The Decoy Festival is here again! We can’t wait to see everyone there tomorrow. The exhibitors set up today in the Harkers Island elementary school and the smell of clam chowder was wafting through the air. Please join us tomorrow, December 1 and Sunday, December 2, for the 20th Annual Decoy Festival.

As you look around the Festival be sure to see the exhibitors in the gym, the room next to the gym and in the classrooms down the hall. Check out the library for the Guild table and the artifacts exhibits. The cafeteria is the location of the Decoy Competition and some of the best down east style clam chowder you have ever eaten.

The Guild merchandise including T-shirts, jackets, pins and hats are in the room at the very end of the main hall. This year we have infant t-shirts with a baby duck on them that proudly proclaim, “My First Decoy Festival.”

Near the end of the hall on the right is the Children’s Decoy Painting event. This year the decoy is the Redhead. As a special treat, the children will be painting hand carved wooden decoys this year. For many years now we have used molded decoys since carved wooden ones were cost prohibitive. But this year, in commemoration of the 20th Decoy Festival, the event chairman decided it was time to go back to wood…at least for one year. There are 200 birds available for the youngsters to paint. First come, first served, and up to 15 years of age. The cost is $10.00.

Other “can’t miss” events are the Festival Auction at the Guild Building on Harkers Island Road at 1 pm Saturday. Back at the school are the retriever demonstrations, the archery event and the NC Wildlife Commission’s “Sensory Safari.” Also check out the live duck exhibit between the buildings beside the breezeway.

If you see Wayne Davis at the show please be sure to thank him for 20 years of hard work organizing the Decoy Festival. Wayne has been our Show Chairman each and every year since the very first Decoy Festival and I’m sure we all agree he has done a magnificent job. He says this is his last year as Show Chairman and we want to thank Wayne for everything he has done for the Guild. Without Wayne, there never would have been a Decoy Guild or Festival. Thank you Wayne for 20 years of dedication to the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild.

Hope to see you all at the show!