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27th Annual Carolina Beach Music Festival Rocks The Carolina Beach Boardwalk's Beach Strand

One-of-a-Kind On-the-Beach Music Festival is a Carolina Beach Tradition

May 25, 2012 - Carolina Beach, NC - Do you love beach music, shag-dancing, and good old-fashioned summer fun? Are you in the mood for an original beach experience? Then boogie on down to Carolina Beach on Saturday June 2nd for the 27th Annual Carolina Beach Music Festival. Held on the beach strand at the Beach Stage at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk, the annual summer music extravaganza features the best in beach music, a laid-back style of rhythm & blues with roots on the Carolina coast. The fun begins on Friday night with a kickoff party at the SeaWitch Café & Tiki Bar with music by The Holiday Band. The Carolina Beach Music Festival takes place on Saturday beginning at 11:00am with continuous live music until 4:30pm. This year’s bands include festival favorites The Craig Woolard Band (11:00am); Band Of Oz (1:00pm); and Jim Quick & Coastline (3:00 pm). Gates open at 10:30am, so bring your chairs, sunscreen, and dancing attitude so you can spend all day listening and dancing to classic beach tunes. A shag dance contest follows at the Seawitch Café & Tiki Bar.

The 27th Annual Carolina Beach Music Festival is presented by the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce. Gates open at 10:30am. Coolers, beverages and food are allowed. No glass; no pets; no refunds. Tickets are now on sale and cost $15 in advance and $20 at the gate. Advance tickets are available at the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce (1121 N. Lake Park Blvd.) and other Carolina Beach locations. For details please call 910-458-8434.

For an original beach experience, spend the weekend at Carolina Beach. On Thursday evening (6:30pm-9:30pm) enjoy a free performance by Live Bait (blues; bluegrass), followed by fireworks over the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. Continue the fun on Friday night at the SeaWitch Café & Tiki Bar (227 Carolina Beach Avenue North) with live beach music. Rest up so you can spend all day Saturday dancing on the beach to three live bands at the Carolina Beach Music Festival (11:00am-4:30pm). Later Saturday evening, shag dancers and beach music lovers will compete for prizes during the Shag Dance Contest at the SeaWitch Café & Tiki Bar. Doors open at 5:00pm; contest begins at 8:00pm (admission charge). Dancers of all ages can sign up for the competition (based on availability) in three categories: Pro, Non-Pro and Club-Social. Or, just have fun watching as serious shag dancers kick up their heels and boogie the night away. Wind down on Sunday evening with a Free Movie by the Lake at the Stingray Amphitheater at Carolina Beach Lake. This week’s family film is “War Horse” (PG-13; begins at 8:45pm).

Discover Carolina Beach’s simple pleasures and unexpected treasures, such as the Venus Flytrap Trail at Carolina Beach State Park. Cast your rod and reel from the Carolina Beach Fishing Pier. Sign up for a party cruise or fishing excursion at the Carolina Beach Marina. Just minutes away, explore Kure Beach—North Carolina’s small wonder—where you can unplug and unwind. Fish from the state’s oldest fishing pier. Meet a rare albino alligator and a loggerhead sea turtle, or observe sharks and marine life at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. You can also stroll along a 5-mile stretch of undeveloped beach at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, explore Civil War history at Fort Fisher State Historic Site, or take a ferry across the Cape Fear River. Shop the island’s beach boutiques for souvenirs and summer fashions. Dine at restaurants specializing in fresh seafood and regional fare. At day’s end, bunk in at one of the island’s accommodations that range from oceanfront hotels and condominiums to independently-owned motels, beach cottages, or a bed-and-breakfast inn.

For a FREE Official Visitors Guide for Wilmington, North Carolina’s historic river district and the island beaches of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach, contact the Wilmington and Beaches Visitors Bureau at 866-266-9690.