Join Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Friends of Jockey’s Ridge, and other local partners in celebrating the day the bulldozer was stopped 50 years ago at the back of the ridge on Tuesday, August 15, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Organizers will celebrate trailblazer Carolista Baum’s birthday, as well as all those in the community that helped preserve and continue to help preserve and protect this wonderful natural resource.
This free, family-friendly event takes place at Jockey’s Ridge State Park Visitor Center, 300 W Carolista Drive, Nags Head, NC 27959 (Milepost 12; Highway 158). It will include live music with Mojo Collins & Craig Honeycutt, as well as beer, food, shaved ice, and a sunset walk up Jockey’s Ridge at 7 p.m.
A few special notes:
- Previously, the festivities were held in the middle of the day. This year, it’s late afternoon and it ends with a walk up the dune for sunset with Joy Greenwood, the park superintendent.
- This is the first celebration serving alcohol, as beer has been donated by the Outer Banks Brewing Station and Tortugas’ Lie also donating a 1718 brewery keg.
- More live music. Mojo Collins and Craig Honeycutt (from the band Everything) will each be performing acoustic sets.
Jockey’s Ridge State Park is a North Carolina State Park in Dare County, North Carolina. It is approximately 426 acres in area and is the tallest active dune in the eastern United States. It is the most visited park in North Carolina, with three unique ecosystems: the Roanoke Sound, the dune system, and the maritime forest. In the summer of 1973, when sound side bulldozing had begun, Carolista Baum, a resident, confronted the machine operator and successfully demanded that it be shut down. On July 25, 1974, Jockey’s Ridge was approved for designation as a National Historic Landmark. In 1975, Jockey’s Ridge State Park was officially established, with approximately 125 acres.
Friends of Jockey’s Ridge – A nonprofit organization established in 1990 to support and maintain programs and develop facilities of Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Their mission is to support, enhance and promote Jockey’s Ridge State Park as a significant geologic feature of the Outer Banks, North Carolina. For more information, visit https://friendsofjockeysridge.org or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/friendsofjockeysridge.