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To paraphrase Paul McCartney, Dare Days, happening Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4, is getting back to where it once belonged: Downtown Manteo.
The annual festival, which started as a one-day event in 1975 and was expanded to two days in 1976 as part of the U.S. bicentennial celebration, was held along and near the waterfront of the charming town on Roanoke Island.
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But because of construction downtown last year, it was moved to nearby Roanoke Island Festival Park and College of the Albermarle-Dare.
The event, which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, received a warm welcome, however, with more than 4,200 people attending.
The 2022 edition of the family-friendly festival that features music, food, art and children’s activities also marked a return to its moniker “Dare Days.”
From 1977 to 2020, the celebration was held the first Saturday of June and was called “Dare Day,” though most locals still referred to it in the plural form.
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Last year, the main event ran Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday a praise concert was held at Pea Island Cookhouse in Manteo.
The latter is also part of this year’s Dare Days.
The free-admission festival, considered the unofficial kickoff of summer, has always had two purposes.
It gives residents a chance to catch up with neighbors and friends after the long winter and, according to the town of Manteo’s Program Manager Michele Bunce, who’s in her second year directing the event, “We really have a chance to showcase the diversity of our community.”
The downtown also is known for its unique shops and eateries.
This year’s festival has things to do and see for adults and children. More than 70 artists will display and sell their work, including photography, paintings, wind chimes, jewelry, toys and more, along the boardwalk and in George Washington Creef Memorial Park.
Activities for the kids include a dunking booth, an obstacle course, an inflatable zip line, a bouncy house, face-painting and rides like the “Dixie Twister,” “Swamper Stomper” and “Spider Jump.”
And there will be a variety of sounds for big and little ears.
“You’ll hear music in every little spot,” says Bunce.
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On the main stage in front of Dare Arts on Queen Elizabeth Avenue, the lineup features the Dare County Youth Orchestra and the Outer Banks Community Orchestra.
Other performers include Just Playin’ Dixieland, Riggsbee Road (an all-female country and newgrass band) and the Soul Psychedelique Orchestra, an 11-member group with a horn section that plays a variety of dance and party tunes from the ‘40s through today.
DJ “Mixin’ Mike” will be set up in the Town Common, along with a steel drum player.
And Dare Days wouldn’t be complete without a full array of festival food.
On the menu are, among dozens of items, funnel cakes, cotton candy, pizza, soft-shell crab sandwiches, cheesesteak, french fries, tacos, pizza, shaved ice and fresh-squeezed lemonade and limeade.
“We just want people to come and have fun,” says Bunce. “There’s a little something for everybody.”
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Want to go?
Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Downtown Manteo, primarily on the boardwalk, Town Common, Queen Elizabeth Avenue and Budleigh Street
Cost: Free admission
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What: Art, crafts, food, music and children’s activities
Shuttle buses will run from College of the Albemarle-Dare and Manteo Elementary School on U.S. 64, as well as Manteo High School on Wingina Avenue.
Sunday, June 4. 3-5 p.m.
Where: Pea Island Cookhouse, 622 Sir Walter Raleigh St., Manteo
Cost: Free admission
What: Gospel music and free lemonade and baked goods
For more information on Dare Days: manteonc.gov