home

Oriental’s Town Board holds a specially-called meeting at 1p on Wednesday February 10. We are told the commissioners may consider a second audit, as a way of gauging response to last August’s audit. Also, there is a personnel matter for the board to consider, for which it may go in to a behind-closed-doors session. The open session is open to the public to attend. Like all town board meetings, it takes place at Oriental Town Hall.

The Old Theater presents Harold and Maude as the Friday Flick February 12.

Using death and dying as a testimony to life and living, the movie features Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort (and soundtrack by Cat Stevens). “Harold and Maude” shows on Friday February 12 at 7:30p, Box Office opens 6pm.

There are always some fun short films before the feature. Tix are $5. Price includes popcorn. Bring Your Own Beverage.

The Oriental Farmers Market is happening Saturday February 13 at the Wits End on Hodges Street. The market’s winter hours are now 8:30-11:30a.

For an idea of what will be for sale, visit OrientalFarmersMarket.com and check the ever-updated list. Meanwhile, if you have something locally made or locally grown, you’re welcome to sell it at the Oriental Farmers’ Market. (Fresh produce sellers are especially wanted as customers are looking for fresh greens.) To join the market, call Melinda at 675-0180.

Circle 10 Art Gallery pays tribute to the month of St. Valentines Day with its exhibit, Heart to Art. The guest artists’ gallery features works with love themes and heart motifs throughout the month of February. For a Valentines Day gift, you can find the love theme in photos, paintings, enamels, woodwork, woven art and pottery.

Circle 10 is located at 1103 Broad Street, Oriental. Regular hours are Wednesday-Saturday 10a-5p and Sunday 1-4p. For more info, call 249-0298

Village Gallery features Gary Gresko as its guest artist in February. There’ll be an opening reception on Saturday February 13 from 2-5p. The Village Gallery is located at 300 Hodges Street.

Hear about the “History of Trees, Parks and Gardens in Cities” when retired urban forestry professor Bob Miller gives a talk on February 16 at the Oriental Woman’s Club. The discussion starts at 9:30a and will cover the long history of man trying to bring nature in to cities to make them more liveable. (Think: Babylonians, the Pharoahs, Kublai Kahn, the Druids and NY’s Central Park.) The free program is open to the public. The OWC is at 1007 Gilgo Drive.

The Pamlico Library is continues its “Let’s Talk About It” series of book discussions on February 16 when the focus turns to “The Kite Runner”. It’s one of the five books in the series, “Divergent Cultures: The Middle East in Literature.” Marie Farr, of ECU will lead the discussion which will take place at 6:30p on February 16 in the library’s auditorium. The library has many extra copies of the book and you can reserve yours by calling 745-3515 or just stop by at the library at 603 Main Street in Bayboro. Other books in the series are: “Palace Walk” on March 2, “A Perfect Peace” on March 16 and “Nine Parts of Desire” on March 30. The “Let’s Talk About It” discussions, which will take place on alternating Tuesday nights, are free and open to the public.

The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is happening at St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Tuesday February 16. First seating is 5:30 pm with continuous seating every half-hour. There are no tickets sold, but donations are happily accepted.

Hodges Street Studio features drawings by Laura Turgeon(whose work you see here on TownDock) and sculpture and paintings and newly turned heirloom furniture by Gil Fontes. Hodges Street Studio is open on Saturday from 10am-4pm and is located on Hodges between Broad and Midyette. (Look for the Quonset hut in the driveway. When you can see that, you’re close.) In addition to the Saturday schedule, the gallery is also open by appointment.

Oriental Woman’s Club invites you to their Soup and Games Day on Thursday February 18 from 11am to 3pm. Bring your friends and a game to play and the OWC will provide the lunch of homemade soup, bread and dessert. Tickets are $8 in this fundraiser for the OWC scholarship fund. You can get tickets at Croakertown or at the door. For more info, call 249-3061

Oriental’s History Museum presents the third in its genealogy series of the Families of Oriental with the Styron/Truitt Family History. On display is memorabilia as well as Styron family tree charts going back to the 1600’s.

Stop by the museum to see the exhibit and to find some great gift items. Grace Evans’ Shards of the Neuse jewelry, History Museum mugs, t-shirts and books. Give a piece of Oriental this holiday! Oriental’s History Museum is located at 802 Broad St. Museum hours are Fridays 11 a-3p, Saturday Noon to 4p, and Sunday 1-4 p.

The Oriental United Methodist Church is working to provide assistance to Haiti by collecting 1 pound bags of beans, 1 pound bags of rice, as well as canned fruits and vegetables in flip-top cans. The church mission team will be taking these to MERCI, a Methodist Distribution Center for disaster relief based in Goldsboro. From there, they will be shipped to Haiti. Your donations are welcomed at the church office 9am – 3pm Mondays through Fridays. Cash donations may be given to the United Methodist Committee on Relief where 100% of the money goes directly to the source of need. We’re told the this relief effort will be ongoing. If you have questions, call Nancy Huff at 249-0732.

Want to eat healthier food but don’t quite know how to go about it? Body Balance Studios offers a workshop they’re calling “Amazing Grains” on Saturday February 20 from Noon to 2p. Not all grains are created equal and the workshop will show which ones pack the best nutritional punch. A cooking demonstration will show how to easily add whole grains — such as amaranth and quinoa – to your diet. Cost is $35 and the workshop takes place at 704 Church Street. To register or for more info, contact Susan Koepp at 252-249-3664 susan@mywellnesspartner.com or by clicking here.

Oriental’s Planning Board holds its monthly meeting on Tuesday February 23. As with all town meetings, it’s open to the public and takes place at Town Hall starting at 7pm.

Oriental’s Tourism Board holds its monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 24 at 7pm at Town Hall. Learn about some of the efforts afoot to draw more tourists to our village. The Tourism Board receives between $9,000 and $11,000 a year from the occupancy tax changed in hotel and B&B’s, and aims to use the money to promote tourism in town. The Tourism Board meetings are open to the public.

On Thursday, February 25 at 4:30p, the Town Board holds its monthly meeting to set the agenda for its next regular board meeting on Tuesday, on March 2. Both meetings are open to the public.

Sup to support the arts! Oriental’s longest running art gallery, the Circle 10 artists’ cooperative, presents its annual Stew and Brew on Saturday February 27th. Here’s how it works: for the price of a ticket, you get to sample all the soups that the many artists have prepared. And, you can choose a piece of original artwork to take home. The art gallery is at 1103 Broad Street. For more info, call 249-0298.

A comic opera based on Shakespeare’s “Falstaff” makes its world premiere on Sunday afternoon February 28 at Pamlico Community College’s Delamar Center. Written by Pamlico resident and composer Paul Knudson, “Falstaff” is a lighthearted take on Shakespeare and is the centerpiece of the Falstaff Festival, which will include other entertainment as well as food by the Silos Restaurant. The Musician’s Society of Pamlico County, The Inner Banks Brass Quintet, the Pamlico High School Show Choir, and the Society for Creative Anachronism are collaborating on the festival, which starts at 1:30p. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for young adults and free to those under 12. You can get tickets at Croakertown or the Silos in Oriental, Bank of the Arts in New Bern, and Buckhorn Books or One Stop Music in Bayboro. For more information, contact Debra Khouri, debrakhouri@gmail.com, 252-249-1592.

Oriental’s Town Board meets Tuesday March 2 at 7pm at Town Hall. As with all town meetings, this one is open to the public.

Molasses Creek, the Ocracoke-based singer-songwriting group, performs on Friday March 5 at Oriental’s Old Theater. It’s a fundraiser for Pamlico County Red Cross.

The HOPE Clinic Ball is happening March 6 at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern. It’s a night out to raise funds for HOPE Clinic which provides health care for the uninsured and underinsured in Pamlico County. An Enchanted Evening Under The Umbrella of HOPE starts at 6p and will feature dinner, an auction, and dancing to the music of King of Swing, Bruce Swartz and his band. Tickets are $70 per person and are available at Croakertown or by calling Jean Chastang at 249-1099.

The Old Theater continues its Friday Flick series on March 12, with a showing of “Back To The Future”. The movie rolls at 7:30p and box office opens at 6p for ticket sales. Price is $5 which includes all the popcorn you can eat as well as a few shorts before the main feature.

Pamlico Musical Society brings the choral music of the Madison Singers to the Pamlico High School auditorium on Saturday March 13. The small choral group from James Madison University performs complex choral pieces and was a hit at last year’s Spoleto Festival. The performance starts at 7:30p. Tickets are $15 and will be available at Croakertown. You may also buy them on-line, by clicking here.

St. Peter the Fisherman is hosts the annual St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinner Saturday March 13. It’s the complete classic meal – corned beef, cabbage, sides, Irish bread, dessert and beverages. Seating starts at 6pm. Music provided by Frank Murphy and Family. Tickets available at Croakertown and Village Hardware. Adults $14, take-out $12. St. Peter The Fisherman Church is at 1149 White Farm Road, Oriental. For more info contact Walt Brown 249-2627.

Oriental Woman’s Club holds its third annual Chowder Cook-off on Saturday March 13 from 11:30a to 1:30p on the grounds of the Oriental Marina. Vote for your fave among the selections. Harbor Sounds will be playing. It’s a fundraiser for the OWC’s various charitable works. Tickets are $7 in advance at Croakertown or at the door. For more info, call Lee at 249-1161.

Pamlico Chorale presents their annual show, twice, on Saturday April 10 at 7:30p and again on Sunday, April 11 at 3p. You can get tickets for these Old Theater shows at Croakertown, the box office or from any member of the Chorale. It’s a fundraiser for a local scholarship program.

Vienna Teng combines classical piano, folk, pop and a cappella to create her own musical style. You can hear for yourself on Friday April 16 when Pamlico Musical Society brings Vienna Teng to the Old Theater. The performance begins at 7:30p. Tickets are $15 and will be available thru Croakertown. You may also buy them on-line, by clicking here.

Mark the calendar… The Oriental Boat Show returns on April 16-18 at Pecan Grove Marina. The show, co-sponsored by Oriental Rotary and Pamlico’s Committee of 100, will feature sail, power and paddling boats both on the water and on shore. It starts on Friday April 16th and runs thru Sunday the 18th. For more info on how to take part, contact Sam Myers at 249-0228 (For a glimpse of last year’s show, click here.)

The Oriental History Museum and Women of St. Thomas Episcopal Church are teaming up again for their Second Annual Tour of Homes. It’ll be happening on April 17 and this year will include a tour of several gardens in town along with a half dozen homes. Ticket information coming soon…

The Oriental Woman’s Club hosts an Antiques and Collectibles Show on Saturday, April 24 from 9a to 4p. Both shoppers and sellers are welcome. (Make a profit on this spring’s cleaning; there are still spaces for vendors available for up to $25. Sharing a booth is another option.) The show takes place at the Woman’s Club at 1007 Gilgo Drive. For more info, Elaine Wolfinger’s the person to contact, at 249-6579.

Imagine all of Oriental is one big yard.. with lots of stuff and bargains to be found in it. That’s the scene on Saturday May 1 when Oriental holds its 5th Annual Town-Wide Yard Sale from 8am – 1p. There’ll be a map to help folks find the yard sales all over town. If you want to take part and get your yard on the map, contact Jennifer Pare at 249-7281. (Leave a message with your name, number and address.)

After an absence of a few years, the Michelob Cup Regatta returns on Labor Day weekend. The NYRA-sponsored Michelob Cup Regatta will take place on Sunday September 5, with the boats racing up the Neuse River from Oriental to New Bern. It’s the second leg in a two race weekend. On Saturday, September 4th, The Fairfield Harbor Yacht Club sponsors the Oar Regatta which has boats racing from Fairfield Harbor to Oriental.

The Wits End Art Galleryis featuring an exhibition of art by Bob Jones, his wife Pat Jones and their daughter Mary Dementev. The work will be on display through February.

Find a bargain in your clothes shopping and help Hospice of Pamlico County at the same time. The Hospice Thrift Shop on Highway 55 in Bayboro is open from 10a to 4p Monday-Thursday and 10a-1p on Friday and Saturday. The shop’s proceeds help support Hospice which supports those who need help and support with terminal illnesses. Donations of clothing, costume jewelry and housewares can be dropped off at the shop during open hours when it is open. Thru the end of February most Fall and Winter clothing will be 1/2 off the already low regular prices.. For more info, contact the store manager, Bette Baldwin at 745-5033

Alcoholics Anonymous meets in several locations in the area throughout the week.
At Oriental Free Will Baptist Church on Ragan Road, Tuesdays at 8pm and Thursday at noon. At St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Freemason Street, Sundays at 8pm.
And at Rock of Zion Church on Hwy 306 in Grantsboro, on Fridays at 8pm.

There is also an Al-Anon group meeting Tuesdays from 8-9pm at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Oriental.

In the winter months, it’s not practical to hold the sailboat races at night, what with the earlier sunsets and all. But there was enough interest in the Wednesday Night Races this year that they will be moving to Saturday afternoons for the next few months. Same course (starting Oriental “1”, and some configuration of Garbacon and Adam’s Creek) but in the middle of the day. If you want to take part, just show up for a 1p (1300) start at Oriental “1”. Five minute warning’s at 12:55. All races are weather permitting. Use channel 72 for communications. If you have questions before you get out there, contact Joe Valinoti at joesail1@gmail.com

Oriental’s Drummin’ Dragons hold their weekly drum circle at Oriental’s Town Hall on Wednesdays. Bring your drums and join in — or pick up one of the spare drums there for you to try your hand at it. It starts at 7p and runs to about 8:30p. Call 249-1551 for more information.

Avoid the longer lines and drive to New Bern’s DMV office and take care of your driver’s license renewals at the DMV mobile unit that visits Pamlico County once every month. The time and place has changed. Starting on June 11, the big DMV RV will be set up outside the County Health Department (behind the courthouse in Bayboro) on the second Thursday of the month. Hours are 9a-3p.

Bugs eating your tomato plants? Your flowers not growing? Have a question about your garden or yard? Pamlico County’s Master Gardeners can help you find answers. On the second Monday and last Thursday of every month, from 10-noon, several Master Gardeners will be on hand to help you out at the Cooperative Extension Office, 13451 Hiway 55 in Alliance. For more info, contact Daniel Simpson in the Extension office at 745-4121

Habitat for Humanity of Pamlico County wants to help you with your spring cleaning. If you have items to donate, volunteers from the Habitat Resale Store will pick them up — and save you the trip to the Habitat thrift store in Bayboro. (You can also drop off an array of donations; small and large appliances (in working order), furniture, TV’s, building materials, and other household goods. (They don’t take mattresses or clothing.) The Habitat Resale shop is at 13584 Highway 55 in Bayboro (next to Eastern Propane). Its hours are: Mon & Tues. 9a-1p; Thurs & Fri & Sat. 9a-2p. Call 252-745-1106 .

The Pamlico Amateur Radio Society meets at Brantley’s Village Restaurant at 9am on the last Saturday of every month (except June). They invite all HAMS and those interested in amateur radio to attend. For additional information, please call Charlie (WA4GSI) at 249-1257.

The prayer shawl ministry at Oriental United Methodist Church is now in its second year. The group meets Thursday mornings from 10-11:30am to crochet or knit shawls and pray for the recipients of them. The group has made almost 100 shawls in the past year and gives them to anyone in need. Even if you don’t know how to knit, stop on by and get a lesson and join in. Contact Mary Duffie to learn more, 249-2990.

The Pamlico County Library hosts two book clubs. The Bookworm Club meets on the third Monday of the month at 2pm. The Beach Books Club – which takes on lighter fare – gets together on the second Tuesday, also at 2pm. New members welcome. Call the library at 745-315 for more info.

The Oriental Express Bicycle Club invites anyone with a bike to join them for their Recreational Ride on Saturday mornings. It winds its way through th Old Village and on to the Dolphin Point area. It’s about 8 miles and the pace is very undemanding. Conversational you might say. Just show up with bike and helmet and you’re off!

In addition to their Saturday morning recreational ride in Oriental, the Oriental Express Bicycle Club also goes on longer and faster rides on Sundays and Wednesdays. These are ‘no-drop’ rides focused on fitness and fun. For more info, including the days, locations and times, check out the Bicycle Club’s web site. or call Kathryn Garcia 249-0119 or John Hanley 249-1188.

US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 20-03 meets the first Wednesday each month at Fire Station # 19 on Straight Road, Oriental, at 7:30 PM. The meetings — which focus on boating safety, navigation and GPS, for instance — are open to the public. New members welcomed. For more info, contact the Auxiliary’s Peg Witt at 252-249-3619

Handy with a hammer and nails? Pamlico County Senior Services needs more volunteers to help build handicap access ramps at the homes of some of Pamlico’s older residents. Senior Services provides the materials while volunteers led by Tim Balfour construct one ramp every month. Contact Tim at 745-3247 to offer a hand for the next project.

Buy a rainbarrel to collect rainwater from your roof and keep more storm water from running off in to creeks. And while you’re at it, you can also help the fish in another way. Ron Zielinski’s heading up the rainbarrel project to raise funds for the artificial fishing reef off of Dolphin Point. Made from Mt. Olive Pickle barrels, and fitted with a faucet and screen top, the rain barrels will be $70 apiece. If you want to make your own and just buy the barrel and retrofit it yourself, the cost will be $40 for the plain barrel. To order a rain barrel, contact Ron at 249-2128 or look for him at the Farmers’ Market Holiday Market.

Go take a walk! The Oriental Walking Group sets out on a series of organized walks through the village on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Meet up with walk leaders Gary and Pat Leonard at Lou Mac Park for a 9am departure. Oriental’s a great town to walk around and the walking group may help you stay disciplined about getting fit. Pedometers and water bottles provided by the Flexfit program of Heartworks. Call the Leonards for details at 249-0138 or just show up.

Friends of the Pamlico County Library meets the first Thursday of the month at 11am at the library on Highway 55 in Bayboro. This is the group of folks who help sustain the library. For info, call 745-3515.

Oriental Rotary Club meets every Monday at the Oriental Steamer starting at 6:45pm. The club does good things throughout the community….from scholarships to road clean-up. For info about the club and meetings contact Ed Braun at 745-3462.

The Oriental Woman’s Club holds its meetings on the first Tuesday of the month at 1pm at the clubhouse at 1007 Gilgo Road. Guests are welcome. For further information contact Christa Becker at 249-6558.