Roanoke Island Attractions, Performances & Events

Pirates! A Boy at Sea

• Roanoke Island Festival Park's Outdoor Pavilion
• Roanoke Island
• (252) 473-3414

Presented by The Lost Colony actors, this playful production for children is about a boy who gets kidnapped by a magical pirate. It’s an hour of fun for kids of all ages. Show time is 2 p.m., and it runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from June 22 through August 11. Admission is $12.

Roanoke Island Maritime Museum / Creef Boathouse

• 104 Fernando Street, Manteo Waterfront
• Manteo
• (252) 475-1750

Originally a boathouse used to build world-record-holding speedboats, this building has seen a variety of boat-building uses in its day. The building’s double-wide doors and barn-like roominess create the perfect setting for this working boathouse museum. The Roanoke Island Maritime Museum is a treasure-trove of local seafaring history. Come inside for a look at some locally built boats and possibly to see boat building in the process.

Whatever you see, you’ll learn about the island’s traditional boats, what they were used for and how they were used. On the water, you’ll see a variety of traditional watercraft, the most noteworthy of which is the reproduction North Carolina shad boat, The Spirit of Roanoke Island, built by museum volunteers. Head over to the boathouse to see the Ella View, an original shad boat built in 1883 by George Washington Creef, the boathouse’s namesake. It’s free to tour this museum and talk with the volunteers and staff.

The museum has a number of programs and workshops to celebrate maritime heritage. They also offer boat rides in a traditional shad fishing boat once a week throughout the summer and Shallowbag Bay Sail-Abouts and Open Sails on Tuesdays starting at 6 p.m. throughout the summer, weather permitting. Call to register in advance. Outer Banks Sailing Academy, (252) 207-1719, teaches Youth Sailing Programs at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum (see our Recreation section or the museum’s website).

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse / Manteo Weather Tower

• East End of Queen Elizabeth Street, Waterfront
• Manteo
• (252) 475-1750

Perched over the water along Manteo’s waterfront boardwalk, the picturesque Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse is perfectly suited to the town’s maritime setting. This Victorian stick-style lighthouse is a reproduction of the third Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, which never stood on the Manteo waterfront but in the Croatan Sound from 1877 to 1955. Out there in the sound, the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse keepers lived on the lonely lighthouse platform and operated the light to help mariners navigate safely. This replica was built by the Town of Manteo and dedicated in September 2004. Inside the lighthouse is an exhibit about the history of the first lighthouse along with some boat-related exhibits from the neighboring Roanoke Island Maritime Museum.

Also on this site, the Town of Manteo is keeping the century-old tradition of the Storm Warning Tower alive with the Manteo Weather Tower. This particular tower dates back to 1904, when the U.S. Weather Bureau set up its first Storm Warning Tower in Manteo. Using flags by day and lights by night, the towers provided a useful service to local residents, especially mariners and fishermen, but certainly for others as well. A. E. Drinkwater, the town’s telegrapher, was the weather observer, and the tower was located first at the downtown courthouse, then at a location on the waterfront and then at Drinkwater’s home, where it stayed for decades until the Town of Manteo obtained it in 2005. The tower on the Manteo waterfront today is the original 1904 tower with the original signal lights and a bit of refurbishing. The Town of Manteo’s dock master changes the flags and lights according to weather reports, and locals and visitors enjoy interpreting the signals. If you need to brush up on your weather-warning flag symbols, a legend for the flags is available at the base of the tower and also on postcards available at the Maritime Museum and at Manteo’s Town Hall on Budleigh Street.

Silver Bonsai Gallery

• 905 S. U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo
• (252) 475-1413

Silver Bonsai Gallery features original art, hand-crafted jewelry and unique gifts. As you wander the gallery, bonsai garden and water garden, you’ll discover an impressive collection of fine arts and crafts by local, regional and national artists. Peek into the jewelry studio as owners Ben and Kathryn Stewart use heirloom-quality techniques to create their award-winning designs crafted from gold, platinum and silver. With more than 20 years of combined experience, Ben and Kathryn specialize in custom design, repair and restoration, and hand engraving. They are generous with their time and ideas and look forward to assisting you in finding the perfect creation to add to any collection.

The Andrus Gallery and Studio

• The Waterfront Shops
• Manteo
• (252) 305-5411

The Steve Andrus Gallery is the gallery and workspace of watercolor painter Steve Andrus. The gallery sells only Andrus’ work, and you will find the artist at work here as well. Andrus’ craftsmanship is stunning; he has a flair for capturing light and reflection. Much of his subject matter is nautical, focusing on beautiful sailing vessels on a stormy sea or docked in a peaceful harbor. His first-hand wilderness experiences in Taos, New Mexico, also bring some decidedly Western subjects to the gallery as well. Stop by to talk to Andrus and view his artwork. 

The Museum Store at Roanoke Island Festival Park

• 1 Festival Park Road, Roanoke Island Festival Park, across from Manteo Waterfront
• Manteo
• (252) 475-1506 ext. 252

Explore this store and find historically themed gifts, collectibles and memorabilia that includes nautical, Civil War, American Indian, Outer Banks and North Carolina items. The store has increased its selection of North Carolina artists to include more ceramics/pottery, handcrafted toys, copper garden stakes, prints, cards, mixed metal jewelry and wooden ware. Children will have fun exploring the period toys and games (wooden guns and swords, handmade toys and nautical gadgets). The store offers an extensive selection of North Carolina books, foods and wines. Friends of Elizabeth II receive 15 percent off purchases at the shop; forms are available in the shop. The shop is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week from mid-February through December. 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge Gateway Visitors Center

• 100 Conservation Way
• Roanoke Island
• (252) 473-1131

Coming soon, but not open yet, is the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s new LEED-certified visitor center and office complex on the north end of Roanoke Island across from the entrance to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. It’s a Gateway Visitors Center providing information on the 11 National Wildlife Refuges and one National Fish Hatchery in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. The facility, expected to be open in the spring of 2012, will include an auditorium, classroom, educational pavilion, exhibits hall and outdoor nature trail. The exhibits will include information about climate change, water management, fire-fighting, migration and recreational activities in the refuges. Kids will love the airplane with built-in videography that shows an aerial view of what they’re flying over. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new addition to the Roanoke Island attractions.

Wanchese Pottery

• 107 Fernando Street
• Manteo
• (252) 473-2099

In the red-roofed building across from the Maritime Museum, Wanchese Pottery features the handcrafted pottery of local potters Bonnie and Bob Morrill. Their work is beautiful as well as functional. Well-crafted bowls, pitchers, coffee mugs, dinnerware, oil lamps, bird feeders and more are stacked on the shelves in this quaint shop and studio.