Festivals & Special Events - 8 unique shops on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, right across from Jockey's Ridge with fun Outer Banks activities every day!

Festivals and Events at Jockey's Ridge Crossing

May • June • July • August • September • October • November

June 8th
Kids Day Kick Off—Kitty Hawk Kites (mp 12.5), Nags Head.

Come visit Kitty Hawk Kites for a day filled with fun activities for the kids. Make and fly your own kite, get your face painted, demo all the new toys for 2011 and have lots of fun! This Wednesday family extravaganza kicks off our summer long Kid’s Day, held every Wednesday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The last Kids Day will be August 31, 2011. For more information call 1-877-FLY-THIS or 252-441-4124 or email events@kittyhawk.com.

June 11th, 10 am–June 12th, 4 pm
29th Annual Rogallo Kite Festival—Jockey's Ridge State Park (mp 12.5), Nags Head.

This kite festival celebrates the life and work of Francis Rogallo, inventor of the flexible wing. Without his invention, it may have taken decades more to discover hang gliding, kiteboarding, kites, stunt kites, power kites, parafoils, paragliders, and so much more. Kitty Hawk Kites will be offering FREE stunt and power kite lessons on the dunes as well as kite making at our Nags Head Store. Go to kittyhawk.com/community/rogallofestival.cfm for more information.

June 29th–July 1st
Outer Banks Sandsculpture Festival—Kitty Hawk Surf Co.at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing (mp 12.5), Nags Head.

June 29th–July 1st
Outer Banks Sandsculpture Festival—Kitty Hawk Surf Co. at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing (mp 12.5), Nags Head.

A professional sandsculpture company will be on hand to sculpt a huge sand creation. Kitty Hawk Surf Co., Peace Frogs, Brew Thru, Panama Jack Suncreen, OBX, and Outer Banks Hospital are sponsors. There will be fun events, raffles, and entertainment throughout the event. This is a benefit event for the prevention of skin cancer. Doctors from the Outer Banks Hospital will be giving FREE skin cancer screenings during the event - times TBA. All proceeds raised at this event go to the Outer Banks Hospital. Buy an event t-shirt from Peace Frogs and help support our local hospital.

Thursday, August 11th, starting at 10 am
4th Annual Watermelon Festival—Join Kitty Hawk Kites, Jockey’s Ridge Crossing and the Wright Flight Foundation for the Annual Watermelon Festival. On Thursday, August 11, come to the Kitty Hawk Kites store in Nags Head (mile post 12.5) for a big outdoor summer bash with a homegrown backyard feel.

The Watermelon Festival is so much more than fun. It is one of the most unique festivals on the Outer Banks! We'll have tons of fun activities for kids and parents like: the dunk tank, moon bounce, inflatable obstacle course, watermelon seed spitting distance contests, pie eating contests, t-shirt tye dying, face painting, kite making, and of course, tons of watermelon! Kitty Hawk Kites staff will be on site teaching kids how to use juggling sticks, balance boards, and letting them try out all of our top selling toys.

We'll also have live music, food vendors on site, and one of the best raffles on the beach! We'll give away over $2000 worth of prizes. Donations are accepted for participation in all activities. We'll also need several volunteers! Volunteers typically work half the day, and hang out and relax for the rest of the day. Shifts are only three hours.

Proceeds from the Watermelon Festival go directly to the Wright Flight Foundation--a local non-profit that rewards 5th graders, who achieve their academic goals, with flight! The foundation has helped improve performance in local school districts and has given children the opportunities to do things like hang gliding, tandem hang gliding, and plane rides, that they may have not been able to do before. Students are also educated about the history and basic principles of flight. For more information on the 4th Annual Watermelon Festival, please contact Nick Barrett, Events Coordinator, at events@kittyhawk.com.

Sept 15th–18th
Outer Banks Pirate's Festival—Kitty Hawk Kites at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing (mp 12.5), Nags Head.

Saturday, September 18th sponsored by Jockey’s Ridge Crossing

From 10 am to 2 pm, come walk the plank with pirates. Learn how to be a swashbuckler and a scallywag. Just bring your pirates to this fun and family friendly event. More details on this year’s pirate festival still in the works . . . but there are always several sitings of scallywags and plunderers throughout that week everywhere on the Outer Banks. But Saturday is always Pirate Headquarters at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing.

October 21–24, 2011
Soaring 100

The event will be the centennial celebration of Orville Wright's historic, world record glider flight on October 24, 1911 of 9 minutes and 45 seconds heralding the arrival of modern soaring. Exciting activities are planned at Jockey's Ridge State Park and Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Friday, November 25th, 10 am to 2 pm and Saturday, November 26th, 1 pm–7 pm
Hangin’ with Santa—Kitty Hawk Kites at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing (mp 12.5), Nags Head.

Santa is making his yearly visit to the Kitty Hawk Kites store in Nags Head (mile post 12.5)! He'll be at our store from 10 am to 2 pm on Friday, and 1 pm to 7 pm on Saturday! Come get your picture taken with Santa, and then go out on the dunes Saturday evening for Kites with Lights! We'll have tons of holiday specials going on inside the store, and FREE hot cidar and cookies on Saturday evening. Glow sticks, flashlights, headlamps, and other light toys can be borrowed to help light up the dunes for this unique and fun holiday event!

November 26, 2011
Kites with Lights

Jockey's Ridge State Park (mp 12.5), Nags Head. Watch the night sky magically transform as kites with lights glow in the sky atop Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Join us for hot apple cider and cookies beginning 4pm across the street at the Kitty Hawk Kites store. Kites go up around 3pm and will be in the sky until 6pm. This is a very well attended event so get there early to get your parking spot! For more information call 1-877-FLY-THIS or 252-441-4124 or email events@kittyhawk.com.