July 2026 Historic Happy Hour
Historic Happy Hour: Dr. David Cecelski – The Waterman's Song: Stories from Bald Head Island and Beyond
Join the Old Baldy Foundation for a special Historic Happy Hour featuring nationally acclaimed historian and award-winning author Dr. David Cecelski.
Drawing from a lifetime of studying North Carolina's coastal history, Dr. Cecelski will present "The Waterman's Song: Stories from Bald Head Island and Beyond," introducing audiences to some of the unsung heroes of our coastal past—the African American watermen and women who were the backbone of the Underground Railroad along the Cape Fear River. Through powerful storytelling and historical research, Dr. Cecelski will shed light on the remarkable people whose courage and resilience helped shape our region's history.
Your ticket includes:
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Admission to the presentation
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Beer and wine
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A charcuterie spread provided by Southport Cheese Shop
Following the presentation, signed copies of Dr. Cecelski's acclaimed book, The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina, will be available for purchase.
Event Details
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Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026
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Time: 5:30 p.m.
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Location: Bald Head Association Center (Association Building)
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Price: $40 per person
Please Note:
This Historic Happy Hour will be held at the Bald Head Association Center (Association Building). Physical tickets are not required. After purchasing your ticket, your name will be added to our guest list and checked in upon arrival.
We invite you to enjoy an evening of fascinating history, great conversation, and refreshments while discovering the remarkable stories that helped shape North Carolina's coast.
| Instructor: | David Cecelski |
| Instructor Bio: | Historian and writer David Cecelski is the author of several award-winning books and hundreds of articles on the history of the American South and especially the North Carolina coast. Dr. Cecelski’s most recent book is The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slave’s Civil War, which was published by the University of North Carolina Press. A graduate of Duke and Harvard, Dr. Cecelski has held distinguished professorships at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and ECU. Among his recent honors, he has been awarded the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association’s Crittenton Award for lifetime achievement and the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Pelican Award for lifetime achievement in “sharing our coast’s history and traditions.” He is a native of the North Carolina coast and divides his time between Durham and his family’s homeplace in Carteret County. Throughout his career, his writing has focused passionately on telling stories from his home that illuminate American history more broadly. |
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Contact Us
- 101 Lighthouse Wynd, Bald Head Island,
North Carolina, 28461 - Email Us: adriana@oldbaldy.org
- Call Us: 910-457-7481
