Beaufort Wine & Food Festival
The fifth annual Beaufort Wine and Food Festival from April 22 to 26 brings âspiritâ to wine enthusiasts and foodies on the Crystal Coast â North Carolinaâs Southern Outer Banks â made memorable this year as the town celebrates its tercentennial anniversary. Included in the weekend are a Grand Tasting Village, a Pinot Panel, Sommelier Seminars and a Moet & Domaine Chandon Celebration Brunch, as well as cooking classes, fine art auctions, golf outings and wine pairing dinners.
You simply can't visit a coastal area like this without indulging in some of the freshly-caught local seafood. Practically every restaurant in the area has local seafood on the menu - boiled, grilled and fried, or panned in butter for the true purist, with hush puppies and coleslaw - although of course some take more pride in their preparation than others. Take particular care if you decide to go to a seafood buffet, because quality can be extremely variable; you might want to ask the locals to recommend their favorite. A beloved dish throughout the Low Country the coastal Carolina/Georgia region is the intriguing combination of shrimp and grits: at its most basic, it's boiled shrimp atop Cheddar-cheese grits, but just about every restaurant that serves the dish has its own interpretation. Littleneck clams from Harkers Island are a local delicacy, as are shrimpburgers fried shrimp, coleslaw and sauce on a bun and the water-based "down east" clam chowder.
Another local specialty is the Bogue Sound watermelon, available only for a few months during the summer and renowned for its particularly flavorful taste.
Eastern North Carolina also cherishes the local recipe for pulled-pork barbecue: slow-cooked, shredded, seasoned with vinegar and hot peppers, and served on a bun with chopped coleslaw.
Finally, there's salt-water taffy, which isn't a local specialty as such, but seems to be a requirement for any beach resort area.
Beaufort Old Homes & Gardens Tour
History connoisseurs experience the charming setting of a quaint seaport village in the Crystal Coast â North Carolinaâs Southern Outer Banks â during the 49th annual Beaufort Old Homes & Gardens Tour, from June 26-27, 2009, in conjunction with the townâs 300th birthday. The Hammock House â Blackbeard the infamous pirateâs Beaufort escape â opens its doors for visitors this historic year during the Old Homes & Gardens Tour. The event also allows guests to view a variety of historic highlights from the oldest courthouse in North Carolina and the Old Burying Grounds with gravesites from early 18th century to award-winning gardens and charming private homes dating back as far as 300 years.