Roanoke Island Festival Park
Encyclopedia
Roanoke Island Festival Park is a North Carolina state historic site located at the end of NC 400 in Manteo, North Carolina
on Roanoke Island. The park includes a recreated 16th-century sailing ship, living history demonstrators, a museum, and a variety of performing and visual arts. Admission includes the main attractions and is valid for two days.
. Exhibits include the colonial-era English settlers and Native Americans, ships and maritime history, Civil War history including the local Freedmen's Colony
, and a 1900s era general store display. Many displays include hands-on activities for children.
fleet when he first brought colonists to Roanoke Island in 1587. The ship is a square-rigged bark
with three masts, and 69 feet long, 17 feet wide and draws 8 feet of water. Guides dressed in period clothing portray the seamen and colonists who traveled to Roanoke with the fleet.
The ship was commissioned to be part of the 400th anniversary celebration of founding of Roanoke and America. Launched in 1983, she presented to the state as a State Historic Site on July 13, 1984 during ceremonies to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first English ships to the North Carolina Outer Banks.
, carpentry
, leatherworking and canvas
works.
about the arrival of the English colonists. The film was produced by the School of Film Making at University of North Carolina School of the Arts
, and is shown several times a day in the 242-seat Film Theater.
Visitors follow paths that wind through the natural habitat at the park. Homes, agricultural areas, and work shelters line the paths and await visitors’ discoveries.
Two longhouses represent the historical homes of American Indians from the region. One of the longhouses interprets the home of a leader from the community, and stretches over 30 feet long. A smaller and partially completed longhouse includes an interactive component that invites visitors to help complete the structure and also features a Dance Circle. Both areas contain interactive exhibitory that focuses on the developing relationship between the American Indian and English peoples during the late 16th century.
The exhibit has a planting and harvesting area where visitors can learn the advanced nuances of American Indian farming techniques. Three work shelters include activities like cordage (rope) making, mat and basket weaving, net mending, food preparation, tanning hides, fishing, boat building and gathering.
For more information, call (252) 475-1500 or visit roanokeisland.com.
across from Roanoke Island, is a public research facility focused on the history of the Outer Banks
. The Center features permanent and changing exhibits of local history, and is open on weekdays. The Center is operated by the North Carolina Division of Archives & History as a regional component of the North Carolina State Archives, and houses many archival historic materials including books, magazines, journals, microforms, personal and organizational papers, manuscripts, photographs, maps, oral history tapes and ephemera.
Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, located on Roanoke Island. The population was 1,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dare County.-Geography:...
on Roanoke Island. The park includes a recreated 16th-century sailing ship, living history demonstrators, a museum, and a variety of performing and visual arts. Admission includes the main attractions and is valid for two days.
Roanoke Adventure Museum
The Roanoke Adventure Museum is an interactive museum about the history of Roanoke Island and the Outer BanksOuter Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
. Exhibits include the colonial-era English settlers and Native Americans, ships and maritime history, Civil War history including the local Freedmen's Colony
Freedmen's town
A freedman's town, in the United States, refers to communities built by freedmen, former slaves who were emancipated during and after the American Civil War....
, and a 1900s era general store display. Many displays include hands-on activities for children.
Elizabeth II ship
The Elizabeth II is a full-size representative 16th-century sailing ship that was designed and named after one of the seven ships used by Sir Walter Raleigh'sWalter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
fleet when he first brought colonists to Roanoke Island in 1587. The ship is a square-rigged bark
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
with three masts, and 69 feet long, 17 feet wide and draws 8 feet of water. Guides dressed in period clothing portray the seamen and colonists who traveled to Roanoke with the fleet.
The ship was commissioned to be part of the 400th anniversary celebration of founding of Roanoke and America. Launched in 1983, she presented to the state as a State Historic Site on July 13, 1984 during ceremonies to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first English ships to the North Carolina Outer Banks.
Settlement Site
Costumed interpreters at the Settlement Site portray the colonist men and women living and working as they did when the island was settled. Visitors can try blacksmithing, woodworking and colonial games, and see how the colonists lived, farmed and cooked. Soldiers display the weapons and armor they used to protect themselves. Other trade crafts include shoemakingShoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
, carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, leatherworking and canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
works.
The Legend of Two Path
The "Legend of Two Path" is a 50-minute docu-drama film that portrays the views of the AlgonquiansAlgonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
about the arrival of the English colonists. The film was produced by the School of Film Making at University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
, and is shown several times a day in the 242-seat Film Theater.
American Indian Town
Explore Coastal Algonquian culture and history in the American Indian Town, an exhibit that’s new to Roanoke Island Festival Park. The town represents an American Indian community similar to what the English explorers investigated and surveyed during their voyages to Roanoke Island and the surrounding area in the late 16th century.Visitors follow paths that wind through the natural habitat at the park. Homes, agricultural areas, and work shelters line the paths and await visitors’ discoveries.
Two longhouses represent the historical homes of American Indians from the region. One of the longhouses interprets the home of a leader from the community, and stretches over 30 feet long. A smaller and partially completed longhouse includes an interactive component that invites visitors to help complete the structure and also features a Dance Circle. Both areas contain interactive exhibitory that focuses on the developing relationship between the American Indian and English peoples during the late 16th century.
The exhibit has a planting and harvesting area where visitors can learn the advanced nuances of American Indian farming techniques. Three work shelters include activities like cordage (rope) making, mat and basket weaving, net mending, food preparation, tanning hides, fishing, boat building and gathering.
For more information, call (252) 475-1500 or visit roanokeisland.com.
Arts
The Roanoke Island Festival Park Art Gallery showcases a different art exhibit each month with local, regional and international artists.Outer Banks History Center
The Outer Banks History Center, located in ManteoManteo, North Carolina
Manteo is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, located on Roanoke Island. The population was 1,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dare County.-Geography:...
across from Roanoke Island, is a public research facility focused on the history of the Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
. The Center features permanent and changing exhibits of local history, and is open on weekdays. The Center is operated by the North Carolina Division of Archives & History as a regional component of the North Carolina State Archives, and houses many archival historic materials including books, magazines, journals, microforms, personal and organizational papers, manuscripts, photographs, maps, oral history tapes and ephemera.
External links
- http://roanokeisland.com/default.aspx - Roanoke Island Festival Park Official Web Site
- http://roanokeisland.com/AmericanIndianTown.aspx - American Indian Town