|
Who's that Face Behind the Diving Mask?
by Angel Ellis Khoury
When we visit a place, sometimes it feels as though we wear a cloak of anonymity. Nobody knows us, and we know no one. And so, the waiter serving your seafood dinner appears to be just that, a waiter, or the massage therapist soothing away your stress is a pair of hands, and no more.
If traveling incognito is your ideal, that's fine, and if keeping your distance from those you encounter is more comfortable, then the Outer Banks can offer up whole islands of solitude where you can be yourself, or even someone else. Who's to know? That's one of the pleasures of travel.
But for some, stepping behind the facade and interacting with another culture is what makes it worth the trip. If you'd like to see beyond the stereotypes, engage in a conversation with that waiter, and you might find she'll be shedding that dorky restaurant uniform to put on Elizabethan garb fashioned by a Tony Award winning costume designer for her role in the nation's oldest outdoor drama, The Lost Colony, while the person who cooked your dinner might be the blacksmith at the Settlement Site at Roanoke Island Festival Park. Your massage therapist might be one of the volunteer divers at the North Carolina Aquarium, feeding the sharks while waving at your kids. That woman officiating at your barefoot wedding on the beach? In her other life, she's director of marketing at Roanoke Island Festival Park. The fellow leading your birding walk might turn his focus from the sky to the earth when he shows up for work as manager of the gardens and nursery at The Elizabethan Gardens. The woman at one of the many art galleries in downtown Manteo may have made the pot you hold in your hand, as well as the dessert you eat at her restaurant one block over. Here's a list of things to do on your visit to Roanoke Island, along with a wink and a nod at some of the people you might meet. As you enjoy the many historic, cultural and educational attractions on the island, talk to people, and don't be surprised if they're just as interested in where you're from and what you do. On Roanoke Island, visitors are people too.
ROANOKE ISLAND FESTIVAL PARK
(Hint: The technical director who sets the mood for children's performances such as The Arabian Nights is also a morning radio personality.) Plan for lots of time at this 25-acre island across from the Manteo waterfront, where history, art, live performances and hands-on activities make it one of the most fun-filled places on Roanoke Island, rain or shine. Venture aboard the Elizabeth II, a representative 16th century ship, where sailors perform their everyday tasks, from climbing the rigging to swabbing the decks. Attend programs in the History Garden, shows in the Art Gallery, performances at the waterfront Outdoor Pavilion, try on costumes or take aim at ducks in the interactive Adventure Museum, or see the film The Legend of Two-Path in the Film Theatre.
The Summer Children's Performance Series and the 9th Annual NCSA Summer Performance Festival are two of the park's most popular activities. From "Beauty and the Beast" to "Backyard Pirates," the children's programming is first-rate.
Bring a picnic dinner to the pavilion before a showing of an outdoor movie, or to an evening performance by students, faculty and alums of the North Carolina School of the Arts, ranging from "Drumsticks and Dance," featuring ballet, modern dance and a live percussion ensemble, to the hilarious staging of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Dance, drama, film and music are all part of the mix. NCSA also performs indoors in the afternoon. Another summer favorite is Bloody Mary and the Virgin Queen, performed on Wednesdays in late May and June in the Film Theatre.
Programs at the park change daily, so pick up a brochure or call for the current schedule. or let serendipity set your itinerary.
THE ELIZABETHAN GARDENS
(Hint: The executive director used to be captain of the Elizabeth II.) No matter the season, The Elizabethan Gardens is a getaway that's always refreshing. But especially when you've had enough of sun and sand, a stroll through 10 acres of formal and natural gardens, beneath towering live oaks along the edge of Roanoke Sound, offers a welcome change of scenery.
At the Gardens' historic setting, site of America's first English colony, a rose by any other name tells the tale, with varieties called the Queen Elizabeth, the Sir Walter Raleigh and The Lost Colony. Each turn through the gardens offers a different glimpse, and the combination of centuries-old statuary and dozens of varieties of plants such as camellias, herbs, hydrangeas and rhododendron brings to life the English interpretation of a 16th-century pleasure garden. Joining the beloved Virginia Dare statue this year is a specially commissioned statue of Queen Elizabeth. Another dramatic feature is the sunken garden, surrounded by arched hedges of native yaupon. Programming includes the international hit Elizabeth R, Shakespeare in the Gardens and Tea with the Queen.
DOWNTOWN MANTEO
(Hint: Luke, Charlie Brown and Sarah Churchill, of the Labrador, Shi Tsu and Fox Terrier varieties, show up for work at shops and offices; office perks include free dog biscuits at the local coffee hangout. And Elizabeth R herself, star of the play by the same name, lives on Sir Walter Raleigh Street, also the location of fabulous street scenes such as Dare Day, the July Fourth celebration, New World Festival of the Arts, Halloween Block Party, Manteo Preservation Trust Holiday Tour of Homes, Christmas Through the Centuries, the Christmas Parade and First Friday.) Don't wait for a special event; every day (and night) is a happening time in downtown Manteo, and the action isn't limited to Elizabeth R's street. Jam-packed into four or five strollable blocks are shops, restaurants, galleries, pottery studios and antiques stores, all locally owned and operated. Nearly all the restaurants have water views, and menu choices range from New American Cuisine to hot dogs to hushpuppies. Of course, the local catch is a daily feature.
Not sure of the day's forecast? Manteo's restored weather tower flies signal flags whose meanings are displayed on the tower. But rain or shine, there is a lot to do downtown, whether it's simply hanging out on the back porch of a boardwalk restaurant, or listening to live music, or crabbing from the town docks. Don't confine your downtown experience to dry land. Rent a kayak, or take a dolphin-watch trip, parasail ride, sailing tour or short ride on a traditional working boat.
Just remember, wherever you go, you'll probably run into someone famous, even if it's only a locally famous dog.
THE LOST COLONY
(Hint: Remember that waiter or waitress? Tips are very much appreciated!)
With actress Lynn Redgrave in the role of Queen Elizabeth during opening week, The Lost Colony continues to offer new ways to tell the centuries-old story of Raleigh's ill-fated colony on Roanoke Island. Even if you miss her guest performance, you won't want to miss Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green's work.
Using music, dance and drama, Green's play brings to life America's oldest mystery: what happened to the 120 men, women and children who vanished into the wilderness of the New World. And Tony Award winning costumer William Ivey Long's elaborate Elizabethan costumes and Indian dress, when combined with the play's spectacular waterside setting, are all the more reason to see this play, performed for millions of people as the longest-running outdoor drama in the nation. The play runs June 2 through August 18, Monday through Saturday at 8:30 pm. You'll also want to see special programming such as the Children's Theatre performance of Cinderella, Tea with the Queen, Shakespeare in the Gardens, and Backstage Tours.
N.C. MARITIME MUSEUM
(Hint: The volunteers sanding that boat or taking you out for a shadboat ride might also teach at College of the Albemarle or operate ham radios during a hurricane.)
On the same location where George Washington Creef built shadboats at the end of the 19th century, and where the representative 16th-century ship Elizabeth II was built, is Creef's boathouse, now home to the North Carolina Maritime Museum on Roanoke Island. A working boatshop that also contains exhibits, the museum offers a variety of programs and activities, such as "Build a Boat in a Day," watercolor workshops, and rides on traditional workboats. Also part of the museum is the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, featuring exhibits on the town's maritime history.
The Outer Banks Community Sailing Program offers week-long sailing classes for children. Even if you don't sign up for any of the activities, it's a treat to see the sawdust fly or kids in colorful Opti sailboats skirting across the bay.
FT. RALEIGH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
(Hint: The park ranger giving a talk on Algonkian Indians might have been one of the few to "drive" the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on the first 10 feet of its historic move.)
Interpretative and living history programs about the Roanoke Voyages, 1584-1587, add life to a summer visit to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, where the first English colony in America was established. With more than 500 acres of parkland on the north end of Roanoke Island, the site, with its huge live oaks, exudes some whisper of that long-ago time when colonists and Native Americans interacted on that very land.
The park also commemorates another historic settlement, the Freedmen's Colony of former slaves who lived on Roanoke Island during the Civil War.
NC AQUARIUM ON ROANOKE ISLAND
(Hint: There's a doctor, a teacher, a banker, a youth pastor, an engineer, a pharmacist, an EMT, a construction worker, a massage therapist, a Coast Guardsman and a physical therapist behind those diving masks, volunteering their time to feed the fish, clean the tanks and talk to visitors at the Aquarium.)
|
