Core Sound Waterfowl Museum Presents Down East Day 

What exactly is "Down East?" Although that really depends on who you ask, by most accounts if you follow the stretch of islands from Beaufort, NC away from the mainland you're Down East right up until you get to the Outer Banks. Near as I can tell that means Cedar Island, Harkers Island, Bettie and a host of other small communities.

The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum celebrated the unique coastal heritage of the region known to coastal Carolinians as "Down East" with Down East Day in February at New Bern's Twin Rivers mall.

Event activities included performances of traditional coastal music, story telling, net hanging, decoy making and children's activities.

Traditional coastal crafts were demonstrated by an array of local artisans. Core Sound Museum staff members were on hand to provide children's activities, promote upcoming museum attractions and activities, and to provide information about becoming a museum sponsor.

Local fishermen and artisans demonstrated an array of traditional crafts like decoy carving and painting, ore making, crab pot building and net hanging.

According to one crafts-person, many of these traditional practices are still common place today. Take hunting, for example.

"I go huntin' every day…every day I can, that is," says 16-year-old decoy painter and hunter Caroline Corwin.

"Sometimes I get in trouble 'cause I go hunting when I'm supposed to be in school." Caroline has hunted for duck and other water fowl in the traditional Core Sound hunting grounds since she could tie her shoes.

Caroline learned the tradition of decoy making and decorating from her parents who own and operate Lucky Ducks, a decoy shop located in Bettie, NC. Her father, Bernie Corwin, runs Coastal Adventure guides. Strangely enough, Caroline says decoy making and duck hunting aren't as intertwined as one might think.

"Most people decorate their homes with these hand painted ducks," she says. With inexpensive, plastic alternatives today, Caroline says few hunters are willing to risk one of these works of art in regular hunting.

Trudy Lewis was among the fishing folk on hand, demonstrating net hanging, the process of constructing fishing nets from monofilament mesh, rope and floats. According to Lewis, net hanging is another traditional practice that is hopefully here to stay.

"When the fishermen aren't on the water they're mending nets and hanging nets. It's always been that way," she says. "I've worked around fishing all my life. There's just something about it, it's hard to say what exactly, but I love it. I love being around the water."

Storytellers and entertainers at the event included Connie Mason and Rodney Kemp.

Local teacher and historian, Kemp delighted and enlightened onlookers as he spun yarns revealing the local color and character of the historic coastal region.

Mason, curator of the Beaufort, NC Maritime Museum, performed folk music from the region and explained the significance of each song to the crowd. As she closed with a story explaining the song "Booze Yacht," the unofficial national anthem of the Core Sound, the crowd was all smiles and laughter singing along "…boys let's run to Cape Lookout, a booze-yacht's run ashore."

Trudy Lewis (right) demonstrates net 
hanging to a guest at Down East Day in 
New Bern, NC.

Caroline Corwin, hunter, artisan and down-right Down East kid, says these hand painted wooden ducks, which range in price from $30 and up, are sold more for decoration than sporting. Caroline says most hunters feel they get "more duck for their buck" using plastic decoys.