Visitors are always welcome Today, Pender County Parks and Recreation announced the 2023 Hampstead Alive After Five concert series lineup. The concert series is open to residents and visitors. While you are here on vacation, we invite you to live like a local and enjoy the concerts. Bring a lawn chair and kick back. “We are pleased to offer this concert series again in 2023, “said Zachary White, Pender...
Sea Turtle Hospital News We often use the term “sweet” when we talk about our patients. Although some of them may have a bad day every once in a while, there are many times when our turtles are literally sweet. We’re always searching for ways to improve our rehabilitation protocols, especially when it comes to wound care. Years ago we started using honey on wounds that were resistant to the normal...
BURGAW – Pender County Tourism, Pender County Parks and Recreation, and Pender County Health Department are joining with a troupe of pirates, naturalists, and historians to host one family-friendly hike per month to celebrate the 2023 Year of the Trail. “Pender County is a trail county,” said Tammy Proctor, director of tourism. “We are crisscrossed by major trails such as the Mountains to Sea...
We celebrated the Year of the Trail in 2023! 2023 NC Year of the Trail celebrated North Carolina’s vast network of trails, greenways, and blueways which showcased our diverse landscapes – grand mountain vistas, quiet rivers, vibrant urban greenways, coastal forests, and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. NC Year of the Trail was the largest statewide celebration of trails and outdoor recreation...
Sea Turtle Hospital News We’re always ready to talk turtle. And during 2022 we had plenty to talk about. Last year we admitted the highest number of turtles in our history – 119. That number doesn’t include the patients we had on-site at the beginning of the year – 140 patients in total. To say we were exceptionally busy would be an understatement. And although turtles are our focus there’s...
News from the Sea Turtle Hospital We haven’t seen a lot of activity with local cold-stuns, but any critter that hasn’t made tracks out of Dodge by now is living on the edge. The water and air temps have dropped way below sea turtle comfy. All it takes is a few consecutive days of exposure to cold air and water for these cold-blooded reptiles to get themselves in a heap of trouble. Turtles still hanging...
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the tourism staff of Pender County! We are a place to visit, vacation, live, work, and play. The Pender County Tourism Office is here to welcome you.
Ring in the New Year in Burgaw! The Town of Burgaw, Pender County Tourism, Pender County Parks and Recreation, and the North Carolina Blueberry Festival will celebrate its 5th Annual New Year’s Eve Blueberry Drop powered by W. O. Grubb Crane Rental. “The annual Blueberry Drop has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the last four years due to the hard work of our committee,” said Cody Suggs,...
News from the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center The cold stuns are here. Every year, as soon as the holidays roll around, we know that any number of the turtles that strand along Cape Cod will be headed our way. On Dec. 2 , 15 defrosted critters reached the finish line at our hospital. It was a long and complicated journey, taking the efforts of a very experienced group of “turtle travel...
There have been several sightings of Mrs. Claus in Pender County as our holiday shopping begins. Recently she visited Olde Carolina Eatery. We were told by Mrs. Claus that Frances has been a good girl, especially on Wednesdays, which we all know is Chicken and Pastry Day. Why does Mrs. Claus shop in Pender County? Because It Matters Where You Shop! When you shop locally, you are supporting your neighbor-owned...
Sea Turtle Hospital News Our extended late summer weather has finally turned on us. This year we were happy to have that extra month because it allowed us to complete our renovations in record time and re-open for tours through the end of the year. And it gave one little green who got his release papers late in the season the chance to go home while the waters were still turtle tolerable. “Macaroni & Cheese”...
Sea Turtle Hospital News It’s been busy at our hospital since our public tours temporarily ended in October. Patients in various stages of rehabilitation were all relocated to our Sick Bay area and although it’s a bit crowded it’s only for a few more weeks. The renovations on Sea Turtle Bay have been completed and it’s looking marvelous, better than new actually. The biggest changes that our...
Have yourself a Merry Little Coastal Christmas! Celebrate your holidays in Pender County on Topsail Island. To kick off the season Surf City lights their 20-foot Christmas Tree by the waters of the sound with live music, kids’ events, and more. Lake Linda’s Christmas Lights featured on ABC’s Great Light Fight opens Thanksgiving weekend! Topsail Beach hosts the Annual lighted Christmas Parade and Celebration...
Yes, we in the tourism office know today is Halloween. We also know that tomorrow is Nov. 1. Christmas music will begin playing on XM radio. The stores sell ornaments, trees, and gifts galore now. Not even the appearance of The Grinch will steal our holiday spirit in Pender County! Pender County can match any activities that Whoville and Little Cindy Lou Who could imagine. Strike up the wuzztubas and snaptuccas...
Sea Turtle Hospital News With cooler weather and a major renovation project in Sea Turtle Bay rapidly approaching we needed to get our flippers in gear to make sure every patient cleared for take-off made it to the beach ASAP. On October 12th with a glorious Carolina blue sky and a friendly ocean, we bid a fond farewell to our last graduates for 2022. Three juvenile greens, Belle, Magenta and Jazzberry Jam were the...
BURGAW- For decades, tourism has trailed agriculture as the second leading industry in Pender County. The friendly rivalry between the Pender County Extension Office and the Pender County Tourism Office has been good-natured. The county extension director, Mark Seitz, serves as an ex-officio on the Pender County Tourism Development Authority Board. “When I reviewed the figures of our agriculture and timber...
The Public is Invited from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. In the early 1900s, when schools were segregated the community of Canetuck petitioned the county school board three times for a school building. The families, mostly sharecroppers, and laborers raised $1,226 toward a school building. Benjamin Franklin Keith and his wife, Lily, donated four acres to the school. Philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, of the Sears and...
CURRIE – The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, the first victory for the Patriots over Loyalists to England’s King, happened in the darkness of February 1776. On Nov. 19 visitors can journey back to that dark morning of the Revolutionary War as the staff of Moores Creek National Battlefield presents its annual Candlelight Tour. “Hear the history from John Grady, Colonel Caswell, Flora McDonald, and...
Tickets are on sale now BURGAW – Tickets to the Burgaw Holiday Tour of Homes are on sale now, the Pender County Historical Society announced today. The Burgaw Holiday Tour of Homes is set for Dec. 3, from 3-7 p.m. Tickets are $15 per adult and $5 for children ages 5 and under. “We will feature eight homes, the Burgaw Train Depot Museum, and a church on this year’s tour,” said Jeanette...
There’s no need to drive to Raleigh to see quality performances. On Nov. 5, Diamond Rio’s tour will stop in Surf City to kick off the inaugural Surf City Live concert. With major sponsorship from Corona Seltzer and a variety of local sponsors, Surf City Live “will bring concerts back home,” said Surf City Councilman Jeremy Shugarts. “Surf City seeks to expand events during the months...
The last nest laid on Topsail has hatched and hopefully a good portion of those babies made it out to the Sargasso Sea where they’ll spend the next year or so. Our recent admits have been victims of entanglements with fishing gear, mostly nets, and boat strikes. Some will be with us over the winter but thankfully most of them are short-timers that we will release soon along with several patients already given their...
BURGAW- The two-time nationally awarded Ghost Walk: Ghosts of Pender’s Past returns for a hauntingly good fifth season. For two nights, Oct. 21-22, the Burgaw Cemetery, located at 400 N. Wright St., will be alive with ghosts, haints, and pirates who tell no tales. Tours start at 6 p.m. nightly. “We have new ghost stories that will cause you to look under the bed at night,” said Stephanie Key, art...
There’s a hidden gem in Pender County, standing at the corner of W. Bridgers and N. Dudley, filled with a treasure trove of information and local history. This gem is the Pender County Museum, operated by volunteers of the Pender County Historical Society. “The historical society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the house in 2017,” said Jeanette Jones, a board member and former president of...
Willard is home to a destination that sings in color. That’s how David Johnson describes the gardens and nursery at Johnson Nursery, “will be singing in color.” The business is growing at 985 Johnson Nursery Rd., just off Interstate 40. One of the largest commercial growers in the state, Johnson Nursery opened a retail garden center with a beautiful variety of 1,400 varieties of annuals, perennials,...
Sea Turtle Hospital News Nesting season officially ended on Aug. 31, but even though your chances of seeing a mama nesting are pretty much gone there is another component of the circle of life that’s just as interesting and done early in the evening – a nest analysis. A minimum of seventy-two hours after the main hatch Topsail Turtle Project volunteers gently begin excavating the nest and removing the...
