Frequently Asked Questions
…you’re not alone!

We have tried to create a comprehensive list of some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the Outer Banks Taste of the Beach annual weekend event. We appreciate your time in looking through this before you email to inquire. Chances are you’re not the first person to ask… we hope you find the answers you are looking for. If not, feel free to send our coordinator an email at audreywebster@earthlink.net

 

1. What is “Will-Call?” and/or “Do I need (to print my) tickets to be admitted to an event?”

When you book your tickets online, you will be sent a confirmation. Your name is automatically added to the will call list at each event (specific date and time). You need only give the name in which the tickets were purchased under to be admitted to the event. You DO NOT NEED to print out your ticket confirmation, but if you choose to, for proof or peace of mind, you are welcomed to do that. Tickets will not be mailed out. Having your printed ticket or confirmation will NOT get you faster admittance (express line) into an event. If you experience problems while arriving at your event, speak to the Restaurant Manager, or call Quinn Capps at (252) 216-9362 for immediate assistance. If you completed your online ticket transaction properly, your name WILL be on the will-call list. But again, if you have any issues, call our event coordinator immediately and she will kindly help you.

2. I ordered my tickets, my card was charged, but I never received any email confirmation or tickets?”

99% of the time this occurs it is because you have mistyped your email address in. If your card was charged then your purchase went through. Call Quinn Capps at (252) 216-9362 and she can edit your email address in the system and re-prompt the system to send you those emails.

3. Where can I buy tickets? / The event is tomorrow but I can’t seem to buy tickets?

Tickets are only available online at www.obxtasteofthebeach.com/events. If there are tickets available the day of the event, you can purchase tickets at the door. Otherwise all event ticket sales close about 24 hours (or more depending on the type of event) before the start of the event. If an event says it’s “sold out”, that means it is sold out and there is literally no more room for more attendees. If there are tickets available at the door for purchase, the post-ticket message will clearly note that “…you maybe able to buy tickets at the door for this event”. OR click on the event category “At The Door Tickets” to quickly see what events will be selling ATD. Events may be added to the category after advance sales close so check it right before you want to attend any particular event. Ticket sales close a day before (give or take) to leave time for Chefs to prepare for expected guests.  You should order event tickets well in advance to avoid this dilemma.

4. How do I get a refund if I cannot attend an event I already purchased a ticket for?

If you should have a situation arise where you need to cancel/refund your purchase for an event, you can contact Quinn at the Outer Banks Restaurant Association directly by phone 252-216-9362 (between the hours of 9am and 6pm) to request a refund of your ticket purchase up until 10 DAYS before the event begins. Refund or cancellation CANNOT be made within 10 days, without exception. Read below for more details.

• Refunds of face value ticket price will be permitted up to 10 days before the scheduled event by contacting Quinn Capps at (252) 216-9362. The 3% admin/cc fee will NOT be refunded, only the original purchase amount of the ticket itself. Requested refunds inside of 10 days of the scheduled event will not be granted. (Sorry but the restaurants will have already ordered food ingredients counting on your attendance.) There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this.

• NO REFUNDS will be made or other claims met because you have been refused entry, evicted from the venue. If you are unable to attend the Event because of travel, medical, or other circumstance, outside of the 10 day window described above, you can contact Quinn. Refund requests within 10 days of the event cannot be accommodated.

5. How do I trade in my tickets for a different event or event time/day?

If you should have a situation arise where you need to switch your purchase from one event to another time for the same event, you can contact Quinn Capps at the Outer Banks Restaurant Association directly by phone (252) 216-9362 (between the hours of 9am and 6pm). Depending on the event, you may need to be refunded and repurchase for the other session. You can only do this up until 48 hours before the event begins. If it if within 48 hours of your expected attendance date, please call the restaurant directly and let them know you have purchased tickets to their event on another day but would like to be switched. They can note it on their attendance sheets for the days in question. Refund or cancellation CANNOT be made within 48 hours of the event, without exception. See the refund within 10 days section above for more information on requesting a refund.

6. Are there any age restrictions for the events?

Yes. Most events are restricted to guests 21 years of age or older, because of alcohol being served.  Some of our events do not have alcohol included (or included in the ticket price) and those events may be appropriate to bring guests under 21. Those kinds of events will be clearly noted in the event description.  In general though, MOST events are 21+. You need to use your best discretion when determining if your child is mature enough for an event activity. Please consider the other attendees when deciding this also.

7. What if I don’t (or can’t) drink alcohol, can I get a free ticket or lower cost ticket to an event?

If you do not (or choose not) to consume alcohol as part of your event experience, you will not be charged any less for your ticket or be entitled to any partial refund. You can however share your entitled drink(s) with other attendees, provided they are over 21. There are some events that don’t include alcohol in the ticket price and those might be better priced events for you to attend. All events are clearly described as to whether they include alcohol or if it is an optional thing once you get there.  Again, please read your event descriptions thoroughly and choose your events with your own preferences in mind.

8. Is smoking allowed?

Smoking is not permitted inside any restaurant in NC (by State law), although many restaurants have outdoor areas designated for smoking. Outdoor events are smoking permitted, but we ask that you please be courteous and smoke away from the crowd. E-Cigarettes are now banned inside all Dare County establishments.

9. When do tickets go on sale?

We post our events over a period of time, beginning in early December. 90% of events are posted before Christmas but we may have a few that linger to as late as January.  So for about a month we are continuously adding new events. Join our facebook fan page to receive push notifications of when and what new events have just been added.

10. Why can’t you just post all the events at one time so I can plan my itinerary out better?

We realize this is an issue, but coordinating our restaurant events is a time consuming task that involves our administrator and each restaurant owner.  We try our best to post events all at once, but in reality it just doesn’t happen that way. We try to encourage our restaurants to submit all their events at once.  Reality dictates that we have to roll out events and add them over a few weeks timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

11. Why do some events sell out so fast? I can’t ever get tickets to what I want!

Some events are so popular (or appealing) that they sell out faster than others.  Also, many of our events take place at small restaurants so there are simply less tickets available to be sold.  Please understand that many of our restaurants here on the Outer Banks simply do not have the space to accommodate hundreds of diners at one time. We encourage our more popular event hosts to hold more than one time or date of some of their most attended events, but that still will not prevent certain sessions or events from selling out faster than others.

12. Why do so many events overlap in time/date? I can’t be in two places at one time!

When we have events that take place at the same time it is only in effort to add more possibilities for the many hundreds of people that would like to attend any event.  Many of our Outer Banks restaurants are on the smaller side, and so providing the option of multiple events at one time is our way of creating a larger ticket pool for you to be able to secure attendance without every event being sold out. If more than one event happening at the same time appeals to you, you will simply have to choose which you prefer. But know that someone else will be enjoying the event you are passing up.

We do also diligently work with our restaurants in creating and scheduling their event programming to take advantage of times that are less full of other possibilities, but ultimately the restaurants decide what they want to offer and when they want it to happen. The crowd attendance also dictates some of that. We have the most TOB attendees here between Friday night and Sunday morning, so naturally the most amount of events will be scheduled during those times to add as many tickets as possible to accommodate the visitors’ experience.

13. Why are the ticket prices so high?

Some events boast a higher ticket price than others. We try our best to offer a variety of price points and encourage our restaurant hosts to pack as much value into your meal and ticket price as possible. If an event has entertainment and/or alcohol included, then keep in mind that the restaurant host is also considering that fee into the ticket price. All ticket prices also already include any sales and dining tax applicable (paid out by the restaurant) so there is that to consider too. Comparatively, our event ticket prices are much lower than other festivals of this kind (look at Charleston, LA, DC, and Boston as other examples) and you will see that a three, four or five course meal at our festival comes at a price about half as to what you will find at other festivals. Regarding the Grand Tasting ticket price, please note that this is the main revenue source from the four-day event for OBRA and the revenues taken in by this event subsidize much of the advertising and managing costs of the entire event weekend. The ticket price comparatively is still about half of what you will find at other festivals and we feel you get a great evening full of food, drink and fun that we could possibly cram in to the $50 ticket price. If cost is a concern for you then we suggest you look at events that have lower ticket prices. Some of our events begin at just $20 price points and on average run about $40, so there are many options for you to choose from. Take a look at the special event category we have created just for Events $30 and under on the right side of every page on this site.

14. Do I need to leave a tip?

Some events include the gratuity in the ticket price and some do not.  If the event does NOT, it will usually be indicated in the event description and use the phrase “bring some pocket cash for tipping your server.”  If you are unsure, or we have not made it clear, please ask the manager on duty during the event if it is appropriate to tip.

Any other question? If so please send an email with specifics along with a contact phone number to info@obxtasteofthebeach.com.  Quinn will be happy to answer any question you have that is not addressed here.