The Ol' Front Porch Music Festival is a free event that takes place on the first weekend in October in the picturesque waterfront town of Oriental, North Carolina. The town closes three blocks along the Neuse River to cars so vendors can set up, and music is presented on a main stage adjacent to the riverfront and on the front porches of several nearby homes. It makes for a nicely relaxed festival with local and regional folk, Americana, bluegrass, country, gospel and jazz acts. The local brewery also hosted bands in its courtyard three blocks from the riverfront when we were there in 2021.
The main stage is on a grass lawn on a corner lot, and the town sets out folding chairs.
People familiar with Oriental will recognize Lou-Mac Park on the water across from the main stage area.
Up the street, The UHOOs, a local ukelele ensemble, entertained from a porch on Mildred Street.
Hoff n' Finch drew a large crowd at the Mattea Porch. It looks mobbed in the photos, but there were places to see the duo as well as hear them.
But if you run into a show that's too crowded at the Ol' Front Porch Festival, you can easily wander over (or bike or take your golf cart) to one a block or so away on Friday or Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, music is only on the main stage, with the show ending mid-afternoon.
Below, festival organizer Dottie Osmun, in the passenger seat of the golf cart, chats with friends. Osmun and her late husband, Dick, and Leslie Kellenberger founded the festival in 2014 as a nonprofit organization to celebrate and remember the music played on the porches of Oriental decades ago.
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