Leaving Manteo

The last couple of days in Manteo were very weird and strange as we were involved in a car crash on October 23^rd and so we had to miss our Bon Voyage Party and waste 2 days waiting for a replacement hire car as the last memory.

To coin a phrase we were ‘t-boned’ – I was driving and started to turn left at some traffic lights, turning on to a main road and as I pulled out someone ran straight into me driver’s side on as he had gone through a red light. Luckily myself, Dave (who was in the front passenger seat) and our friend Sally (visiting us from Tucson and was in the back) were all not too badly injured. Sally was actually hurt the most and had a ot of bruising and was hardly able to breathe immediately after the accident. Sally and I were whisked off very quickly to the hospital, in separate ambulances, for an MRI to check for any damage. I took a little longer to get out of the car as I had neck and head pain and so the paramedics didn’t want to take any chances and the damaged driver side doors were cut off by the ‘jaws of life’ courtesy of the fire department so I didn’t have to climb out over the passenger side!

All of this was expertly handled by the various departments – police, fire, hospital – the driver of the other vehicle was devastated and hung around until we were all on our way to the hospital. His insurance company will handle and pay for all the costs for the car and medical treatment.

The worst thing was that we missed our Bon Voyage party that had been organised for us by our friend from The Elizabethan Gardens, Carl Curnutte. We did put in a brief appearance on our way home and there were a few people still there, but it was very sad not to have everyone gathered to say goodbye to, eat and drink with, deliver a leaving speech and take final photos of the many great contacts and new friends made. There was a lot of food and rink left over and we were given some 'to go' boxes filled with goodies to eat when we got home. We finally made it home to recover and get over the shock of it all about 3 hours after the accident. Carl Curnutte was amazing - he came to the scene immediately and stayed with us at the hospital, driving us all home. Thank you Carl!

The Sunday and Monday were the last 2 days in Manteo and very frustrating as the rental car company had to be dealt with, we had to wait until 4pm on Monday for another vehicle and were going backwards and forwards to the rendezvous point only to have another delay (tho I did borrow a friend’s car on Monday) and also had to fit in packing and tidying and cleaning the house.

So an unusual and unplanned end to the Manteo side of the fellowship.

I left feeling that an awful lot had been put into place as very much a starting point for future projects, collaborations, journeys and relationships. A lot has been learnt about how a small town has worked together to plan and develop it, particularly with a view to creating an attractive place for both residents and visitors and to capitalise on the history there. I have drafted a 3-year plan for an Arts Exchange Programme, between Bideford Bay Creatives and Dare County Arts Council initially, with scope for other partners to become involved, including Bideford 500, Burton Art Gallery and Museum in Bideford and The Elizabethan Gardens, The Lost Colony and the Aquarium in Manteo. As the start of the 3-year plan, there is a confirmed 'postcard project' that will happen at the end of May / beginning of June 2011 with an exchange of artist made postcards in Bideford and Manteo and a simultaneous exhibition of them in both towns.

Also the town of Manteo is very excited about and keen to jointly celebrate Bideford's Heritage Day on July 2nd, being organised by Bideford 500's Committee and by me as their Project Development Worker. There will be a live web link up and celebration on the day so that both communities can see and hear each other.

First Friday and the Beach Book

October 1^st heralded in the First Friday event in downtown Manteo and my itinerary planning made sure I was there for the occasion. Its an American phenomenon, one I have witnessed in many towns and cities across the States. In essence its a community event, an excuse to come out into the streets and gallery spaces, to meet people, eat, drink and listen to live music. All for free.

Dare County Arts Council co-ordinate Manteo's First Friday programme and it runs annually on the first of the month from April to December. Its also a very family friendly event and there are activities for kids to keep both them and Mom and Dad happy. I learnt that the town of Manteo pay for the bands and on this occasion there were three different ones playing – 2 solo artistes in the vicinity of the Arts Council building (one on the front porch and one in the back yard) and a duo up the road in front of one of the cafes.

There were 2 arts openings at the arts council space – one to celebrate the 2010 Beach Book prize and another show called Ben2, by 2 artists called Ben! Dave and I were invited to judge this year's Beach Book prize, which was quite an honour and we did this in the morning as Gallery Director Fay had already hung the show the afternoon before. The Beach Book is a phone directory covering the Outer Banks area and each year a competition is run to select a winner whose artwork becomes the front cover. There are also 3 merits awarded, the first of which becomes an image for a calendar. It was quite a job to make a selection as there was a variety of styles and the task was difficult as we had to visualise the image on the front of the phone book, so it had to work in that context – without a frame, textureless and printed. In the end we selected a painting by Katy Caroline; it was a view of a beachside houses and garden from someone swinging on a hammock and so was at a jaunty angle. We had no knowledge of the history of this prize, or of the artists who submitted work but it turned out that Katy Caroline was 'people's choice' winner last year and is also an artist who is really beginning to make her mark locally and as someone put it is 'on a roll' She is also featured in this month's 'Our State' magazine – so unwittingly we made the right choice and a very popular winner!

First Friday was busy with folks at the Arts Council galleries and in their back yard, where the bar, music and kids stuff was. There was a lovely atmosphere with everyone happy and wandering about at their leisure. From the promotional posters I saw, it wasn't the best one as in the Summer months there are costumed interpreters, a climbing wall, more artists selling their wares on the streets – but the weather has been unkind recently as the September First Friday was called off due to the hurricane and this one didn't fare much better as the main street in town was flooded and made access difficult. In fact people were calling Laura in the afternoon to check it was all on and she was in a position to make the decision and say yes. But being there and taking part was great and informative and gave me some ideas for what Bideford could do if we were to start up a First Friday programme in 2011, as Bideford Bay Creatives have talked about doing during this year.

Getting to Manteo

We've been in Manteo for 5 days now, and it hasn't stopped raining yet!This is a picture Dave took of the main street in downtown after a morning, very rare occurance, flood.

The rain started a few days ago in Wilson NC, we'd checked in early at a Jameson Inn with a coupon and were driving downtown towards our destination Golden Corral 'all you can eat buffet' (excellent food from Raleigh based national company), when the first rain for 6 weeks came. We had earlier read about the drought that the Eastern States were experiencing; record breaking high temperatures and the risk of Alabama's peanut crop being ruined. There had been early warnings on the TV and we'd heard rumblings of thunder, but nothing could have prepared us for the ferocity of the downpour. Dave managed to park less than 30 feet from the entrance yet still everything but our waterproof jackets were soaked.

Great weather for frogs, they were all out over the roads when we got back to the motel. Deep fried frogs legs is one of the many Southern delicacies on offer at the Golden Corral.

The journey to Manteo on the old Albemarle Highway 264 was a slow one with rain sometimes so torrential that Dave had to find somewhere to pull over, windscreen wipers just couldn't cope with the deluge. The rain let up a little as we spotted a sign post for Historic Bath – ' North Carolina's first town', established 1705. We pulled off the road and had a quick look around. I went into the visitor's centre and surprised the lady working in there as, although the door at the side was open, they were shut to the public that day! Never the less she was very helpful, gave me a brochure about the town and some information. It was originally settled by French Protestants but there were early English inhabitants, including John Lawson wrote the first history of Carolina. There was no known artefacts of old pottery found there, to her knowledge. I drove around whilst Dave did a movie from the car window of the quaint and rustic old wooden buildings alongside the water.

Leaving mainland USA for Roanoke Island on the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge which must be at least 5 miles long is a sight to savour even on a dull, rainy day. The low, long, straight bridge suddenly peaks in the middle, to allow ships to pass underneath, and it's at this point that you realise where you are.

Our home, where we'll be based for 4 weeks, is a detached wooden 3 bed cabin, all on one level. It's at the North End of the Island in Fort Raleigh Historic National Park, surrounded on 3 sides with thick forest, the other having some National Parks service buildings. It's very quiet here in the evenings except for the continuous drone of insects and the rain, of course!
The rain has just stopped so here's a picture of the outside of the accommodation. I'll show you the inside when the sun comes out. Thanks to the Park's Service for such a good rate on this and to Carl Curnutte for getting us the deal.