Events Near Emerald Isle & Atlantic Beach NC

Bring the kids to a free fall festival built entirely around them. Emerald Isle Parks and Recreation fills the day with carnival games, a dunking booth, inflatable jungle gyms, and face painting. The Western Carteret Library runs a book exchange, and hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy keep everyone fueled.

Watch black-powder artillery fire across Beaufort Inlet at this free living-history program. Interpreters explain how crews loaded, aimed, and fired each gun, and how coastal forts protected the North Carolina shoreline. Every session closes with a blank firing, and a different cannon takes the spotlight in most rounds.