American Legion Fish Fry on First Friday of Every Month

If you haven't yet stopped by the American Legion 'Fish Fry' then you are missing a wonderful and economical meal. And in this economy, who doesn't want a deal on a hardy dinner? You can dine or take out, the choice is yours. So come on down to the American Legion on the first Friday of every month...your stomach and wallet will be glad you did. And did I mention that as an added bonus you will be helping out the world's largest veterans organization?

When: First Friday of every month from 11:00am to 7:00pm (or until the fish runs out).

Where: Carolina Beach American Legion Post 129 (located behind the Food Lion on Bridge Barrier Rd).

What do you get:

• Fried Fish (hot from the oil)

• Cole Slaw

• Potato Salad

• Corn on the Cob

• Hush Puppies

• Sweet Tea/Coffee
Cost: $8.00 per person (carryouts welcome- Call 458-4253)
And More: The Legion Auxiliary (Ladies) will be offering homemade desserts for sale-come early for the best selection.
Added Bonus: Someone else does the cooking and clean up!!

Pleasure Island to Receive Nearly $4 Million in Federal Stimulus Dollars

Carolina Beach will receive $3.3 million – the most of any community in the state – to build two stormwater ponds to help with runoff in the Wilmington Beach area and replace old sewer lines along U.S. 421 through its busy downtown core. And Kure Beach was awarded nearly $620,000 to replace approximately 6,500 feet of sewer line along U.S. 421 around its central business district.

I hear that Tim Owens, Carolina Beach Town Manager, deserves major kudos for spearheading the effort in obtaining this grant money for CB. These are much needed projects and I'm especially pleased to see some forward progress on the Wilmington Beach project. And although it is a grant requirement that work has to begin within weeks of the announcement, one can't complain about summer time construction delays when unexpected funds show up on one's lap. Kudos to all parties involved!!!

Read the full story here in the Wilmington Star.

Drink Some Vino...Save a Sea Turtle

The Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project is presenting their Annual Spring Wine Tasting on Sunday, May 17 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm at The Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar in Carolina Beach. Hors d’oeuvres, 50+ wines and a silent auction will be featured.

All proceeds to benefit the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Center at Topsail Island.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Purchase tickets now at The Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar, 1211 S. Lake Park Blvd, Carolina Beach. For more information, call 538-2918 or 352-1765.

Image Credit (I know it's not a sea turtle but when your trying to find a catchy picture involving wine and turtles, well...you just can't be too choosy.)

Spotting Hollywood East Here on Pleasure Island

Today's Charlotte Observer has a story titled 'Hollywood East' and it covers many of the hot spots in the greater Wilmington area for the film industry. It's an interesting article and it may give you an idea of someplace new to visit.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/474/story/680463.html

(filming One Tree Hill--house on 1515 S. Lake Blvd, Carolina Beach)
(front of house)
(rear deck of house)

Boardwalk Blast: Battle of the Bands Coming this Summer

Carolina Beach, NC
April 23, 2009
The Carolina Beach Boardwalk Makeover is introducing a new event to the Boardwalk Beach Stage-- The Boardwalk Blast: Battle of the Bands. The event will have three preliminary rounds consisting of 6 groups, with the top two moving on to the finals. The preliminary rounds will be May 30, June 13, and July 11, running from 1-5PM. The final round will be August 8, taking place from 1-5PM. The event is designed to showcase the areas talented musicians and provide good exposure for the musicians.

Applications should be emailed to brett@ibxpromotions.com, or mailed to 310 Columbia Ave #2, Carolina Beach, NC 28428 by May 15, 2009. Entry packets must be accompanied by a digital band photo, delivered as jpg on disk or via email, and audio file (mp3 or CD) of at least three songs (one of which must be used in the competition). Each band that competes in the Boardwalk Blast Battle of the Bands will play a minimum of 5 songs (3 originals & 2 covers) of no longer than 30 minutes. The judging panel will be made up of area professionals in the music industry.

Currently the prize packages include a paid gig on the main stage, 20 total hours of recording time at Cape Fear Studios (value $2,000), a cash prize of $400 to the Grand Prize winner and prizes from Varno Music Instrument Repair (value $345) and Modern Music (value $300). Currently, the total prize value is over $3,500 and this may increase as more sponsors sign up.

The Boardwalk Blast: Battle of the Bands is part of the summer event series at the Carolina Beach and is sponsored by the Boardwalk Makeover Group. There will be over 100 events at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk this year. Some of the regular events are as follows: Thursday night entertainment (followed by the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce’s Fireworks by the Sea), Cash and Kids Bingo, Jazz Under the Stars, Shanty’s Shagging, TropRock DJ on Sundays (followed by the PICoC Movies by the Lake), and Tuesday Family Nights. For complete Details on the Boardwalk Makeover Boardwalk Blast visit www.boardwalkmakeover.org

Photo is from this year's St. Patrick's Day LoTide Run.

Cape Fear Dive Center Grand Opening April 25th

Come help celebrate the grand opening of Cape Fear Dive Center. The shop is under new management and they will be offering new dives and great deals on equipment and dive trips.

The grand opening blowout will be on April 25th from 10:00am to 6:00pm. Don't miss out on Free Drawings, Door Prizes, Free Pig Pickin' and a Dive Give-A-Way Drawing for 2 free spots on the Hawksbill. Also, the first 22 divers to sign up for the dive on April 26th will dive at half price.

We are extremely proud of our new boat. Christened the "Hawksbill", she is a 50 foot Newton Dive Special. With a weight of 17 tons and a beam (width) of 16 feet, the Hawksbill is an exceptionally stable ride and dive platform. The main deck of the Hawksbill is uniquely spacious, with over 350 square feet of space for diver seating, gearing up and equipment storage. Our boat has plenty of seating space for every diver to sit with backrests that are clear of gear. Your dive rig will be positioned in front of you to make gear preparation exceptionally easy. To give you an idea of how spacious that main deck is, the Coast Guard approved her to carry 72 people on the main deck on lakes, bays and sounds! With dive charters limited to 24 divers, and most trips carrying fewer, you know that you'll have plenty of elbow room on this boat.

Cape Fear Dive Center

809 N. Lake Park Blvd.

Carolina Beach , NC 28428

(910)458-7390 (910)458-7393 Fax

http://capefeardivecenter.net/

Michael's Seafood Restaurant Invited to the Great Chowder Cook-Off in Rhode Island

Huge Kudos to Michael's Seafood Restaurant for being invited to the 28th Annual Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-Off to be held in Newport, R.I on June 6th, 2009. They were one of only 25 Seafood Restaurants in the nation to be invited to this prestigious event where a total of $10,000 in prize money will be awarded.

So as not to understate this honor for Michael's, here is a snippet of the event description as being put out by the media: the Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-Off features over 3000 gallons of chowder served up by over 25 of the nation's best restaurants and chefs! Boy, that has to put a smile on everyone's face over at Michael's.

This exposure for Michael's will be huge and it will most certainly help reflect positively on the Island as well. So let's wish Michael's Seafood the very best and root them on to bring home the gold...or off-white if we're speaking chowder.

Click here for 2009 event details.

Click here to see the a 2008 commercial about the event (it took a little while to load).

Click here to read about Michael's winning this year's Pleasure Island Chowder Cook-off

Michael's Seafood Restaurant

1206 N Lake Park Blvd

Carolina Beach, NC 28428

(910) 458-7761

http://www.mikescfood.com/

Beautiful Outdoor Wedding at Carolina Beach

I came across this slide show of a wedding which took place in March 2009 at the Carolina Beach Courtyard Marriott . It was an outdoor service held in front of the hotel on an absolutely stunning day. Obviously, everyone had a wonderful time and the weather appeared to be perfect. Take a few minutes and enjoy the slide show, it will most definitely put a smile on your face. Congrats to the extremely photogenic couple and kudos to the photographer for capturing some stunning images.

http://pinerphotography.myshowit.com/justin_stephanie/index.html

Congratulations to the Fort Fisher Aquarium on a Very Successful Race

Over at Water Logged, the official NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher blog, they are reporting that over 170 runners turned out for last Sunday's Race for the Planet Seahorse Sprint. Considering this was the first year for this race, they have to be very pleased with the turnout. I'm sure next year, the turnout will even larger as word gets out about this excellent race venue. Fort Fisher has some of the most picturesque areas in all of SE North Carolina and I can't imagine a more scenic area for a race.

Visit the Water Logged blog for more information about the race including results and a photo of the event.

Starting April 22nd, NC State Park Reservations Go Online

There's good news out for anyone looking to camp at Carolina Beach State Park, or any of the other NC State campgrounds. Starting tomorrow, you will be able to reserve a campsite ahead of your visit and you'll be able to do it all online. Up to now, the Carolina Beach State Park campground has primarily operated on a first come, first serve basis. This has made it difficult for some as there might not always be a spot available on the busier holiday periods.

I'm told that not all 83 camp sites will be available on the reservation list. They will keep some of the sites open for visitors who just show up without a reservation and those sites will continue on a first come, first serve basis. But at least now, people will have the reservation option which should make vacation planning a lot less stressful.

Visit the NC Division of Parks website for more information.

Photo Credit: Campground & Holding Down the Campsite

Weird Looking Horses Take to Carolina Beach...

Last year, the Carolina Beach Town Council decided to allow horseback riding at Freeman Park. There was a small, yet determined group that had been pushing for this right for years and their efforts were ultimately rewarded. Personally, I think it is a cool thing and I always enjoy seeing the rare horseback rider galloping along the shoreline. As far as other pets, dogs are also allowed at Freeman Park as long as they are on leash at all times. From November to February, dogs are allowed on any beach within Town limits. With that said, I'm not sure what the rules are with other 'pets.'

As one who hasn't read all the beach regs, I can't honestly say whether the Council has ever addressed llamas on town beaches, or hippos for that matter. But even if it has come up, llamas on a beach, any beach, make for pretty nifty pics. Here is a blog entry I came across this evening about a family's visit to Pleasure Island. Check it out to view two full size llama beach pics.

alice's summer blog

PS. I wonder if there is a town policy on Grizzly Bears?

Michael's Seafood Restaurant Sweeps the 2009 13th Annual Pleasure Island Chowder Cook-off

Congratulations to Micheal's Seafood for taking home both the Judge's and People's Choice first place prize. As one who was there and tasted the offerings, I have to say the right decision was made.

Michael's Seafood Restaurant
1206 N Lake Park Blvd
Carolina Beach, NC 28428
(910) 458-7761

(Click any pic to enlarge)

Surfrider's Carolina Beach Spring Sweep April 25th

Make a Difference. Volunteers Needed.

Surfrider's Carolina Beach Beach Sweep
April 25th from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m
Meet at the CB Boardwalk Gazebo

The UNCW Surfrider group, with help from the UNCW Sustainability Committee, is hosting their annual beach sweep at Carolina Beach on April 25th from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Students and community volunteers will join forces to pluck debris from the beach. All supplies (trash bags and gloves) will be provided by Surfrider. There will also be an art contest with art from local high school and UNCW students. The art theme for this year is "Beauty and Beach."

There will be a live band along with a raffle from local surf shops. And finally, both breakfast and lunch will be provided! Food, music and art...what more could beach sweepers need to make it a great day?

So to everyone, PLEASE, help keep our local beaches clean by coming out on April 25th. Come for the whole morning or for as long as you can, whatever time you can offer will be most appreciated. For more information contact Marissa Walch at mew4335@uncw.edu.

When visiting any beach, leave behind only your footprints

Kiteboarder Killed on Hatteras Island After 40' Fall

Wind Spike Cited in Kiteboarder's N.C. Falling Death

By Catherine Kozak, The Virginian-Pilot©

Avon, NC-- April 14, 2009

A Canadian kiteboarder who was soaring about 40 feet above Pamlico Sound was killed when a fierce wind blew in suddenly and made him fall from the sky Saturday.

"The weather came in fast - you could see it on the horizon," said Carl Giordano, marketing director with Real Watersports in Waves. "My understanding is that everyone had trouble getting their kites under control."

It's the first fatal kiteboarding accident on Hatteras Island, Giordano said. He said the man in the accident was not a Real Watersports customer.

Giordano said that when the front came through shortly before 6 p.m., the wind spiked from about 15 mph to about 35 mph in less than a minute...

Read the complete story here

Random Kiteboard Image Credit

A Look Back at Carolina Beach Boardwalk in 1954

Thanks to docKaos from Flickr who allowed me to post these two vintage photos taken from the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. The photos are of his parents during their 1954 honeymoon and were taken before the devastation of Hurricane Hazel which hit in October of the same year.
For an extensive collection of Island vintage photos, make sure to check out the two coffee table books written by local author Daniel Ray Norris.
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And speaking of coffee table books, if your interests are more eclectic, make sure to hunt down the coffee table book about coffee table books (I'm told that Ohio University has the only known copy of this vintage collectable). The book was penned and designed by the renowned author and inventor, Cosmo Kramer. Now what made this book truly revolutionary for it's time was that the book itself actually became its own coffee table. Yes, its own coffee table book. I know, it still blows the mind to even think about it.

The book was first dramatically unveiled on the Regis and Kathie Lee variety show in early 1932. Unfortunately, during the live show, there was an ill-fated beverage accident causing the mortified author to enter seclusion shortly afterwards. And although he lived the remainder of his life as a reclusive soul, we were able to uncover this extremely rare photo of the truly genius author.

Confirmed--Amusement Rides Are Coming to Carolina Beach

[EDIT 05/26/2011: For current information on the CB Amusement Park, click here]


Last night, the Carolina Beach Town Council approved the request to allow amusement park rides at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. A 60' Ferris wheel, with majestic views of the Atlantic ocean, will be the center attraction. Let the fun begin this summer in Carolina Beach!

And to anyone who might not think this is a good idea or that visitors wouldn't be interested, just check out the comments to this earlier story when it was first hinted that amusement rides might be coming to the boardwalk. The comments are at the bottom of this WWAY March 23rd story.

Photo Credit: Ferris Wheel, Cotton Candy

Art Steamrolls into Carolina Beach on May 16th

For art lovers, here's an interesting event heading to the Island on May 16th from 9:ooam to 4:00pm. The info is taken from a April 14th Encore Magazine article. The pics were taken off the net from other steam roller events using different mediums:

Painter Kristin Gibson is settling in just fine at Spectrum Art Gallery, which just added her to their list of represented artists. Gibson and friends are working on something completely new coming up May 16th. “It’s going to be called the Big Print Block Party!” Gibson says. “It will be a steamroller-powered woodcut printmaking event in Carolina Beach.

Visiting artists from NYC—along with local artists like Jennifer Page, Fritzi Huber, Kristin Gibson, Robert Pleasants, Jeremy Millard, Rebecca Jones, Todd Carignan and Matt Dols—will be creating 4-by-8 giant wood-block carvings to be printed by a steamroller, live, during the event. Early origins of wood-block printing developed on fabric, so as a fabric designer and painter who studied traditional means of (small) wood-block printing for textiles, this oversized contemporary spin is really exciting.”

Read the full article here

Photo Credit: Top image, Side image

Snow's Cut Monthly 2009 Island Survey

Snow's Cut Monthly magazine is conducting their 2009 'best of' island survey. If you have a couple of minutes and want your two cents counted, go here to complete the survey.

And don't forget, starting next month, Snow's Cut Monthly will no longer be free. To order your subscription or to find out where you will be able to purchase the monthly magazine, visit the SCM website.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season Begins May 1st

It is that time of year again when everyone needs to be on the lookout for the signs of sea turtle nests. If you come across either a potential nest or a turtle laying eggs, please don't disturb the site and immediately notify one of the point of contacts listed below.

Here is a brief overview of the nesting process as outlined by Florida's TurtleTime.Org:

"Each summer from May through August, something wondrous happens along our beaches: An ancient mariner, the loggerhead sea turtle, leaves the water during the night and crawls ashore to lay her eggs in a sandy nest.

The task of excavating a nest may take her over an hour to accomplish. The turtle - weighing several hundred pounds - laboriously digs a nest cavity with her rear flippers.

She then deposits approximately 100 pliable ping-pong ball sized eggs into the chamber, covers them with sand and returns to the sea.

After roughly a two-month incubation period, a cluster of tiny hatchlings emerges from the sand and scrambles to the Gulf."

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Sea Turtle Nesting Points of Contact:

Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Coordinators

•Kure Beach--Jody Smith, Mobile: 910.352.1765, jodynl@aol.com
•Carolina Beach--Nancy Busovne, Mobile: 910.538.2918, pn.busovne@att.net

Additional Points of Contact-if needed:

•NC Wildlife Resource Commission: 1-800-662-7137

•NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher: 1-866-301-3476

•Carolina Beach Police: 910-458-2540

•Kure Beach Police: 910-458-7586

•Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue Center at Topsail Island: 910-328-3377 or 910-328-1716.

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To learn more about sea turtles and to find out about local conservation efforts on the island, check out this April 25th class at the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area . If you can't make this class, check their website for other dates as they will run the program all summer long.

Fort Fisher State Recreation Area Turtle Talk: This is our most popular program! We will discuss the mysteries of sea turtles. Find out what local conservation efforts are in place to bring them back from the edge of extinction. Also, find out what you can do to help these amazing creatures. Time: 2:00 pm

Sea Turtle Links of Interest

Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project (to be a Pleasure Island volunteer, visit this site)

Karen Beasly Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

NC Wildlife Commission Sea Turtle Fact Sheet

Previous Carolina Beach Today Sea Turtle Posts

Photo Credit Sea Turtle Tracks

Photo Credit Sea Turtle Nest

Nine Foot Alligator Attempts to Overtake NC Fisherman in Ten Foot Boat

Did that title get your attention? Well believe it or not, that's not just a sad attempt at a teaser line...it's a true story and it happened 50 miles to our north in Jacksonville, NC. Although this blog primarily focus on Pleasure Island, every once in awhile a story comes up that begs to be shared.

According to the April 4th, 2009 Jacksonville Daily News, Adam Rush was fishing at a local Jax river when a nine foot alligator, catching rays on the shoreline, took an interest in Adam's catch hanging from his 10 foot boat. As the gator began to near, Adam rudely pulled the fish into the safety of his boat robbing the gator of a fishy treat. Unfortunately for Adam, the gator was not to be rebuffed and tried to saddle up to the dinner table in Adam's boat. Unfortunately for the gator, it's probing head was met with a major wallop from Adam's oar.

But alas, this would not be a noteworthy story if the gator just swam off. No, this gator would not be deterred and it began circling Adam's boat. Adam, doing his part to ensure that this would be a story to remember, was dead in the water with a kaput boat motor and an oar with no head thanks to the earlier gator whack. What's that saying about being up **** creek without a paddle?

So as Adam haplessly drifted in his dead boat with the ever present gator circling his wake, he reached for his cell phone and dialed 911 for help. (C'mon, of course the phone worked. This isn't a cheesy Hollywood horror movie.).

By the time the police arrived, Adam had already made it to shore thanks to a friend in a 'working' skiff.

So do we have a happy ending? Well, Adam and his catch were safely on shore and the gator had reverted back to his semi-hibernated state. So at this point, it looked like a happy ending for all.

But alas (can you say 'alas' twice in one story?), this tale was to offer one final twist making it a truly memorable alligator story. When the officials arrived to rescue Adam from the hungry crocodilian, they discovered that our overzealous fisherman had kept some undersized fish and he was issued a ticket. Yes, the man who had just narrowly escaped certain death from the crushing jaws of a prehistoric relic was issued a ticket for having some tiny fish.

I'm sure there is a moral to this story but I'm just too bewildered to figure it out. As for Adam, I'm glad he's safe. As for the gator, I bet the poor fellow had a oarable headache.

Read the complete story here.

Pics Credit
Rowboat
Gator Fight
Cell Phone
Ticket
Gator Tears

The Boardwalk Makeover Group Needs Help with BINGO

As most of you are probably already aware, the Carolina Beach Boardwalk Makeover group is undertaking an ambitious plan with this year's boardwalk entertainment and they have just put out a call for help with the BINGO program.

If anyone can help with equipment or with donations, please get in contact with the POC.

E-mail:

The Boardwalk Makeover Crew is finalizing plans for all of this summer's exciting events. One of the things that we are very excited about is our sponsorship of "Adult Cash Bingo and Kids Bingo on the Boardwalk." To this end we are beginning to collect Bingo Supplies. If you or anyone that you know has information on where we could rent, buy, or have donated the following items, please email Tamara at tamaracb1@gmail.com.

25 tables(6x3)
100 folding Chairs
Bingo Board (not hardwired) and all Bingo Supplies (spinning cage, balls, etc...)
An enclosed trailer (5x10) or (6x12)

The Boardwalk Makeover is a not for profit 501(3)(c) entity and a portion of all donations is deductible. See boardwalkmakeover.org for more information.

Anyone who has a business which caters to children, has expertise in children's activities or would like to sponsor activities or equipment for children, please let us know. This is a "community coming together" and we would love for as many folks as possible to come together this summer at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. Email the volunteer coordinator at tamaracb1@gmail.com.

Thanx so much,
Tamara Cairns