COLUMBIA — The Eastern 4-H Center of North Carolina will host its 11^th annual fundraiser, On the Dock of the Bay, on May 3, in Columbia.

On the Dock of the Bay will feature live music by Jonny Waters & Company and The Main Event Band, food and silent auction items that are all made or grown locally. The main seafood course comes straight from the Albemarle Sound.

The fundraiser helps to provide scholarships for children between the ages of eight and 14 to attend camp. This year’s Beaufort County 4-H camp is scheduled for July and August and it costs over $400 per child to attend. Each year, one 4-H camping scholarship is given to each county in the Northeast North Carolina district. The 4-H in each county then decides if they want to divide the scholarship up or to give it to one child.

One child who has received the scholarship this year is from the Beaufort County 4-H.

“It’s a nice thing to offer that complimentary to a child that otherwise couldn’t have that experience,” said Louise Hinsley, Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development, for Beaufort County.

The Eastern 4-H Center allows children from the Northeast region of the state, which goes from Raleigh to the coast, to attend camp at that location, according to Sara Phelps, marketing director for Eastern 4-H.

“They (scholarships) are very vital, whether a child receives a partial scholarship or full scholarship,” Phelps said. “That might be the only way they can attend camp.”

The Eastern 4-H Center opened in 2001 and On the Dock on the Bay raises between $35,000 to $50,000 annually for scholarships and facility maintenance.

“On the Dock of the Bay helps support that center (Eastern 4-H Center),” Hinsley said. “It’s a fun event, to not only raise money for facility improvements, but scholarships.”

Hinsley explained that the facility is not just used for camping, but also used for other 4-H events year-round.

“We have one scholarship every year to send a child to camp, but we also have grants that helps children as well, “ Hinsley said. “More children want to go then we have those paid opportunities.”