The Dragon Burn That Didn't

It's Monday March 30, 2026

Live Music, Chinese Dragons, and a Fire Dancer
March 30, 2026

I
t’s the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. And that called for a special dragon for this year’s Dragon Burn.
A red, rearing horse of a dragon was designed for the annual Pamlico Arts Council’s Dragon Burn.

The Year of the Fire Horse … Dragon.

The weather, already odd enough with wildly fluctuating day and nighttime temperatures, had other ideas.

Saturday, March 29, the winds were forecast to be at 20 plus mph with gusts up to 35 in the afternoon, but were to settle down to a mild 10-12 mph in the evening. Organizers kept an eye out and two hours before the event opened, a Red Flag Warning was issued:

A Red Flag Warning, issued by the National Weather Service, hours before the burn.

It didn’t include Pamlico County, but it was a warning. Soon after the NC Forest Service issued a Statewide Burn Ban, effective until further notice.

Organizers decided to go on with the party, bring in a fire dancer, and save the burn for a later date.

The fire ban didn’t apply to fire dancing.

The two small Chinese Dragons still danced, the drummers drummed, Southern Hellcats played to the gathered crowd, and the Fire Horse (Dragon?) watched over it all.

The smaller dragons and the Fire Horse Dragon.

Pamlico Arts Council said the Dragon will burn when the ban is lifted. And the whole community is invited.

The Southern Hellcats played while the sun started to set.

In Oriental, there’s always dogs playing somewhere.

The Fire Horse Dragon rears up, with flames along its back, watching over the crowd.

The Drumming Dragons set the beat for the small Chinese Dragons to march in.

The Southern Hellcats played rockabilly classics, including one of their own, dedicated to Rosie the Riveter.

One of two Chinese dragons greet the crowd, under the leadership of Bill Hines.

The two dragons circle each other.

The surprise of watching the dragon dancers weave under each other … and knowing they have to follow.

Dragon dancing at sunset.

The fire dancer began at sunset, continuing as night set in.

The Dragon Burn will return in 2027.

Story & photos by Allison DeWeese.