Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department

I was hesitant to write a review for the OVFD because I felt like maybe I wasn’t respecting the island’s privacy in a way. This review is to discuss the awesome time we had on a Tuesday night.
If you’re on Ocracoke on a Tuesday in June, July or August you may notice signs on 12 advertising for bingo night. This volunteer-​run event pits locals and visitors alike in the epic battle that is bingo. The door opens around 7:00pm, and the hall only seats 100, so get in early. $ 12 gets you 12 games ($ 6 for kids). If you are really into it, and want to increase your odds, extra cards are $ 5 for the large, and $ 2.50 for the small. This is no a spectator sport, so if you ain’t playing, you ain’t coming in (unless you want to volunteer). Most importantly, part of the proceeds go to the OVFD.
Okay, so us being bingo novices we sat nervously and analyzed the board describing the games. They have bingo markers for a few dollars, which makes a huge difference when you are pouring over the numbers. They also have popcorn, hot dogs, and soda, but that’s just a distraction. So the games. I was unaware of all the different ways to play bingo. We have the standard diagonal, across, up and down, but then there are four «special» games. The first three special games $ 1.50 for a card of 3 blocks, and the fourth card is $ 2.00 each. These games are a higher payout, but I’m sure that changes depending on how many people are playing. From the OVFD website:
— Special game number 1 is worth ½ of the special games sold for the house and ½ for the winner.
— Special game 2 is the $ 100 blackout. Your entire card must be covered before the 52^nd or higher number is called. (No one got this and the pot went down to $ 25)
— Special game 3 is the triangle game. You can win the large triangle (²⁄₃ of the pot) or the small triangle (¹⁄₃ of the pot).
— Special game 4 is the $ 500 blackout. Your entire card must be covered before the 52^nd or above number is called. We left before seeing if someone got it.
After each special game and at random times they do a drawing for door prizes. Sometimes this means you get an extra bingo card, sometimes it means getting some cool Ocracoke memorabilia. I started my night lucky. Before I walked in, I found a $ 1 bill. During the night, I won one raffle that gave me an extra card to play with. Then I got bingo in one of the traditional games. And at the end I won another raffle that gave me a $ 20 gift card to Zillies!
This is a great way to spend a Tuesday night during the summer. Please go support the OVFD either by playing or by volunteering.

We were spending the week at Ocracoke and saw signs on the road for Bingo at the Ocracoke Fire Hall to benefit the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department. Even though the youngest person in our group is in her mid 20’s, we figured what the heck. It turned out to be lots of fun. I wrote up a fuller description of out night here:
But for purposes of a review, let me just say we had a good time. It was a pleasant way to spend an evening for all ages.