Front-Row Seats to America's 250th: A Fourth of July from Ocean Ridge Plantation
Some communities watch America’s birthday on TV. We get a front-row seat.
Ocean Ridge Plantation sits in the middle of one of the most patriotic stretches of the North Carolina coast — and in 2026, with the country turning 250, the view from our porches has never been better. The semiquincentennial (your new favorite vocabulary word) is being marked all summer long across the Brunswick Islands, and our neighborhood is right in the thick of it.
Here’s how to spend the Fourth without ever leaving the area.
Bike-to-it close: the Sunset Beach Old Bridge Parade
Our nearest celebration may also be the most charming. On Saturday, July 4 at 9 a.m., the Old Bridge Preservation Society hosts its annual parade at the Sunset Beach Swing Bridge. Bring a decorated bike, a wagon, or just yourself — refreshments, games, and face painting follow. It’s the kind of small-town morning that reminds you why you moved here.
A short drive south: Ocean Isle Beach
A few minutes down the coast, Ocean Isle Beach hosts our community’s go-to Fourth. The OIB parade rolls down Second Street to Lee Street starting at 10 a.m., with decorated golf carts, bicycles, and family floats. Come back at sunset — fireworks launch from the Ocean Isle Beach Pier at 9:15 p.m. and light up the water for miles. The beach, the pier, or any second-story porch facing the ocean will all do nicely.
Worth the drive: the NC 4th of July Festival in Southport
If you’ve never made the trip to Southport, this is the year. The NC 4th of July Festival — one of the oldest Independence Day celebrations in the state — runs June 28 through July 4, 2026, with the whole town leaning into America’s 250th. Expect a week of parades, concerts, vendors, patriotic ceremonies, and fireworks over the Cape Fear River.
Beyond the Fourth: living history all summer
The 250th isn’t a one-day affair. The Museum of Coastal Carolina in Ocean Isle Beach is running an America 250 Sandbar Lecture series this season. Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site is hosting living-history programs all year, including 18th-century trade days that bring the Cape Fear’s Revolutionary roots to life. The NC Maritime Museum at Southport rounds out the trio with deep-dive history programs all summer.
And inside our gates…
A neighbor’s labor of love: the 250th Celebration Boat Parade
The first big celebration of our semiquincentennial summer is actually a week ahead of the Fourth — and it’s coming right past our shoreline.
On Saturday, June 27 at 6 p.m., Rhonda of NCompass Photography is leading a boat parade up the Intracoastal Waterway from Calabash to Ocean Isle Beach in honor of America’s 250th — and in honor of the veterans and first responders who’ve made it possible to celebrate at all. Her goal: a waterway lit up in red, white, and blue.
You don’t need a boat to be part of it. Find a spot along the ICW anywhere between Calabash and OIB and wave the captains through. A parade map will be posted in the coming days.
If you do have a boat — or you’re a veteran who’d like to ride along — reach Rhonda at [email protected] or 472-220-8538. A mandatory captains’ safety briefing is set for Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m.
In Rhonda’s words: “Veterans are very near and dear to my heart, and this is a true labor of love. I can’t do it alone, though — it takes community to do this.”