Chicamacomico Shakes Exhibit - Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the US Life-Saving Service

Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the US Life-Saving Service

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station and the Lifesaving Service on the North Carolina Coast, Dare Arts and the Chicamacomico Historical Association have teamed up to host the second Chicamacomico Shakes Exhibit in April.

Artists are invited to combine their talents with local history by taking a cedar shake from the 1911 Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station and transforming it into a work of art.

Artists who would like to participate in this historical arts project can pick up a shake at Dare Arts in Manteo, The Black Pelican Restaurant in Kitty Hawk, the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in Rodanthe, or Buxton Village Books in Buxton. Details about participating in the shake show can be found on the button below. Artists are asked to drop off their finished shake(s) to any of the locations listed above no later than Friday, March 8.

Each shake will be available to purchase at the exhibit for $150, and the proceeds will be split between Dare Arts and the Chicamacomico Historical Association to further their missions’ work in the community.

Show Dates + Historical Information

The Chicamacomico Shakes Exhibit will be on display in the Courtroom Gallery April 5-27, 2024.

There will be an opening reception on Friday, April 5 from 6pm to 8pm, where visitors can see all of the amazing shakes and learn about the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station. The opening reception is during downtown Manteo's First Friday festivities, and is free and open to the public.

In 1874 seven life-saving stations were built along the coast of what is now Dare County: those stations along with three in V.A. came to be the first step in what was to become the United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS). Within a short three years the original seven were joined by 11 others and by the turn of the century there were over 200 stations along the North Coast, Gulf Coast, and North Coast. There were 29 stations along the coast of North Carolina. From that modest beginning through 1915 when they merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to become the United States Coast Guard, the Life-Saving Service responded to 28,121 vessels—and of the 178,741 lives in peril at sea, crew members successfully saved a record number of 177,286 lives. Truly, a legacy of Life-Saving. The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station and Museum in Rodanthe is a focal point of the commemoration of that legacy.