Island Farm

Island Farm hosts its annual Garden to Hearth event to celebrate the fall season and the Thanksgiving holiday. Visitors will learn the various ways that Roanoke Island families prepared for the winter months on Roanoke Island in the 1850s. Join historic interpreters as they cook over the hearth, preserve vegetables, smoke mullet in the smokehouse, make candles, and explore waterfowling traditions. All activities are included with the $10 cost of admission for those ages 4 and older; children ages 3 and under are admitted for free. Freshly harvested produce (including sweet potatoes and fall greens) will be available for purchase as well. Island Farm, located on the north-end of Roanoke Island, offers a trip back in time to the mid-19th century. The living history site offers daily programs including visits with the site’s Corolla wild horses, blacksmithing, farmhouse tours, toys and games, weaving, and other traditional crafts.

Bring your friends and family to celebrate the arrival of fall at Island Farm! On the first four Saturdays in October, Island Farm will host its 13th annual Pumpkin Patch event. There will be no shortage of fun memories to be made, with a diverse array of fall games and activities offered. This year’s Pumpkin Patch will feature plenty of pumpkins – grown locally in Chowan County by a descendant of Island Farm. During the event, visitors will enjoy historic games, wagon rides, doll crafting, candle making, free blacksmith shop giveaways, and a new lineup of fall activities. The very best open-fire cooked popcorn, hearth-cooked corn cakes and apple cider will appease the taste-buds while visitors take in the sounds and sites of fall. In addition to the farm’s activities, there will be a variety of local art vendors and locally-grown produce for purchase on site.

On Friday and Saturday, December 6th and 7th Island Farm will host “Christmas on the North End,” an event focused on historic holiday traditions in the early days on the Outer Banks. On the first Friday and Saturday in December, costumed interpreters at Island Farm will share how Roanoke Island families celebrated the Christmas holiday in the mid-1800s. The homeplace will be decorated and lit by candlelight, while Farm interpreters demonstrate traditional mid-19th century traditions of food, celebration, and holiday craft. Guests will be able to visit with St. Nicholas, enjoy fresh cider, sugar cookies, a bonfire, and musket firing! Additional activities will include candle making, ornament crafting, and grapevine wreath making. Mark your calendar for Island Farm’s last event of the year, to commemorate the holiday season in warmth and celebration. The event takes place December 6th and 7th from 3-7 p.m. Admission for the event is $10 for those aged 4 and older; admission for children 0-3 is free. Island Farm is located at 1140 N on Highway 64, just north of Manteo on Roanoke Island.