Village Market & Food Park
At the Village Market, you will find artisans selling their arts, crafts and collectables. You can participate as a vendor at the Village Market. Applications here:
The Food Park features local nonprofit organizations teamed up with area restaurants to offer a variety of “grab and go” food items. If your nonprofit organization is interested in being part of the Festival, send your contact information to info@olfrontporch.org..
The Village Market is located at Lou Mac Park. The Food Park is along South Avenue.Village Market
Alpacas of the Crystal Coast: Alpaca outerwear. Socks, gloves, hats and scarves. Dryer balls, felted items and alpaca stuffed animals.Backwoods Barbie: Crafts, Art, Farmasi
Barbara Moore Pottery: Barbara will have handmade stoneware and porcelain functional pieces. These include mugs, vases, bowls, teapots, jugs, dishes, jars, and pitchers.
Blessed Day Creations: Driftwood trees, wooden game boards, clay nativities, jewelry.
Bayboro Development Center: Bayboro Development Center’s mission is to assist and improve the quality of life for individuals who have been incarcerated and are returning to our community.
Beth’s Beads: Artist Janine Gillian will have her hand braided bracelets, necklaces and earrings. This year she has made beautiful beaded watch bands for Apple watches.
Buff City Soap/Sun Tan City: Plant based soap and body care products. Also selling laundry dryer balls, and scent boosters.
Chey Guy Co: Crochet items from clothes to plushies.
Art by Elaine Hinchman: Elaine’s paintings are acrylic textured of sailboats and the coast. The texture gives the observer a feeling of movement in the waves and wind. It evokes the feeling of sea spray lightly misting their face and sand between their toes, making the viewer feel present on the picturesque coast.
Empty Nest Studio and Gallery: Jewelry made from seashells found on the beach. A mold is made and cast in silver, copper and bronze. Textures from shells, driftwood, barnacles and coral are also used in the castings.
EP7 Youth Outreach: EP7 Youth Outreach Is A Faith-Based, Human Service Organization Which Provides Bereavement Support And Educational Services For Youth And Their Families.
Fish Eyed Fool: Handmade wooden trivets featuring fish, turtles and other shapes, also handmade wooden cajons.
George Peele: Original watercolors Focused on workboats and landscapes of North Carolina’s Inner and Outer Banks.
Heather Cobham: Local author of three award winning novels set in Oriental: Hungry Mother Creek, The Mother Tree and the newest release, Calling the Circle.
Holt’s Chapel Community Center: Holt’s Chapel Community Center is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located at 136 Janiero Road; a Rosenwald school that served African American children from 1921 to 1963.
King James Paradise of Jewelry: Paparazzi accessories. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings and hair accessories.
Roz Kutchins: Make your own silver dragon and nautical charm earrings and pendants with your choice of beads. Proceeds go to PAWS (Pamlico Animal Welfare Society).
Mike Walker Intarsia: Wall art made from solid natural hardwoods from around the world.
Neanderthal Pottery: Sculptural and traditional hand built and wheel thrown pottery.
Marine Corps League Oriental Dragon Detachment #1413: Fundraising raffle for toys for tots, scholarships and wounded warriors.
Pamlico Democrats: Learn about the upcoming municipal elections and the new voter photo ID requirements.
Quin Dionne: Coastal wildlife paintings on repurposed wood & canvas and whimsical painted palm tree fish.
Mary E. Scott: Local Author of Dearest Jim, A Memoir of Love, Loss and Resilience (2023).
Senbete Shaffer: Whimsical canvas paintings.
Simply Susan: Essential oil products and acrylic, shattered glass, resin art.
Whimsical Creations by Sue: Polymer earrings, shell craft and gifts.
Food Park
Bayboro Development Center – The Great WallFriends of the Pamlico County Public Library – Yawl’s Cafe
NAACP Pamlico County – Silos\
Pamlico County Fishes and Loaves – Piggly Wiggly “The Piglet”
Parkinson’s Disease Oriental Alliance – M&M’s Cafe
Mary Ellen Ham
Pamlico Partnership for Children
Pamlico High Navy Junior ROTC Booster Club
Rotary Club of Oriental
S.E. Pamlico Volunteer Fire Dept. Station 19 – The Bean
Youth Navigating Towards Opportunity (YNTO) – Rick’s N.C. BBQ
Prime Time – Barco’s Food Company Fusion Restaurant
Taylor & Sons BBQ & Catering
Hope Clinic – Darrell Gibbs – Fish Fry
Helping Hands – Flame Catering & Banquet Center
Festival Co-Founder Dorothea May Detwiler Osmun, 1941-2022
We knew her as Dottie, the soft-spoken but determined – some might say politely strong-minded – co-founder, chairwoman and director of the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival. It may have been her 30 years teaching English to middle-schoolers in Bay Shore on New York’s Long Island that prepared her to run the sprawling, all-volunteer Ol’ Front Porch organization – and to run it well.
Dottie and her husband, Dick, both avid sailors, retired to Oriental in 1994. In 1998, they co-founded Harbor Sounds, a popular bluegrass gospel group whose mission was to raise money for charities. Over $350,000 has been raised by the group in its 22 years of performing. Dottie was lead singer and Dick continues to play guitar.
Dottie was involved in many local organizations, including HOPE Clinic, the Hospice Thrift Shop, the Garden Club, and the Oriental Dance Club (she loved to dance!). She was president of the Oriental Woman’s Club in 1999-2000.
Dottie in a frequent pose during the festival… coordinating on the phone. From left, Leslie Kellenberger, performer Brittany Jean, Dottie.
After her arthritis forced her to stop performing with Harbor Sounds, she and her longtime friend and neighbor, Leslie Kellenberger, began discussing ways to promote local musicians. Leslie had an idea. What if bands could play on the porches of homes and businesses around Oriental? It could be a way to revive the spirit of pick-up roots music played back in the day on the porch of Captain Billy and Lucille Truitt’s Ol’ Store.
The festival was born. That first year, 2014, it lasted just four hours with 13 bands playing on Broad and Hodges streets. A few hundred people attended, and all the musicians played for free. The festival has grown every year since, with 2021 featuring 26 bands on 12 porches and a riverfront stage. An estimated 3,000 people attended that year during a rainy October weekend.
In the beginning, Dottie talked to everyone she knew and asked them to help, eventually marshalling hundreds of volunteers over the years. She led the effort to form a nonprofit organization with a board of directors to manage the festival. The board sought grants from organizations like the North Carolina Arts Council to help pay the musicians in order to keep the festival free to the public. Fundraising grew to include selling collectible buttons, Dottie’s idea, and merchandise, and obtaining sponsorships from local businesses – all with the goal of improving the musical lineup and growing the festival each year while keeping it free.
Of course, Dottie didn’t do it all by herself. She knew how to “hire” and delegate, and like a good teacher, she always gave others the credit and praise. She also insisted every year after the festival that personalized thank you notes be sent to everyone who helped in any way.
In her obituary, it was said that her students back in Bay Shore had described her as “insightful, dedicated, challenging, and gracious.” For those of us who worked with Dottie, we were her students, too.
A final thought. As an English teacher from New York, Dottie did not adopt many ungrammatical Southern colloquialisms, but we’ll offer this one anyway:
You done good, Miss Dottie. You done good.
Festival Buttons 2023
Admission to the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival is free, but financial support is needed to help with all of the administrative, behind-the-scenes work that goes on to keep the Festival going and growing. For a $5 donation, or more, you can purchase a 2023 Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival Button.
Purchasing and wearing a button is a great way to show your support for the Festival and to help advertise it. And they are also a collector’s item – get one each year. Buttons are available at Inland Waterway Provision Co, Nautical Wheelers, Oriental Deli & Subs, New Village Brewery, Marsha’s Cottage, Yawl’s Cafe, Studio 55, Village Hardware, Oriental Village Veterinarian and Village Health & Fitness.
Another great way to support the Festival is to become a Festival Sponsor. To become a sponsor, print an application found under the Get Involved section of this website. Fill it out and mail it to: Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival, Donna Crothers, P.O. Box 775, Oriental, North Carolina 28571. The deadline is Sept. 1. Your sponsorship will be publicly recognized in the Festival Program.
Accessibility Policy
The Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival is committed to ensuring accessibility for all. We are continually listening and learning from the disabled community in order to improve the festival experience for everyone, and striving to exceed accessibility standards.
In continually trying to make our event more accessible, we encourage you to contact us at info@olfrontporch.org for any accessibility-related needs. Additionally, if you have any questions about ADA policies or our services, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Festival Buttons 2020
The festival board has decided to give away 2020 festival buttons at businesses around town as a sign of hope that the virus will abate and the festival will go on this fall, as scheduled. These buttons are usually sold for $5 apiece as a way to raise funds to support the festival. Admission to the festival is free.
Wearing a button is a great way to show your support for the Festival and to help advertise it. And they are also a collector’s item – get one each year. Buttons are available at Inland Waterway Provision Co, Nautical Wheelers, Oriental Deli & Subs, New Village Brewery, Marsha’s Cottage, Yawl’s Cafe, Studio 55, Village Hardware, Oriental Village Veterinarian and Village Health & Fitness.
Another great way to support the Festival is to become a Festival Sponsor. To become a sponsor, print an application found under the Get Involved section of this website. Fill it out and mail it to: Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival, Donna Crothers, P.O. Box 775, Oriental, North Carolina 28571. The deadline is Sept. 1. Your sponsorship will be publicly recognized in the Festival Program.
Parking Map
Festival T-Shirts and Ball Caps
Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival logo t-shirts and ball caps are now available. Shirts are $25, $30 for long sleeve. Ball caps are $15.
Get a festival decal/bumper sticker for just $2:
2022 OFPMF bumper stickers, buttons, t-shirts (short and long sleeve), and hats help fund the festival. Shirts, hats and bumper stickers are on sale during the festival at the Festival Command Center and Information Booth in the Village Market, South Avenue and Freemason.
You also may order logo merchandise by contacting Trish Mead at 252-675-9818, or trishmmead@gmail.com.
Festival Buttons
Admission to the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival is free, but financial support is needed to help with all of the administrative, behind-the-scenes work that goes on to keep the Festival going and growing. For a $5 donation, or more, you can purchase a 2019 Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival Button designed by local artist Marguerite Garrett.
Purchasing and wearing a button is a great way to show your support for the Festival and to help advertise it. And they are also a collector’s item – get one each year. Buttons are on sale at Inland Waterway Provision Co, Nautical Wheelers, Oriental Deli & Subs, New Village Brewery, Marsha’s Cottage, Yawl’s Cafe, Studio 55, Village Hardware, Croakertown Coffee, Oriental Village Veterinarian, Wit’s End and Village Health & Fitness. You may also contact Ned and Ann Albee at 252-249-7249, or at nedalbee33@gmail.com. Buttons are $5.
Another great way to support the Festival is to become a Festival Sponsor. To become a sponsor, print an application found under the Get Involved section of this website. Fill it out and mail it to: Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival, Donna Crothers, P.O. Box 775, Oriental, North Carolina 28571. The deadline is Sept. 1. Your sponsorship will be publicly recognized in the Festival Program.
Get Involved
- 2023 Sponsor Application – online form
- 2023 Sponsor Application – downloadable form
- 2023 Volunteer Application – online form
- 2023 Volunteer Application – downloadable form
- Performers: If you are interested in performing at the festival, please send your contact information to info@olfrontporch.org.