Carolina with a variety of food, music, dancing and more. Countries represented include Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, just for starters. AmigosInternacional.org
Pleasure Island Seafood, Blues and Jazz Festival
Oct. 13-14, Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area: This 25th annual food and and music festival is featuring an all-female lineup of headliners for the first time, with blues rockers Danielle Nicole, Ana Popovic and The Heather Gillis Band playing over the course of the two-day shindig. Area acts will fill the festival's two stages as well, with Justin Cody Fox, the Polar Bear Blues Band with Harvey Dalton Arnold, Nina Repeta, the Wolfe Gang, the Benny Hill Trio and Carl Newton representing Wilmington. Local seafood is a big draw as well, as are the many kids' activities and the beautiful setting of the Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area, which is nestled right on the Cape Fear River. PleasureIslandNC.org
Oct. 20-21, Ocean Isle Beach: The delicious coastal bivalve is the focus of this annual festival marking its 38th year. In addition to oyster shucking and oyster eating contests and an oyster stew cook-off, the festival features vendors, plenty of food and live entertainment, with music from bands including Wayne Stewart & September Rain (country, rockabilly) and Chocolate Chip & Company (R&B, soul). NCoysterFestival.com
Oct. 26-Nov. 4, Wilmington International Airport: The fair returns for a 10-day run with its tried-and-true mix of games, rides, food and agricultural exhibits. There's also a cheerleading and dance competition, acrobatics, a comedian/hypnotist and agricultural shows, including Old McNally's Pig Derby, aka the pig races. CapeFearFair.com
Voracious & Rare Beer Festival
Oct. 26, Battleship N.C.: The precursor to the Lighthouse Beer & Wine Festival on Oct. 27 is billed as "the ultimate beer geek experience," with dozens of limited-release beers on hand, in addition to appetizers, delightfully rare voracious brews, and live music. LighthouseBeerAndWine.com
Lighthouse Beer & Wine Festival
Oct. 27, Pier 33 and Port City Marina: It's the 18th year for this festival, which brings more than 100 craft breweries and wineries for a big ol' tasting. The festival is also known for identifying up-and-coming musical acts, in the past bringing in such names as the Avett Brothers, Ryan Bingham and American Aquarium. This year's headliner is Houston country singer Charley Crockett, who blends a hip-hop-style swagger into his old-school honky-tonk sound. Proceeds benefit the benefit The Carousel Center, which helps victims of child abuse. LighthouseBeerAndWine.com
NOVEMBER
Nov. 3, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church: It'll be 21 years for this Castle Hayne festival, which centers on food: kielbasa, pierogi, strudel and more, including a St. Stan's Baltic Porter brewed by Front Street Brewery. The Chardon Polka Band from Ohio will be back to play, and there will be games for the kids, arts and crafts, vendors, raffles, church tours and more. StStansPolishFestival.org
Nov. 3-4, Hampstead: After being plagued by September rains off and on for a few years now, this longtime festival celebrating the local whitefish is moving to November this year. Other than that, things should be pretty much the same, with spot dinners, Spot Festival and visiting queens, area school bands, fireworks, kids' activities, vendors and live music from the likes of beach band The Embers and rockers Southern Trouble. NCSpotFestival.com
Nov. 3-4, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area: This high-flying festival brings in kiters from all over to celebrate the end of the kite-flying season. Last year, more than 100 kites flew above the beach and hundreds of folks came out over two days to take in the spectacle. CapeFearKiteFestival.org
Nov. 7-11, downtown Wilmington: Last but certainly not least is Wilmington's biggest, baddest festival of the arts. It's the 24th annual Cucalorus, which got its start as a film festival and has gradually expanded to include a "Connect" component for business, innovation and technology, and "Stage" for music, theater and performance. The full lineup hasn't been announced yet, but highlights are sure to include an opening-night concert by indie-rockers Superchunk at the Brooklyn Arts Center and a screening of "Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind," a documentary about the old-time, African-American string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Cucalorus.org
Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.