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The wheel from visiting schooner Blue Moon.

There is plenty going on in town over the weekend, from entertainment on and off the water, to helping you clean out those last little bits left over from the yard sale.

Friday and Saturday nights, there’s live music at the Red Rooster and in the Beer Garden at New Village Brewery.

Saturday morning is your chance to get rid of your old couches, appliances, or furniture (though you may want to have them by the curb tonight – the truck comes early an only makes one pass). You can also drop off old papers that need shredding at the County Courthouse that day.

At 10a Saturday, there’s a free kayaking instruction at the WildLife Ramp at the end of Midyette St. If you don’t have a kayak, the’ll have a few extras on hand.

NC State SailPack will be in town to take advantage of some on-the-water training midday on Saturday. Lou Mac Park offers comfortable chairs to watch the river and the sailors, or just relax under the trees.

The Village Gallery is featuring their artist of the month Kevin Fetzer, and the Oriental Museum can walk you through an exhibit on Women’s Suffrage as well as the history of Oriental.

Find out about the weekend’s event and more – it’s all in What’s Happening.

There is rain in the forecast for this afternoon and evening – 70% chance – but Saturday and Sunday are looking clear: sunny and high near 70 Saturday, mostly sunny and high near 80 on Sunday.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge
• TownDock streams NOAA Weather Radio Online

4:22p A lot has been going on in Oriental. Two businesses in town are changing hands. Triton Yachts, a decades old business with roots in Raleigh, has new owners ready to carry on the legacy. Deaton Yachts, another decades old business, is becoming Zimmerman Marine and joining a network of boat yards along the east coast.

Several derelict boats left over from Hurricane Florence were hauled away in April. A derelict boat cleanup sponsored by the NC Wildlife Resource Commission took five vessels from the shores and creeks of Oriental.

Residents were able to purge their homes of any unwanted items at May’s Town Wide Yard Sale.

Want to check out what else you may have missed? All TownDock stories are available on the left side of the page, with the most recent at the top.

9:16a A weeklong trip to the mountains. A private plane ride along the coast. A year of pies.

Bidding for the Hope Regala Live Auction is now open. Bid on any of the above, and more by clicking here. You can make your bids until Saturday, May 15 at 5p.

If you can’t find anything in the auction to catch your interest, the Hope Regala also hosts a BBQ Dinner pickup and a $10k Golden Ticket Raffle. Purchase your tickets for the BBQ by clicking here. Raffle tickets are now sold out.

Pickup your BBQ Dinner at Station 19 Firehouse on Friday, May 14 ($15 a plate). Watch the live drawing of the $10k Golden Raffle winner (all 200 tickets have been sold) on Saturday, May 15.

Proceeds go to Hope Clinic and help fund their mission of serving the medically un- and under-insured of Pamlico County.

4:05p The Town Wide Yard Sale had it all: wedding dresses, wind vanes, and a purple palm tree or two. Check out Saturday’s scene here.

1:21p High winds coming from the west today… we saw a 28 mph peak this morning and again near noon. From the Oriental Weather Station:

click image for larger view

A Small Craft Advisory on the Neuse til 7p tonight.

8:21a The Town Of oriental is holding a budget meeting this morning at Town Hall. It is a public meeting – TownDock is there and will have a report (along with the report from last night’s monthly meeting).

Clouds & possible (40%) rain this morning, then look for the sun to appear from the clouds around noon. Yesterday the high hit 90, today should just be mid 80s.

8:43p Two town residents adjacent to the street ends – spoke against proposed street end signs at tonight’s Town Board Meeting.

The signs are meant for three streets along South Avenue that end at the water: Wall St, King St, and Neuse St. They inform residents and visitors that the streets are public property and available for public enjoyment.

After hearing the dissenting public comments, there was a heated discussion between Commissioners as to (having already invested time and energy) proceed anyway, create different signage elsewhere in the town, or leave leave the street ends without signage. It was agreed they would take more time to look into the objections and suggestions further. The issue has been tabled until the July’s Town Board meeting, Tuesday, July 6.

Wednesday morning is the Town Budget Meeting at 8a at Town Hall. The public is welcome to attend.

3:19p A visit from a hurricane often creates some abandoned boats. Recently five such boats were removed from Oriental waters in a program overseen by the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

While the NC State Sailpack Regatta was cancelled this year (due top COVID concerns) – some State sailors are coming to Oriental this weekend. NC State Sailpack sailors will be in Oriental Saturday for some training on the Neuse, with boats supplied by Bow To Stern Boating.

You should be able to see them on the Neuse some time after 11a Saturday. The sail training is part of getting ready for the Championship Regatta that the Sailpack have been invited to – it is June 7-8, hosted by the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.

The Sailpack team is both proud and excited to attend this regatta, but they are doing it without funding from the university. If you’d like to help out, contact Head Coach Dana Magliola at damaglio@ncsu.edu, or 919-946-5445. You can also donate directly by clicking here.

• Read the Sailpack press release here

10:49a The May Oriental Town Board meeting is tonight, 7p at Town Hall.

9:10a Want to learn how to paddle a kayak? You can learn the basics this Saturday morning – and it’s free.

8:30a Spring has kindly avoided the heat of the oncoming summer… so far. A hint of the heat that will be coming… today’s high will reach near 90.

Summer doesn’t officially arrive until June 20. Hurricane season’s official start date is June 1, but in a nod to earlier storms, NOAA/NHC coverage begins May 15. The Atlantic Tropical Storm Outlook starts again that day… it will be on TownDock.net along with the info and imagery that readers have come to rely on.

Oriental’s water level gauge isn’t working on NOAA, but the data is on TownDock. Just click here.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge

1:53p Good news for ferry travelers. From Sue Kinner at the Minnesott Beach – Cherry Branch Ferry:

1:24p This Thursday, parts of Midyette Street will be closed. From Town Manager Diane Miller:

10:07a Saturday was Oriental’s Town Wide Yard Sale. Stuff was sold, hauled off, or traded for new treasures.Next Saturday, May 8, is your chance to get rid of those old papers you no longer need. Take up to 75 pounds of your personal papers to the Pamlico County Courthouse in Bayboro for the Shred Event between 9a-noon. They’ll be loaded into a truck and shredded onsite, free of charge.

If your paper situation is under control, but you have an old couch or appliance you don’t know how to get rid of, put it curbside before 7a (also on May 8) and it’ll be collected in the White & Brown Goods Pickup up free of charge. Find out what else you can – and can’t – leave curbside here.

Today, highs near 80 to day with a 60% chance of rain. Tomorrow, mostly sunny and warming up to near 90.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge
• TownDock streams NOAA Weather Radio Online

7:38a The ferry is down one boat this morning. From Operations Manager Sue Kinner:

Cherry Branch has a mechanical issue with one of our boats and is now running as a ONE BOAT OPERATION until further notice.

From Cherry Branch: 9, 10, 11, noon, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 10
From Minnesott Beach: 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30p, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11

4:01p Carl’s Hot Spot BBQ is the food truck at the brewery today, serving now til 8p. Cash only. What’s on tap and the BBQ menu here.

Tonight dips down to near 50, then warms up to 80 Sunday and Monday. Tuesday hints of summer – a 90 degree high.

8:57a Furniture, knick knacks, dishes, tools, and a few antiques. With over 90 sales (in and just outside of the village) you’re sure to find something you can’t live without. Maybe this coconut monkey?

The 2021 Oriental Yard Sale Map is right here.

There’s other events happening today, too. The Garden Club Plant Exchange is in full swing on Hodges Street this morning, between the Wit’s End and the Duck Pond. Trade your plants or buy a new one for $1.

Later this afternoon, the Village Gallery hosts a reception for the May artist of the month, Kevin Fetzer, from 2-5p.

Today is sunny, breezy (NW winds at 10-15 mph), with highs near 70.

2:33p Today is the first day of the Village Gallery’s Black Velvet Online Auction. Art, spa days, sculptures, and $150 off a new set of tires.

View the catalog and place your bid here.

The Brewery has a new food truck tonight: The Jerk Truck has jerk chicken, plantains, curry chicken, mango slaw, and more. Serves from 4-8p.

11:12a For over 40 years Deaton Yacht Service has operated on Whittaker Creek in Oriental. Starting in July the boat yard will have a new name – here’s the story.

11:05a The annual Oriental Town Wide Yard Sale is Saturday. Everything you need to know is at this link.

Please keep your fighting over used stuff to a minimum.

5:02p It’s windy… a 31 mph peak in the last hour at the Oriental Weather Station. The winds are from the south, pushing water levels down, now about 1 ft below normal.

2:39p Steel drums, guitar, and possibly a kazoo. All played by the same man.

Tonight, Barefoot Wade plays in the Beer Garden at New Village Brewery. Grab some takeout, get a beer, and enjoy the live music. Brewery opens at 4p, music starts at 5p.

The 2021 Yard Sale Map is here. With over 90 homes participating, this year’s map extends out to Dolphin Point, across the Oriental Bridge, and even out to several homes on Kershaw Road. See the map and Saturday’s information here.

12:39p John and Karen Deaton announced their upcoming retirement today. Effective July 1, Zimmerman Marine will be operating Deaton Yacht Service. Zimmerman operates 6 boatyards along the mid Atlantic, with existing locations in Herrington Harbor, Maryland, Deltaville and Mathews, Virginia, Southport and Holden Beach, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina.

Clear here to read the announcement.

Deaton Yacht Service, Inc will continue operating the TowBoatUS out of Oriental.

10:53a If you’ve taken a walk through town recently, chances are you’ve been an unwilling (possibly unwitting) meal for the resident mosquito population. That should change next week.

Beginning Tuesday, May 4, trucks will roll through town, spraying for mosquitos between 4a – 6a. If you do not want your yard sprayed, send your name and address to water@townoforiental.com.

Spraying will be every Tuesday and Thursday, 4a-6a. If you’re an early morning walker, be aware of when and where the trucks are spraying.

9:03a Litter. You can see it on a walk or during your drive. TownDock readers write (and call) in on how to help.

8:19a In November, the town received a grant for five Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) from the Dottie Gray Ambulance Fund – one for each sit-down restaurant in town at the time (The Silos, M&Ms, Brantley’s, The Bean, The Toucan).

Yesterday, Eric Kindle and Ian Davis began installing them. If there is an emergency in one of the restaurants or nearby, the AED can be used to determine the heart rhythms of the patient while an ambulance is en route.

One outstanding feature of the AED – these devices will tell you what to do, meaning non-medical people can use it. Staff and owners will receive training and a demonstration on how it works.

Breezy today, sw winds at 15-20 mph. Earlier this week, today’s high was forecast as near 90. It’s now dropped to a more tolerable mid 80s.

9:28a Singing, sailing, and support – it’s Wednesday in Oriental.

• For those going through the grieving process from the loss of family or friends, there’s Oriental’s new Grief Support Group. Held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and led by Father Bruce, a trained and experienced hospice chaplain and bereavement counselor. The group meets at 2p in the common room.
• Go for a casual sail around the marks at the Wednesday Night Sail. Boats meet at 1800 GPS at the #1SC mark. Don’t have a boat and just want to be part of a crew? Contact Joe Valinoti at joesail1@gmail.com.
• Sing? Play an instrument? Open Mic Night at the Silos starts at 7p.

High temps in the mid 80s today. On the Neuse, SW winds 10 – 15 kt, increasing to 15-20. On the Pamlico Sound, a small craft advisory goes into effect at 4p, and continues through Friday morning.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River at Oriental Water Level Gauge
• TownDock streams NOAA Weather Radio Online

2:04p A smart tux. A formal gown. The fanciest beach sandals you own. Once a year, all these could be pulled out of your closet, dusted off, and worn to one of Oriental’s more upscale events: The Village Gallery Black Velvet fundraiser. Thirty dollars would get you in the door to enjoy gourmet food, live music, and the gallery by night.

With pandemic precautions still in play, the gallery is taking the event online again in 2021 with a week-long silent auction. Sculptures and spa days, paintings, pottery, and jewelry – it’s all up for auction beginning this Friday, April 30 – Friday, May 7. Tiaras and top hats optional.

9:23 May’s Town Board Meeting includes a discussion about signs. Specifically, new signs to be placed at the entrance to three town owned street ends along South Avenue: Wall Street, King Street, and Neuse Street.

Unpaved, each street ends at the river. Benches, intended for public use, are installed near the river’s edge. At the annual retreat, Commissioners and members of the Tourism Board and Parks and Rec Department discussed installing signs letting residents and visitors know they are public property.

At May’s monthly meeting, Commissioners will vote on where, in the town’s right-of-way, to place the signs.

7:33a ODC, the Oriental Dinghy Club, is only two races into their season. And they’ve added a new race just for vessels under 20 feet: the Oriental Open. Boats will launch from Bow to Stern Boating on Smith Creek on June 13.

With the race over a month away, there’s time to brush up on your racing skills. Don’t know how to race? Join the ODC pool crew and learn the ropes as crew on an ODC member’s boat. ODC holds races throughout the year and captains are always on the lookout for crew.

• ODC Pool Crew Information
• Current ODC Race Results for 2021
• 2021 ODC Oriental Racing Schedule
• Oriental Open Notice of Race (NOR)

Near 80 today, sw winds at 10-15. Temps rise up to the mid 80s tomorrow, and near 90 on Thursday.