Bluegrass festival coming to Pleasure Island, restaurant changes 'vibe'

In the mood for some bluegrass (and apparently moonshine)? The Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce presents the 1st Annual Bluegrass By The River on May 12th at the Ft. Fisher Air Force Recreation Area. 



From a press release:

This year will feature a variety of bluegrass music with five of the best bands in the southeast. Starting out the afternoon will be local favorites South of K from Kure Beach, NC. with their traditional and inspiring bluegrass selections. To mix it up just a little, we are bringing you The Mystery Hillbillies from Winston-Salem with their special renditions of bluegrass standards as well as some Patsy Cline and a little rock-a-billy to boot. ...

In addition to the great music on the stage, we encourage musicians to bring their instruments and voices to participate in the Open Jam that will be going on all day at the Beach House (inside and outside on the deck). We will also have clogging demonstrations, antique tractor exhibitions as well as mule rides for the kids, ¦we might even have a wash-tub bass exhibit or maybe some moonshine to sample. ...

Tickets are just $10.00 in advance or can be purchased at the door for $15.00 for this one day event. Tickets are available on-line at www.EventBrite.com or at many local establishments. Kids 12 and under are free. Gates open at 11:30 am. We ask that you do not bring coolers or pets, but bring your chairs, towels and blankets for a Pleasure Island style shindig! Remember, Pickin’ and Grinnin’ are encouraged. See you there!


In other news, the Hang Ten Grill in CB are "going for a surfer vibe," according to the Star-News,  "and now the space at 308 S. Lake Park Blvd. (the former Treehouse Bistro location) is decked out with vivid oranges and blues. They've created an open floor plan and blonde-wood seating lines the walls. The menu features traditional favorites like nachos, burgers, wings and hand-cut fries. Hang Ten will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with menu items priced at $10 and less. Bre Danel, one of the owners, also mentioned that menu items like the burgers will be fresh-made in house. The restaurant should open soon."

Happy times! Britt's is open

Ah, the joys of fantastic donuts!

The day that locals anxiously wait for and visitors hear about as they cross into Carolina Beach is finally here…Britt’s Donuts is open for the season.

The Nivens family has operated Britt’s Donuts on the Boardwalk in Carolina Beach for more than 30 years.

The line began forming for the infamous donuts well before the doors opened at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Wing Fling a success, next comes a celebration of chowder

The 16th annual Wing Fling took over CB on Saturday. According to reports, thousands attended. WECT's Jon Evans won the wing eating contest by devouring 12 wings in one minute and three seconds. Well done, sir.

The next big event for CB will be the 16th annual (what was it about 16 years ago?) Chowder Cook-Off, which will be Saturday, April 14.

The 2012 Pleasure Island Chowder Cook-off is a family-oriented event that is all about delicious food, good music, and fun for all ages. Chefs from Carolina Beach, Wilmington, and beyond will prepare their best seafood chowder recipes between the hours of 12:00pm and 4:00pm. Children will enjoy the park's playground and a Kidz Zone with face-painting, a giant inflatable house, and more.

During the cook-off, enjoy live music and chowder-tasting (and voting) between 12:00pm and 4:00pm, but make sure to arrive early while the chowder is abundant. Area restaurants that are participating this year include: Havana's Fresh Island Restaurant, The Lazy Pirate, Seaside Grille at Courtyard by Marriott, SeaWitch Café & Tiki Bar, and the Veggie Wagon in Carolina Beach. Wilmington restaurants include Cape Fear Seafood Company and O'Charley's. The Grille in Shallotte is a first-year contender. The day-long chowder showcase features live entertainment by the Mark Roberts Band (variety dance band) at Carolina Beach Lake Park's Stingray Amphitheater. At approximately 5:00pm, be sure to join in the celebration of People’s and Judges' Choice awards.

Want to go? Gates open Saturday, April 14 at 11:30am. A modest admission charge of $5 for adults will provide a taste of some of the best chowder this area has to offer during a friendly culinary competition. Admission is free for children ages 12 and under. No coolers permitted, as beverages and food will be available for sale. Chairs, blankets and children are welcome, but please leave pets at home.

That Coastal swing

It's hard to grow up in North or South Carolina and not be exposed to beach music. It's pretty much in our blood.

Well, an article from Wrightsville Beach Magazine is an insightful one about the genre.

Its a hot summers day. Its the rushing wind through a topless car. Its a midnight stroll on the beach. Its a hotdog on the boardwalk. Its a trip to the fishing hole. Its boy meets girl. What is it, you may ask? It is the smooth, coastal sounds of southeastern Carolina beach music.

For nearly 50 years, beach music has engaged multiple generations in a musical tradition that was born in the Cape Fear region. It is the convergence of soul, rhythm and blues, country and a little bit of rock and roll. All of these influences are wound up to produce a sound that is distinctively regional and characteristic of the fun-loving lifestyle that is portrayed in the lyrics.

On a Thursday night in Wilmington, N.C., Jim Quick and Coastline take the stage at a local music venue. The dance floor is empty, but all of that changes once the band plugs in. Vibrations bounce from the instruments and speakers off the wall and into the listeners ears, uniting everyone in the room. For some, fond memories well up from within. For others, the music evokes the anticipation of good times yet to be had and memories yet to be made. Like a magnet, the music pulls both young and old to their feet and onto the dance floor.

"It is hard for anybody to listen to beach music and say, I dont like it. It is just happy, feel good music," says Jim Quick, the lead singer and frontman of the band. Quick grew up in Scotland County, North Carolina, in a place known as Gum Swamp. He had his first taste of music listening to the soulful sounds of The Dominoes and Sticks McGhee, which were favorites of his caretaker, Miss Ruby.

Quick and his band began working with beach music legend, the late General Johnson of the Chairman of the Board in the 1990s. It was a chance for the young band to learn from a man that had recorded beach music classics such as "Carolina Girls" and "Give Me Just a Little More Time."

"He was the number one lure," Quick says. "We have to go in and grab those college kids and the General was the best at that. He was a pro." General Johnson mentored Quick, teaching him how to hook listeners and create disarming set lists that had crowds, in a sense, dangling on a string.

At any given Chairman of the Board show in Wilmington, it was not uncommon for the room to be shoulder to shoulder. Lifelong fans would shag dance casually in an open area while college kids crowded the stage, shouting the words of Motown classics that were written decades before they were born.

But this scene is not unique to the Chairman of the Board. Other beach music bands like Band of Oz, which also worked with General Johnson, include songs in their set list that are targeted to attract new generations of beach music fans.

"You will be shocked to see how many high school and young college age kids are out there shagging and just like the beach music," says David Hicks, the drummer for Band of Oz, "but we also want to give them a little bit of dynamite and throw that mix in."

Click here for the rest of the article.

CB's 'road diet' reversal set

Seems CB's "road diet" problem is not quite over. Not quite. But almost.

"The reversal of a hotly contested road project in Carolina Beach looks like it will finally be coming to an end," says WWAY.

Fattening Lake Park Blvd on Pleasure Island is on track to be completed by one of the busiest weekends of the season.

Since it was implemented a few years ago the “road diet” has caused public outcry about traffic and parking problems. In 2010 the "diet" reduced the four lane road to two lanes with a center turn lane and bike paths along with diagonal parking.

Town manager Tim Owens says the reversal should be completed by Memorial Day weekend. ...

The road diet was originally part of a plan to give downtown Carolina Beach more of a "main street" feel.

Wing Fling to return

I can't say I'm familiar with this event, but it's typically good to see events return.

The 16th annual Wing Fling will be back in Carolina Beach this spring. The event moved to Pleasure Island last year after problems getting a liquor license in Wilmington [says WWAY].

This year's Wing Fling is March 24 at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. General admission tickets are $15. VIP tickets are $20. Admission includes wing tasting from area restaurants and live music.

Proceeds benefit Wilmington's Residential Adolescent Achievement Place (WRAAP) and the National Education Foundation Scholarship Fund.

A new couch ... and some new sand!

We are excited to report that Our Beach Place should have a nice, sparkling new sofa come this weekend. Those of you who have stayed at the OBP know that it's long overdue. We're very excited.

We're also excited about this:

Congressman Mike McIntyre's office announced [last week] Carolina Beach is one step closer getting much-needed dredging.

The memorandum of agreement or MOA between the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the state of North Carolina to pay for the project has been approved. The agreement will allow the state and local communities to pay the Army Corps to dredge the Carolina Beach inlet as well as the Lockwoods Folly and New Topsail inlets.

State leaders say the waterways are critical to commercial and recreation fishermen and the tourism industry.

Huzzahs all around!