How about a Wedding at Topsail?

Many people come to Topsail to have their wedding, particularly in the offseason. Housing can be easily found and your wedding can either be at the beach or at one of the nice churches on the island. It can be a memorable occasion, as these people discovered at the after wedding reception which appears to be at Gilligans. See more of the wedding party pictures here.

The Christmas Parade at Topsail

Rand Burchfield is a great realtor here on the island. We found this story on his blog:

Well, the third and final parade of the season (for The Rand Burchfield Real Estate Group, anyway) was Saturday, December the 6th. We put a holiday wreath on the front of the truck, lit it up and we were off to Topsail Beach from our main office in Surf City! Joining us were team members Linda Blackburn, Judy Carlton, Bob Ramsey, Dot Cotman and myself and Kathy. Not able to be with us were Justine Warner (our executive assistant) and Bill Hunt, a long time associate and buyer agent. As you will note from the photos, Lilly and Pearl had a grand time, all decked out in the reindeer antlers. Pearl is actually starting to enjoy the limelight a little bit!

Our last event of the year will be a food drive for the North Carolina Food Bank, to be held on December 20th in the Food Lion parking lot in Hampstead. We call it “Feed the Need.” This year in particular, there are a great many more people turning to the food banks all over the state and the country, I would imagine. You can help locally by just bringing canned food and dry items (nothing frozen or needing refrigeration) to the collection point. We will transport it to the Food Bank. Easy for you and so helpful to those of our citizens who may find themselves without this holiday season. Please come and help!

Topsail Elementary School Earns Top Honors

Despite being so close to the beautiful beach and ocean, Topsail schools are rated very highly across the state. In fact, in 5 top categories (Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry, History) Topsail High School ranks in the top 5 across the state.

Now, South Topsail Elementary has distinguished itself as one f the best 15 elementary schools in the state.

As WECT channel 6 in Wilmington reports:

South Topsail Elementary receives state award
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 11:45 AM
Updated: Dec 12, 2008 01:25 PM

Courtesy: Pender County Schools


Posted by Debra Worley - email

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WECT) - South Topsail Elementary has received the state's Real D.E.A.L. Award.

South Topsail is one of 15 schools in the state to get the award that stands for dedicated educators and learners.

The schools were selected for the honor on the basis of excellent teaching and learning conditions and outstanding student achievement.

The school was recognized for its high test scores and positive environment for teachers and staffers during a conference in Cary.

This is the first time a Pender County school has been honored since the award began four years ago.

"I am extremely honored to receive this recognition on behalf of the staff of South Topsail Elementary School," said Principal Anna Maria Romero-Lehrer in a press release. "We have high expectations, and a warm, nurturing environment conducive to learning for everyone in the school."

A complete report on the results of the 2008 Teacher Working Conditions Survey results compiled by the New Teacher Center at the University of California in Santa Cruz will be available at www.ncteachingconditions.org in January 2009

Christmas at the Beach - in Full Color

The Topsail Advertiser has picked one of the most delightfully decorated homes on Topsail Island to post on their cover. Here is their story about this lovely house:

What requires more than 7,000 energy efficient LEDs, more than 2,300 feet of wiring, 20 surge protectors and 96 man-hours to create?
Bryson and Pierce's dynamic sound and light show!

December 10, 2008 - 1:00 PM

Carrie Bryan


Christmas came to Surf City on the evening of December 1 at the home of Sterling Bryson and Glen Pierce, when the switch was pulled to illuminate a multitude of lights at their Shaes Landing residence.

Glen Pierce designed and engineered the system, upgrading from last year's 4-channel GE Christmas-In-A-Box to a 16-channel light controller connected to a "Monster Brain" that has a built in mini MP3 player.

The mini MP3s uses a compact memory card with sequenced songs that sends a signal to the monster brain telling it when to turn on and off each of the 16 channels. The monster brain's "line out" sends the music to an FM transmitter, and then from the transmitter to a 200-watt stereo to power the outside speakers. The FM transmitter is a legal FCC transmitter that transmits the music on 101.5 FM up to 150 feet from the house.

There are more than 7,000 energy efficient LED lights in the display, more than 2,300 feet of wiring (equaling about a half mile), and 20 surge protectors. Read more.