• This is a past event. We will update next upcoming event details as soon as they are available.

Join in the fun of the biggest art celebration of the year by attending the always magical and charming Black Opal Masquerade Ball. Held in October and renowned as one of the largest fundraising events for the Dare County Arts Council, this ball is a glittering evening of music, food, and miles of fun.

Every year presents a new theme for the Black Opal Masquerade Ball, although attendees are encouraged to dress their best and be sure and include a mask to blend in with the decadent and magical surroundings. The event is known as a “costumed spectacle” and tickets include a full bar with an assortment of drinks, live music by a talented regional band, and a creative décor scheme that will take any art lover’s breath away. A fine dining banquet is also served at the event, and attendees are free to linger, feast, sip, and enjoy the spellbinding surroundings that make this one of the most highly anticipated balls of the year. TowneBank is the presenting sponsor of the Black Opal Masquerade Ball, and tickets for the 2017 event will be available online in the weeks leading up to the ball itself. Fun for art fans of all tastes, the Black Opal Masquerade Ball always features a world of fun.

Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar

Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar

Welcome to the home of the happy oyster where for over 35 years the oyster has been our world. The Outer Banks only authentic oyster bar is the place to enjoy sensational fare from the sea washed down with your favorite brew or cocktail. We serve by the peck, pound, and dozen, raw or steamed to perfection. Kicked back casual, down to earth friendly staff, and reasonable prices make Awful Arthur’s Oyster Bar the all-time favorite of locals and travelers alike.

The idea wasn’t to set out and establish a new concept restaurant on the Outer Banks, but that’s exactly what Awful Arthur’s owner Jo Whitehead and her late husband, Jay, accomplished more than 35 years ago when they opened the area’s first authentic oyster bar.

 

Awful Arthur’s opened in May 1984 on the Outer Banks. “We embraced the concept of an authentic copper top bar with the idea of it being a major drawing card and it still is,” explains Whitehead. “I get oysters wherever they are local. We follow the warm waters.” 

 

Just across from the ocean, in Kill Devil Hills, oyster season is year-round at Awful Arthur’s. Diners can take a seat at the copper-topped bar to observe the staff shucking oysters, served raw or steamed, along with shrimp, crab legs and clams all steamed to perfection. 

 

It’s not just the raw bar that’s earned Awful Arthur’s both local and national recognition, including being named one of America’s greatest oyster bars by Coastal Living magazine. The restaurant is a seafood-lover’s paradise, offering the freshest catches available.