Martin Garrish to be Honored as Ocracoke Cultural Icon

Ocracoke Preservation Society's 2016 Fall Membership Meeting and Potluck will be Tuesday, November 15th at 6 pm at the Ocracoke Community Center. OPS has chosen to honor local musician Martin Garrish with their annual Cultural Heritage Award. He has been a vital part of keeping Ocracoke's music traditions alive and rocking for over 40 years.

The OPS potlucks are always an evening of abundant good food and fellowship. After we feast, we'll endure a short business meeting to vote in a new executive committee (see the slate of officers below) followed by a presentation of the Cultural Heritage Award to this Mr. Music himself, Martin Garrish.

Martin, who’s been Ocracoke’s music scene for over forty years, is best known for his guitar-picking (people hoot and holler when he takes a lead break), but I've always loved his voice and the way you can hear the Ocracoke Brogue as he sings. And he chooses great cover songs and can (and will) tell you who wrote a song and who recorded it and who else played on the record and when he first heard the song and how long he’s loved it. Martin’s a walking music encyclopedia, and he brings all that knowledge and all those years of practice to the stage. 

He has played different genres of music – acoustic, electric, rock, country, folk, jazz, western – in different line-ups over the years including the Graveyard Band, the Ocracoke Rockers, Martin and Friends, Ocracoke Jazz Society (in all its incarnations), and he has taken the stage at one time or another at all of the island venues. He's a favorite at the Ocrafolk Festival, has recorded several CDs, and is currently playing Friday nights at the Coyote Den and Saturdays at the Ocracoke Oyster Company. 

Martin's good friend and recording buddy, John Golden, will emcee the event and help us to celebrate the man who's brought us so much good music!

Come out and support OPS (you can even become a member at the meeting) at the Potluck! The slate of nominees for OPS officers and trustees as presented by the trustees is: President: Philip Howard; Vice President: Ruth Toth; Treasurer: Otis Hurd; Secretary: Bill Jones; Trustee (2017): Amy Howard; Trustee (2017-2018): Judy Garrish; Trustee (2017-2018): Norma Sigal; and Member-at-Large: Ken DeBarth.