Dare Day Festival

Dare Day Festival, a fun-filled family event is always held on the first Saturday in June. It is an outdoor festival and is held rain or shine.

Started in 1976 - the only year it was a two-day event and was called Dare Days as part of the bicentennial celebration - the festival is considered by most locals as the unofficial kickoff of summer.

Dare Day promises free fun and festivities for the whole family. The day will be a full day of music, food, crafts and entertainment. Children can hop aboard a kiddie train, take in a magic show, have their faces painted and play games.

Adults can walk along the beautiful downtown waterfront and check out the wares of more than 100 vendors offering furniture, toys, carvings, clothing, jewelry, birdhouses, paintings, wind chimes and photography.

The aroma of delicious food fills the air with the smells from seafood, polish sausages, hamburgers and hotdogs! Plenty of cold beverages include fresh squeezed lemonade, slushes and all kinds of soft drinks. More than 5,000 people are expected on the Manteo Waterfront for the 34th edition of Dare Day.

The festival opens at 9:00 with a prayer by a local pastor for the "Blessing of the Season" and the music begins. The Dare Day festival is sponsored jointly with the County of Dare and the Town of Manteo. The Committee consists of Melva Garrison as the coordinator, Virginia Tillett as the DCBC Liaison and David Farrow as the Town of Manteo Liaison.

Schedule of events will appear when available.

General information for: directions, parking and event info.

Click here for a vendor application and a map of the festival area.
Click here for a food application.

For more information contact the Dare Day office at:

954 Marshall C Collins Drive
PO Box 1000
Manteo NC 27954

Phone: (252) 475-5629 / (252) 475-5630
Fax: (252) 475-1223