Filmmakers look to promote Pleasure Island

There will soon be a new "welcome to" video to promote Carolina Beach and Pleasure Island, according to the Star-News.

Albert Hedgepeth III, founder of Rendered Communications and a producer, is hiring seven or eight people who have experience in the local film industry to help him with the video. They'll be shooting at various events and venues in Carolina and Kure beaches for the next several weeks, including inside one of the tanks at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

"Our objective is to give a modern, hip overview of the island to show the activities that are going on here," Hedgepeth said.

While he already has some of the footage on file from summer months, one of the biggest challenges will be shooting warm-weather activities now, such as surfing, paddleboarding and kiteboarding, he said.

The video should be a part of the site by mid-February, Hedgepeth added.

Blu Zeus Interactive Marketing of Wilmington is designing the new website. The last time it was updated was in 2007, said Gail McCloskey, president of the chamber. ...

"Our goal is to get people across the bridge, and once they do that they'll see all the things we have to do," [Chamber Assistant Director Greg] Reynolds said. "They'll say, ‘Wow, I didn't know that about that place. I didn't know there were so many things to do.'"

Towns pitching in for CB Inlet

Like many inlets along the N.C. coast, Carolina Beach Inlet is filling in with sand and is in need of some serious dredging.

Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers has no money to dredge, so the towns of S.E. N.C. are being asked to pony up, according to reports.

Carolina Beach on Tuesday agreed to pay as much as $55,000 for the $450,000 project. Other communities in New Hanover County will consider money for the dredging at meetings in the coming week. The state has already said it will pay half the cost of the project.

Pleasure Island known for the water sports

(From a press release)

Visitors to Carolina, Kure and Wrightsville beaches find ample opportunities to dive into water sport activities. Whether it is taming the area's world class surf, trying something new like stand-up paddle boarding or simply grabbing the boogie boards with the entire family, the three communities offer a variety of options for all ages and skill levels entering the last weeks of summer fun. Area residents and visitors alike are expected to flock to this year's 15th Annual East Coast Wahine Surfing Tournament, held at Wrightsville Beach Saturday, Aug. 20 and Sunday, Aug. 21. The nationally-recognized tournament draws almost 200 women surfers and even more surfing fans each year to the renowned Columbia Street surf break. The area is also known for the annual Southeast SUP Championship, drawing stand-up paddle surfers from around the region since 2009 for the nationally-recognized competition. Those considering a trip to one of the beaches might want to check out the rich local surfing culture. At Carolina and Wrightsville Beaches, families can take advantage of a number of surf school and camp options that make life easy for adults and children alike. Both private and group lessons are available for novice as well as advanced surfers. At Kure Beach, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher hosts summer surf camps for children ages 10 and up. ...

Carolina Beach, part of North Carolina's coast, remains a uniquely "original" beach. With a classic boardwalk, fascinating festivals and colorful characters, the beach remains an enjoyable destination for the entire family all year. For more information, visit http://www.carolinabeachgetaway.com or call (800) 641-7082. ...

Pleasure Island among best beaches in the state

According to Yahoo, Carolina Beach is among the best beaches in North Carolina. (Well, duh!)

"Back on July 1, 2010, Yahoo contributor Tricia Sabol wrote an article titled 'The Best Beaches in North Carolina' and she chose the beaches of Pleasure Island as the best in the state. The three beach areas of Pleasure Island were lumped into one due to their close proximity to each other," writes Carolina Beach Today.

Ms. Sabol noted in her article that because North Carolina is filled with so many wonderful beaches that it can often be difficult for visitors to chose one for their vacations. To help them out, she came up with her list of the top three in the state and here is what she had to say about naming the beaches of Pleasure Island as her top pick:

This is my pick for the best beach area in North Carolina. I have lumped Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher into one entry because of their very close proximity to one another on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. This area is less commercially developed than nearby Wrightsville Beach, so there are not many great options for shopping. However, what you will find at Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher are fewer crowds, gorgeous beaches, and a very relaxed atmosphere.

Both Carolina Beach and Kure Beach have small fishing piers, and Carolina Beach even has a small boardwalk with an arcade. A visit to Britt's Donut Shop on the Carolina Beach boardwalk is a must!

No more 'Cape Fear Coast?'

There's a move afoot from Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach to move away from the branding of "Cape Fear Coast." But it has received some push back.

Tourists want to plan a vacation using easily accessible information, and those who loyally choose to vacation on Pleasure Island want things to stay familiar, said Judy Randall, owner of Randall Travel Marketing, told the Star-News.

She suggested the town spend less time focusing on re-branding the area – despite the ongoing mission by the county's three beach towns to phase out the "Cape Fear Coast" logo to better identify each town.

Town boards in Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach each adopted a joint resolution this month that addresses desired changes to the way the Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau markets and promotes each town.

The resolution, which came out of a meeting Nov. 18 of the three towns' mayors and other representatives, states the towns' leaders believe the CVB's marketing and public relations efforts "may not effectively represent the respective beach communities in their best possible light and could hamper their full potential for their growth and development in tourism."

The resolution recommends phasing out the term "Cape Fear Coast" as the official brand name for the three beaches and placing each beach name along with Wilmington in official logos and marketing materials.

But Randall, who works out of Charlotte, said research showed most people vacationing in the area refer to the area collectively as "Wilmington."

Someone sitting on the beach, she said, won't necessarily say they are in Kure Beach or Carolina Beach but will say they're in the Wilmington area if asked.

Councilman Dan Wilcox argued that the issue to bring the names of the beach towns to the forefront of advertising campaigns was not about creating a slogan but about recognizing the beaches' identities.

"When we talk about branding we're talking about our name as the beach and being advertised as Carolina Beach, not a subsidiary of Wilmington," Wilcox said.

The joint resolution is awaiting signatures of all three beach towns' mayors and will be submitted to the CVB and other agencies for consideration.

Get bloggy at the beach

Shannan Bowen with Talk & Squawk has put together a list of Carolina Beach-area blogs. (She somehow left this one off! ;) You can read her thoughts here.

She mentions one of our favorites, CarolinaBeachToday. She also mentions the now-defunct Snow's Cut magazine, which is now an e-zine (online only).

"The Snow’s Cut e-zine features coupons, events, business news and interesting posts like one about the smallest house on the island (300 square feet)," writes Bowen.

Also listed are blogs at the N.C. Aquarium, and one from Kure Beach called Seawatch Happenings.

Don't miss the Island of Lights New Year's Celebration

Carolina Beach and Kure Beach are proud to offer the Island of Lights celebration each holiday season. The event(s) features a host of activities: a flotilla, a Christmas parade, a homes tour and much more.

New Year's Eve will be celebrated Pleasure Island-style with the "dropping of the lighted beach ball." (And we in Raleigh thought our Acorn was nifty.) The beach ball drops at midnight followed by "spectacular" fireworks.

This free family-friendly event will feature a DJ and dancing with refreshments available for purchase.

In an Island of Lights tradition, there will be a raffle, with the winner taking home the original artwork for the Christmas card and ornament.

Bring the family to the Boardwalk at 9 pm to join the festivities.

Sorry -- Our Beach Place is already reserved for this wonderful event. Maybe next year ... Of course, you could try to catch the fashion show in the spring. If interested in renting our unit, email us at collards12@yahoo.com or call us at 919-325-2941.

(Photo of the flotilla from islandoflights.org)

Pleasure Island: A NY Times 'Summer Destination' spot

The New York Times recently featured Pleasure Island in its "One Summer, 14 Weekends" piece.

"The Cape Fear River rambles past the historic and picturesque city of Wilmington, N.C., widening and creating slivery barrier islands with the river on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other," says the paper. "Pleasure Island, about 12 miles south of Wilmington, has the towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach as well as pleasurable beaches for catching a tan.

"But you can tackle the area by hiking in Carolina Beach State Park (910-458-8206), home to the carnivorous Venus’ flytraps. Or you can rent a surfboard or body board at SandBarz Surf and Skate Shop on the Boardwalk in Carolina Beach. ..."