The Ocrafolk Festival is a fundraiser for student and community arts programs on Ocracoke Island, a barrier island off the North Carolina coast reachable only by boat (including state ferries) or plane. Ocracoke is a popular vacation destination and, as we found out in 2018, the three-day Ocrafolk Festival is a great add-on to an extended stay.
The festival presents music on three primary stages, as well as storytellers, art and craft vendors, and additional activities, such as a square dance. In addition, evening shows at nearby venues, such as Howard's Pub, are associated with the festival and are free. Because the Ocracoke Village area is about a mile long, all festival sites are easily walkable or reached by rental bike or golf cart, or car. And, of course, the resort island has plenty of lodging available, including a National Park Service campground.
Many parts on Ocracoke were badly damaged by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, inlcuding in a grove of live oak and cedars at N.C. 12, the island's main street, and Howard Street (below), where the festival had been held.
Since 2021, the Ocrafolk Festival has taken place outdoors on the grounds of the Berkley Manor wedding reception venue, three buildings on two-and-a-half acres across from Silver Lake.
At Berkley Manor, the porch of The Barn serves as the main stage and two tents erected nearby house additional stages. Bands played inside The Barn Friday evening. Below are some photos of the Barn Stage.
The second performance stage was in a large tent on the other side of Berkley Manor (below) and the Workshop Stage was across the street.
Vendors were at the back of the property on a lawn accessible from the main street (N.C. 12 / Irvin Garrish Highway) as well as through the festival grounds, which required paid admission.
The Berkley Barn hosted the community square dance, which also featured the Green Grass Cloggers, and later, the Donald Thompson Blues Band.
Like other festivals, Ocrafolk changes from year to year as organizers work to please their audience and keep the festival financially viable. Previous versions included a potluck dinner and a live auction.
The festival expanded to Friday in 2017 and first charged admission in 2018. Beer and wine sales, from the tents at the Live Oak Stage below, were also new in 2018 and required buying souvenir stainless steel pint cups (at cost) to reduce environmental impact.
Meanwhile, life on the resort island goes on around the festival (in 2018 below), with its shops, restaurants and other activities just a short walk or ride away.
Much of Ocracoke Island is national park land. Below, the Ocracoke Lighthouse can be seen in the distance across the island's Silver Lake harbor. Below that, a sunset in 2021 from one of the docks on Silver Lake.
See our sister site, Carolina Outdoors Guide, for our guide to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
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