One of my favorite events all year in this wonderful coastal town, is the Annual Saint Patrick's Day Festival. Turnout is expected to be around 20,000! The event takes place in the Emerald Plantation Shopping Center, in the eastern part of town. Physical address is 8700 Emerald Drive, Emerald Isle, NC 28594.

The festival is always on the Saturday prior to Saint Patrick's Day, which falls on Saturday, March 14th, 2009. The event is scheduled to occur between the hours of 9am- 5pm.

There is a kid zone, filled with rides for the younger revelers. Children ages 2-5 are eligible to participate in the Little Leprechaun Contest.

For the adults, there is a beer garden, with tables, chairs and great music. There is a midway, with wonderful food and drink, featuring Irish and coastal foods. This year, we are scheduled to have over 75 vendors selling authentic handmade arts & crafts, and their will be three separate stages featuring live entertainment. Be sure to catch Barefoot Wade, and Pamlico Joe. They are two of my favorites!

Island Dave and I look forward to celebrating Saint Patrick's Day with you, so please try to attend this wonderful festival!

As a lot of my readers may know, I own and operate a vacation home cleaning business. In all of the years (approximately six years now), this is the first luncheon that I have been invited to. A few generous home owners honor the property management company that take such wonderful care of their beach homes. I'm not complaining, in fact I don't work directly for the management company, I am an independent contractor.

Being an independent contractor has it's advantages, I essentially work for myself, and choose to be on everybody's side. I love living on the Crystal Coast more than anywhere else in the Continental, United States of America. I represent my community as a whole, and have appointed myself an unofficial Emerald Isle Ambassador.

The homeowners of this lovely three bedroom condo in Indian Beach, NC were adamant that I attend. That astounds me, but I am very honored that I was able to meet them for the first time and attend such a lavish lunch. Mrs. H. really knows how to entertain. She provided several dishes (homemade no less) that I've not had in a gathering of so many people! Including a fresh fruit dessert tray accompanied by a fondue pot filled with delicious dark chocolate! My other favorites were the artichoke dip, smoked salmon, and the cream cheese / wasabi dip.

Thank you Major and Mrs. H for a lovely afternoon, and for the wonderful bottle of wine that I have yet to share with my husband, and thank you for the Virgina peanuts for my crew members. They are already enjoying them!

Well, we're right in the path of where Hanna may make a landfall sometime midday Saturday. The most likely path still has the Tropical Storm coming ashore somewhere around the SC-NC border, but this morning's eastward movement puts Emerald Isle close to the action. We'll try to keep this page updated throughout the evening on Friday and during the day on Saturday if conditions warrant more info.

As of Friday, 6:45pm local time, the town of Emerald Isle is NOT under evacuation orders although a closure of the Emerald Isle Bridge is likely if wind speeds make crossing it dangerous. No major flooding is expected here, though typically flooded areas down Coast Guard Rd and Archers Creek are still prone to being overwhelmed if rain falls fast enough. More as we have it!

The 17th Annual Emerald Isle St. Patrick's Day Festival took place on Saturday, March 15th in the Emerald Plantation shopping center. I went and had a blast, enjoying a couple brews and bands in the beer garden. Infectious Blues and Jennifer Shelton Licko were fabulous. See all my photos from today in my Emerald Isle St. Patrick's Day Festival 2008 Flickr Set

The 17th annual Emerald Isle St. Patrick's Day Festival will be upon us soon. Everyone in town looks forward to the local rite of spring that takes place in Emerald Plantation, this year falling on March 15th from 9am to 5pm. There will be bands, a beer garden, food and craft vendors, rides, and more:

8 am at the Eastern Regional Access (2701 Emerald Dr.) Emerald Isle Parks & Recreation will sponsor an 8k road race. Registration is from 6:45am to 7:30am at the access. Fees for the race are $15 before March 10th and $20 after. The first 100 registrants receive a free t-shirt. There are seven age categories that have awards.

At 11 am on the main stage catch the Little Ms. And Mr. Leprechaun Contest. Boys and girls ages 2-3 and 4-5 will be in leprechaun costumes and judged on originality, creativity, and overall stage presentation. The contest requires pre-registration no later than 12pm Friday March 14th. Registered participants are asked to be under the main stage tent by 10:30am n the day of the contest.

The renovation project for the Emerald Isle police station was completed quickly and on schedule, and the department will hold an open house to celebrate. The open house will take place Tuesday, January 15 form 5-7pm. The Police station/town hall complex is in the center of town, opposite Emerald Isle Realty and west of Lee. The public is invited, and it is free to attend.

The Emerald Isle Police Department is pleased to announce the completion of the Police Station Renovation/Expansion Project.
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The result is a modern, expanded Police Station with improved evidence, property, and records storage areas; dedicated holding areas and interrogation areas; improved office space; and a more customer-friendly public reception area.

The Emerald Isle Friday Free Flicks continue in 2008 with the first offering on January 11. The movie will be Evan Almighty, and will be at the Parks and Recreation Gym near Town Hall. Showtime is at 7PM, and admission is free. Popcorn and drinks are available for $1. No outside drinks or food is allowed, and you should bring chairs or blankets. View the Flyer for more Emerald Isle Friday Free Flicks information.