2024 Ocracoke Working Waterman's Festival

Join us in celebrating the 2nd annual Working Waterman's Festival on Ocracoke Island! This Ocracoke Heritage Event aims to share the rich history and continuing tradition of working on the water in Ocracoke. Since the first inhabitants of the island, Ocracokers have made their living on the water. Islanders originally worked as pilots, guiding ships through the treacherous Ocracoke Inlet. Their livelihood has depended on fishing, crabbing, clamming, oyster harvesting, decoy carving, and becoming guides for duck hunting and fishing. Fishing in particular is a huge part of Ocracoke's history - from Islanders becoming charter fishermen and commercial fishermen, to beach fishing and working in fish houses. All of these occupations continue today, handed down through the generations. 

The Ocracoke Preservation Society has worked with local watermen to create the Working Waterman’s Festival so as to keep these traditions and the history and heritage of this important work alive. The…