Parlor Talks
• Summer 2026 •
A special Thank You to Ignis Media for providing their video production services for this series.
7/30/26
The Atlantic Hotels of Morehead City
Geoffrey Adair
8/6/26
Cape Lookout Foundation’s Restoration of the USCG Station
Bud Doughton, Mason Williams, Garry Brown
8/13/26
“Coastal Heroes: An Old Newsman Looks Back at Those Who Fought to Make a Difference”
Frank Tursi
8/20/26
"Growing Up in the Promise Land and the Inevitable Changes"
Promise Land Friends
8/27/26
"100 Years of Shark Research off Cape Lookout"
Dr. Joel Fodrie, UNC-IMS
9/3/26
“Songs & Stories We Love the Best”
Connie Mason
6/18/26
“A 30 Year Perspective”
Foundation for Shackleford Horses
6/25/26
Today’s Generation
Fish House Liars (Chris & Billy)
7/2/26
“Our Amazing Seagrass”
Nate Hall, UNC-IMS
7/9/26
"The Wit & Wisdom of Ordinary People of Harkers Island"
Joel Hancock
7/16/26
“Opening Season for the Krakens”
Carteret Community College
7/23/26
“Everyone Has a Story”
Wayne & Staci Davis
• Water/Ways Speaker Series •
Summer 2026
As part of our Water/Ways Smithsonian Exhibition programs this summer, we will host a series of presentations that celebrate our traditions and stories while addressing the massive changes impacting our Water/Ways and our lives.
7/22/26
Water as Recreation
"The Sand People of Core Banks: 50 Years Surf Fishing at the Cape"
Frank Tursi
7/29/26
Water as a Way of Life
"What the Water Has Taught Me"
Wayne Davis & Staci Davis Basden
7/1/26
Waterfowling Traditions
“The Great Loon Hunt of Harkers Island"
Geoffrey Adair
7/8/26
Water & The Arts
"Sea Chanties: Whaling, Sailing and Fishing Songs"
Connie Mason
7/15/26
Water & a Changing Coast
“Changing Shorelines: Understanding Coastal Change & Community Choices in North Carolina”
Dr. Reide Corbett, Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University
• Summer 2025 •
6/19/25
The Education of an Island Boy
Joel Hancock
6/26/25
Medhaden
Joe Smith
7/3/25
Shackleford Horses
Dr. Sue Stuska & Foundation for Shackleford Horses
7/10/25
“Growing Up in Old Beaufort”
Geoffrey Adair
7/17/25
“Eastern North Carolina’s Baseball Heroes”
Frank Tursi
7/24/25
“Songs & Stories About the People I Love”
Connie Mason
7/31/25
New Programs at Carteret Community College
Dr. Tracy Mancini
8/7/25
Language and Life on Ocracoke
Candy Gaskill & Walt Wolfram
8/14/25
The Value of Diamonds
Lura J. Salter Hill
8/28/25
Fish House Liars Keep Telling The Tales
Rodney Kemp & Chris Yeomans
• Summer 2024 •
8/29/24
“Changes on Harkers Island”
Chris Yeomans & Friends
8/15/24
“Changes on Cape Lookout”
Jeff West
7/25/24
“Changes in the Town of Beaufort”
Geoffrey Adair
7/11/24
“Changes in the Seafood Industry”
Barbara Garrity-Blake and Jess Hawkins
8/22/24
“Changes in the Tides”
Dr. Katherine Anarde, Assistant Professor, NC State University
8/1/24
“Changes Down East”
Summer Interns
7/18/24
“Changes in our Local Schools”
Richard Paylor, Jody McClenny and Jeanne Huntley
• Summer 2023 •
9/28/23
“NC’s History with Hurricanes”
Jay Barnes
8/17/23
Foundation for Shackleford Horses
Margaret Poindexter & Carolyn Mason, Presidents Past & Present
8/3/23
“US Coast Guard History, Carteret County”
Todd Nelson, CDR, USCG(ret)
7/20/23
“Portsmouth Island Decoys”
Robbie Smith, Carolina Decoy Collectors
7/6/23
“Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Past, Present & Future”
Nate Toering, Cape Lookout National Seashore
6/22/23
“Shorebird Hunting & the Art of Shorebird Decoys”
Robbie Smith, Carolina Decoy Collectors
8/24/23
“Patrick’s Hill, Carteret County’s Only Lynching”
Geoffrey Adair, Historian
8/10/23
“Coastal Songs - Old & New”
Connie Mason & Emma “Emmer” Rose Guthrie
7/27/23
“Family Neighborhoods of Harkers Island”
Joel Hancock, “The Education of an Island Boy”
7/13/23
“Coastal Songs - Old & New”
Connie Mason
6/29/23
“The Tide IS Rising”
Panel Discussion - Researchers, Journalists, Scientists
6/15/23
“Fish House Liars”
Chris Yeoman, Friends & Fellow Liars
• Spring 2023 •
2/2/23
“A Tribute to Fish House Liars”
Chris Yeomans
2/9/23
“Songs and Stories We Love”
Connie Mason
2/16/23
“Promised Land”
Shannon Adams
2/23/23
“Cape Lookout Lighthouse”
Heber Guthrie
3/2/23
“Palmer Davis of Davis Ridge”
Geoffrey Adair
3/9/23
Sacred Threads Exhibit Introduction
Crystal Coast Quilters & Partners
3/16/23
“Feed Sacks’ Role in Quilting and Commerce”
Crystal Coast Quilters and Partners
• Fall 2022 •
7/14/22
“The Tide IS Rising”
Frank Tursi
7/21/22
“Dynamics of Extreme Events, People and Places (DEEPP)”
Elizabeth Frankenburg & Nathan Dollar
7/28/22
“Leaving the Banks”
Joel Hancock
8/4/22
“Cape Lookout Lighthouse History and Restoration Status”
Jeff West
8/11/22
“Cabin Culture of the Southern Banks”
Dr. Stan Rule
8/18/22
“The Value of Down East Culture in the Arctic Alaska”
Susan Mason
