The Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department will hold its monthly fundraiser lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. during the MATTIE Arts & Blue Crab Festival on Saturday. Shrimp, fresh from the Pamlico Sound, and all of the trimmings will be on the menu, along with homemade desserts and ice tea. The price is $10 for adults and $5 for children younger than 12.

The SQVFD will also host a book signing with Hyde County resident Carol Wolfe Evans, author of “Crabby’s Boo-boo,” a children’s book featuring a young child learning about one of nature’s wonders during a visit to a crab-shedding operation. Evans is a former Hyde County School teacher and administrator. The book is illustrated by Jessica Smith. Autographed copies of the book will be available between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the SQVFD’s dining room and make great children’s gifts.

Officers from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries will also be on hand at the fire department with an educational display geared to inform the public of the Division’s many activities to protect and improve our state’s marine fisheries resources. The public — especially the youth — is encouraged to stop by and visit.

As a fundraiser for the SQVFD’s Hyde County Courthouse Bell project, fresh funnel cakes will be sold during the event. All proceeds will go towards building a permanent display for the old courthouse bell, including a small landscaped park with benches in the greenway between the old and new courthouses in the county seat of Swan Quarter.

In explaining the different planned activities, SQVFD Fire Chief Jeffrey Stotesberry indicated that the department is very community minded.

“We have always been more than willing to participate in various activities in Hyde County,” he said. “It gives us visibility and provides an opportunity to thank our many supporters. We hope to see everyone come and out enjoy a fun event – right in their own backyard”

Across the street, the Friends of Hyde County’s Historic 1854 Courthouse will host the MATTIE Arts Center Blue Crab Festival from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Arts and crafts vendors will be set with a variety of locally-made, hand-crafted items. Local musicians and singers will be performing throughout the day. A variety of other activities – many for children  – will be available. The MATTIE Gift Shop will be open.

The Swan Quarter VFD was established in 1971 by a group of citizens who were concerned with providing an organized fire safety presence for the community. Since that time, their area of operation has expanded, as has the level of services they provide. Today, they operate with 25 unpaid volunteers who provide not only fire incident response, but also first responder service for medical emergencies. They also work with the Hyde County Schools to provide fire safety awareness to the youth of the community.