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Pamlico Gothic? It’s Martha & Pete Newman, owners of Casa Que Pasa (aka the Taco Truck on Hodges St). We talked to Pete & Martha about their organic gardens & changes coming to the Hodges Street property. See below:

1:27p It’s the second day of spring. Thoughts of boating are in the air.

Introducing a new column: Canvas Corner.

Breena Litzenberger writes about the canvas on your boat. The subject for spring… re-installing that canvas.

11:34a The Pamlico Community Band welcomes in spring with a concert tonight, 7:30p at the Old Theater. Admission is free, but it gets better. After the show, you get a free cookie on the way out.

Work on your Maine accent. The Cousin’s Maine Lobster food truck rolls into New Village Brewery today, 2-8p. It’s pronounced “Lobstah”.

Oriental’s History Museum exhibit Oriental’s Remarkable Women continues, open today & Saturday. Spring means lotsa farmers at the Farmer’s Market, 8a-11a Saturday. Hazardous Waste Collection Days is Saturday, 9a-1p behind the courthouse in Bayboro.

Andy Woolgar returns with to Nautical Wheelers Saturday with Bellevue Estate Wines from South Africa. Wine tastings at 2 & 3p. La Cocina del Coqui food truck at the brewery Saturday, 4-8p. In the beer garden, Noah Jackson Cobb plays 5-7p.

It’s all in What’s Happening.

Sunny and 60 today, warming to 70 (with more sunshine) Saturday & Sunday.

9:27p Winds have been as high as 41 mph tonight (at the Oriental Weather Station).

These conditions have just stopped the ferries – from Cherry Branch:

Weather conditions will be kinder when the ferries start up again in the morning. Overnight, skies will clear, and winds should calm down to about 10 mph by sunrise.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Neuse River Marine Forecast

12:32p The Taco truck returns for spring: they will be open this weekend Friday – Sunday, 8a-2p.

If you’ve been down Hodges Street lately you may have noticed some construction at the “taco corner”… the pilings are in for a future building.

Before that building happens, they will soon move in an an ol’ school bus. You might call taco bus.

TownDock visited Pete Newman, and got a bus tour:

Later this year, there will be a building on Hodges Street for you to chow down on tacos. Martha Newman show’s a model of what it will sort of look like:

Casa Que Pasa tacos & burritos that includes veggies… include vegetables grown at Pete & Martha’s organic gardens. Pete gave a tour:

Once the harvest begins later this spring, a vegetable stand will be added alongside the taco truck.

7:27a Cold. Hot.

It sounds like life.

Overnight it snuck down to 39. High today around 75.

The Oriental Weather Station shows the wave:

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Neuse River Marine Forecast

Tomorrow is the first day of spring.

5:07p You’ve survived wind & rain. It’s now safe to make plans.

Plan on buying more stuff at the 2025 Town Wide Yard Sale… Saturday May 3.

Ben Casey went down to The Piglet and lavishly plopped down $4.99 for a potted Irishy clover. He generously sent along this lucky photo:

6:05 Thunderstorms and rain possible tonight. Weather radar:

click image for live weather radar

3:32p Winds still building. It hit 37mph at 2:56p.

While the winds increase, the barometer plunges:

1:14p Competition. Power. Harmony.

Pierce Chapel AME Zion Church in Oriental is hosting a Men’s Choir Competition at 3:00p today. You’re invited.

The church is at 711 Hudson Town Rd, Oriental.

11:11a A strong cold front is moving through, bringing with it potential strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon through tonight.

High winds and rain a possibility, although NOAA catagorizies our area as a “slight risk” for the worst stuff. For our area, the peak time is 7p – 4a tonight.

Meanwhile, we are getting our share of high winds already. High so far today 35 mph, just a few minutes ago.

We are forecast to see 1 1/2 to 2 inches of rain, with more possible.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Weather Radar
• Neuse River Marine Forecast

It’s even daylight/night hours day. Sunrise this morning was at 7:14a. Sunset tonight, 7:14p.

3:14p At the brewery Roadside Dogs is serving this afternoon, Saturday the All About Churros food truck rolls in.

Today from 4-6p there is a rally near the Pamlico Courthouse, showing support for Ukraine.

Warmer weather has more and more “farmers” at the Farmer’s Market, Saturday morning 8a-11a on Hodges near the harbor.

Chowder chefs are in a simmering battle Saturday, the Chowder Cookoff is 11a-1p on the Oriental Marina grounds, adjoining the Tiki Bar.

Vino Italiano. Get your wordly self to Nautical Wheelers for wine tastings, 1 and 2p Saturday. It’s an Italian wine exploration.. Later it’s the Mad Fiddler, 5-8p in the brewery beer garden.

It’s all in What’s Happening.

10:19a After this cloudy semi-foggy stuff lifts (and even if it doesn’t), you’ll see some collegiate sailors on the water. This is a sail training week… and on this final day of it there will be some races on the Neuse.

The NC State Sailpack and Boston University are out there today.

In just a couple weeks the largest collegiate sailing event of the year in Oriental… it’s the Sailpack Regatta.

Here’s a look at last year’s event.

This year the regatta is March 29-30.

9:53a It’s March 14. Some call it “Pi Day”… “Pi” being the mathematical constant 3.14159265358979323846(etc).

3/14 seems close enough.

In that spirit:

Shepard’s Pi.

6:22a Dear reader, excuse us being so forward, but you look like you’ve seen a bar stool before.

Maybe a few.

This message could be for you. From the Old Theater:

They need bar stools with chair backs. Fear not, Bunky. You get the bar stools back after the play runs.

Plus, they’ll have new resume material.

11:11a Josh Kali stopped in Oriental for a few weeks this winter to prepare for a voyage. He is sailing around the world, one of fifteen boats in the Mini Globe race.

The first leg of the race was Antigua to Panama. Josh is in Panama right now, and was just interviewed by race organizer Don McIntyre:

10:03a The ferries are back in action.

Good news… We have resumed normal ferry operations.

Here’s the ferry schedule.

8:43a This morning’s weather is not quite a charming as forecast. But the rain has likely ended, with a partly sunny day expected to emerge by mid-morning, warming to mid 60s this afternoon.

High north winds overnight pushed up water levels. The Neuse has 20 To 25 knot north winds forecast, calming to 10-15 this afternoon. Winds become westerly tonight (down go the water levels), then finally from the south Wednesday, delivering sunny & warm mid 70s for both Wednesday & Thursday.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Weather Radar
• Neuse River Marine Forecast

High water levels have the ferries docked. From Cherry Branch:

8:37a A new exhibition opens today at the Oriental History Museum. Oriental’s Remarkable Women is an exhibit that celebrates “those women, now deceased, who contributed to organizations and important activities that made Oriental and the area a more vibrant place to live and visit.”

The exhibit debuts today from 1-4p at the museum, 802 Broad St. You’re invited.

1:01p Next week you’ll see some different faces in town. The NC State Sailpack is coming to Oriental for “spring break” – both training and time away.

Sailpack coach Dana Magliola tells TownDock that NC State is bringing 18 collegiate sailors. But there’s more: Boston University is also coming to town, with a crew of 14. And from Chestertown, Maryland, Washington College.

This is all based out of Bow To Stern Boating, home of a fleet of FJ (Flying Junior) sailboats. FJ’s are what collegiate sailors race and train on.

Helping the teams train will be a special guest: Coach Sophia Reineke.

Sophia was named the 2022 Quantum Women’s Collegiate Sailor of the Year. She has since graduated, and is now coaching.

Later this month comes the year’s key collegiate sailing event in Oriental: The Sailpack Regatta, March 29-30.

You may be able to help. Alexis with Bow To Stern writes in:

5:57p This “storm” (it was just a windy day in Oriental) peaked about 3p.

Winds now in the 20s. Skies becoming partly cloudy.

3:04p Winds hit 47mph a few minutes ago. The Oriental Weather Station tracks the steady increase through the day:

…as the barometer dives:

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Weather Radar

1:24p At 12:56p, 46mph.

12:12p High wind (so far today), 44mph at 10:45a. Winds now routinely blowing in the mid 30s, from the south.

Water levels are down, but not as much as they would be if the winds were southwest or west.

10:08a Today’s high wind (so far), 33mph, a few minutes ago. NOAA warns:

WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7AM THIS MORNING TO 10PM THIS EVENING

As well as rain (maybe even thunder), south winds 20 to 30mph with gusts to 45 today.

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Neuse River Marine Forecast

Due to the high winds, Pamlico County schools are releasing students early today (a bit before noon). Pamlico Community College is closing at noon.

9:25a The 2025 Oriental Boat Show is coming, April 11-13.

Part of the boat show is the Nautical Flea Market. Anchors, odd bronze bits, outboard motors, a musty so’wester, electronics from varied eras. And sometimes, just stuff.

Here’s how it works: All proceeds from the Nautical Flea Market go to the charities and service projects that the Oriental Rotary Club supports (including college scholarships for local students).

They need donations of nautical items, marine stuff. Joe Valinoti writes in:

Contact Joe Valinoti by email at joesail1@gmail.com.

2:07p While there may be long hours toiling in the sweatshop of TownDock World Headquarters, there are upon occasion benefits to running an odd publication in a small coastal town.

One of those is being invited aboard interesting boats.

A few months ago you may have spotted a large classic vessel anchored off Oriental. That was Mariner III.

The story of the vessel (and her captain) is in The Shipping News.

$10,000. You could afford eggs.

You have a 1 in 200 chance of winning $10,000 when you buy a $10k Golden Raffle ticket for the Hope Regala, happening May 9 & 10.

Your chances increase if you buy two (1 in 100) or the limit of three (1 in 67) tickets.

Proceeds from the Hope Regala benefit the mission of Hope Clinic to bring healthcare to the medically underserved in Pamlico County.

It’s nice out there. Nice enough to go sailing.

A note from Eric Kindle, Fire Chief for Southeast Pamlico Volunteer Fire Department- Station 19:

We have had several residents in the county burn yard debris this past week and it “got away from them” resulting in a brush fire. Some fires have come close to their residence, some close to their neighbors. Today the danger is exponentially higher than it has been due to the increased winds, low humidity and higher temps. Tomorrow will not be as warm or windy, but there will still be increased danger.
Use common sense and do not burn (permit or not) when:
• brush/grass etc are dry
• humidity is very low
• WINDS will be significant and forecast to increase

2:07p Cold. Ice. Snow. Sayonara February.

The first weekend of March gets a bit of everything. Saturday sunny & low 70s, Saturday night dives to mid 30s, and Sunday is a cool 45.

The first official day of spring is March 20.

At the brewery, German Street food today, Capt Jim’s seafood truck is back Saturday. Music returns… Capt Bob plays tonight 5:30p until.

There may be fewer farmers in the cold weather months, but the Farmers’ Market is still in action Saturday mornings, 8a-11a(ish). Baked goods have been there consistently.

Saturday @ 9a Capt John Rahm serves up an online course in on-the-water Risk Reduction, part of the NCO Saturday Winter Sailing Seminars. Sunday join Prime Time for lunch (spaghetti & meatballs) at Oriental United Methodist Church.

Some call them “a band of melodic pirates” – it’s Songs From The Road Band from Asheville, a bluegrass supergroup. They play Sunday 3p at the Old Theater.

It’s all in What’s Happening.

9:32a In 2020 Whittaker Creek Channel needed dredging. It really needed dredging.

A grant was secured, but it also needed community funding to pay its part. The fundraising worked, and the channel was dredged. Unfortunately, the legal time to dredge ran short, and the channel required a green buoy to mark a spot that wasn’t dredged.

Last year, a “danger shoal” marker was added:

The channel needs dredging again. The community nonprofit group “Friends Of Whittaker Creek” has been working to get the channel dredged, and move the channel a bit. The move will put the channel in deeper water, and should make future dredging less frequent.

TownDock spoke with Dan Allen, with Friends Of Whittaker Creek:

Oriental residents (and folks who care about Oriental) made it happen before. Here’s the GoFundMe page for Friends Of Whittaker Creek:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/complete-dredging-of-the-main-channel

If you’d prefer, you can send a check:

Friends Of Whiitaker Creek
1108 Neuse Drive
Oriental, NC, 28571

6:27a Warmth. Today’s high upper 60s, maybe touching 70. Same for Wednesday. Thursday sneaks into the low 70s.

The Oriental Weather Station shows the trend:

• Oriental NC Forecast
• Oriental Weather Station
• Neuse River Marine Forecast