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here are so many porches in Oriental that we take them for granted. These extensions of homes not only give us a place to watch the passing scene. Perched on that line between outside and inside, they let us catch an evening’s breeze and hear the night chirp, or track a good summer thunderstorm.

And of course, as was the case at Lucille and Billy Truitt’s Ol’ Store, the porch can be a place for musicians to play.

Rockers on the porch of the Village Gallery at 300 Hodges, which always has a good view of the harbor (sometimes even recreated by the artists whose work is on display inside.) Bob Jones and Friends are playing there.

It’s in that spirit that at Oriental’s Ol’ Front Porch Music Fest, a dozen porches on Broad and Hodges Street will become stages, giving many local musicians a place to perform. By so doing, the porches themselves will be getting a little more of the attention they deserve.

TownDock.net took a pre-festival visit to the porches that are to be featured on Saturday, September 13. Pull up a chair — you’ll want to bring one to the festival, too — and have a look.

Rockers on the Hodges Street side of the Old Central Hotel porch. It stretches around the corner to Broad Street, and extends to a second story on Hodges. Ol’ Store memorabilia will be on display here during the festival, courtesy of Oriental’s History Museum, Sally Belangia will be telling stories from when her parents, Billy and Lucille Truitt ran the Ol’ Store and the original Greens Creek Bluegrass Band is playing on a porch here as well.

Bunting on the rails at the Price family’s porch at 507 Broad. It was while stopping to look at this porch on a run, that Leslie Kellnberger hit on the idea of having a music fest on multiple porches in town. On this stage, the UHOOs (Ukulele Hoalohas Of Oriental) will be performing, followed by multi-instrumentalist Simon Spaulding.

Likely the only porch at the festival with parking underneath. The Cordes’ porch at 403 Hodges. Bob Laverty plays here.

Shadows near sunset fall across the porch of Oriental’s Town Hall. It’ll be the stage for Harbor Sounds, the Moseley Family and the site of the Musical “Petting Zoo.”

Rockers at Marsha’s Cottage at the end of Hodges Street. This is where musicians are invited to drop in and jam.

Marsha’s Cottage porch also provides a good vantage point from which to watch Hodges Street.

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Part of the porch at Nautical Wheelers as seen thru the front door.

A large crape myrtle out front of the Nautical Wheelers porch at 411 Broad. Mac McWilliams will be performing here during the festival.

A couple of porches at the Pamlico News building at 502 Broad. The Del Rios are playing there, while the parking lot will become a Country Marketplace with more than a dozen artisans showing and selling their works.

A windchime on the side of Ken Pitts’ porch at 500 Hodges Street. It’s not the only sound there during the music fest…

Travelin’ Jones and then the New Bern based gospel band New Sensational Messenger will take to the Pitts’ porch/stage.

Right before the Oriental bridge, the walkway and porch of Down East Canvas & Gallery. Ed Terry is performing here.

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Porches in front of the Coldwell Banker building at Hodges and South Water. The Craven Brass plays here at the festival.

Stuart and Barbara Hardy’s front porch, at 600 Broad, where Salty Paws performs and where singer Sandra Baldree leads a sing-along.

The porch at the old Sue Ragan house that Jennifer and Frank Roe are restoring at 505 Broad will not be used for music, but in the yard where a dragon keeps watch, the festival volunteers will be selling water. And socks.

Some town dogs may be expected to show up throughout the festival. These, on the porch of Village Gallery will obey the “stay” command without fail. (If you look up, though, you may spy a bird, very much alive, who’s built a nest in the eaves, not far from the dogs.)

Red rocker on porch of Village Gallery.

Posted Friday September 12, 2014 by Melinda Penkava