Press Releases

The North Carolina Zoo is heartbroken to announce the untimely death of Fenn, the beloved six-month-old giraffe calf, whose birth and presence at the Zoo delighted individuals around the world. A grief counselor has been brought in to support staff members as they navigate the emotions associated with this tragic loss.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is pleased to announce that two districts and 15 individual properties across the state have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following properties were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee and subsequently nominated by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register for consideration for listing in the National Register.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) announced today that it is partnering with the Town of Canton on the downtown Canton Recreation Park. The $100,000 investment from DNCR will help fund an inclusive playground at the 10.5-acre park with accessible, all-abilities features, including wheelchair access, braille signage, American Sign Language and sensory features.

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation announced end-of-year funding today totaling more than $13 million that will benefit both local and state parks through federal and state funds.The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority has approved $3.45 million in land acquisition and $3.5 million in capital improvement projects for state parks across the state. The $6.95 million in combined funding is a portion of the annual allocation for state parks from the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund.

The North Carolina Zoo and North Carolina Zoo Society announce a new public art opportunity for artists and artist teams to design art for the new continent of Asia. With a budget of $250,000 provided through the Zoo Society, this project will join the more than 150 works of art in and around the Zoo.

By December of 1756, Fort Dobbs was complete. Its garrison of North Carolina soldiers prepared to spend the first of many winters in the building as they guarded the western edge of settlement in the British colony during the French and Indian War.

North Carolina’s Executive Mansion, the “people’s house,” will open its historic doors again for the beloved annual Holiday Open House Dec. 7-9.Visitors are invited to tour the home, take in the decorations, and enjoy seasonal musical entertainment by local performing groups. The mansion's first floor will be decorated with North Carolina-grown Christmas trees, floral and mixed evergreen arrangements, and ornate mantle displays.

North Carolina’s strong literary tradition is celebrated by the 2023 North Carolina Book Awards, which will be presented Dec. 8 during the annual meeting of the N.C. Literary and Historical Association. The annual awards recognize significant works by North Carolina writers.Since its founding in September 1900, the N.C. Literary and Historical Association has pledged to stimulate the production of literature and to collect and preserve historical material in North CarolinaThe 2023 North Carolina Book Award winners are:

Today the North Carolina Arts Council announced $16 million in grants for fiscal year 2023-24. This includes an increase of $2.5 million in annual funding for the statewide Grassroots Arts Program, a cornerstone program which distributes funds to all 100 counties through an extensive network of local arts councils and other partners.  

 The death of an African American soldier in Durham, N.C., soon will be commemorated with an N.C. Highway Historical Marker.In 1944, Private First Class Booker T. Spicely, who was stationed at Camp Butner, boarded a Durham city bus owned and operated by Duke Power Company. After Spicely objected to segregated seating, he disembarked at West Club Boulevard and what is now Berkeley Street. The white driver, Herman Lee Council, followed Spicely, who was unarmed, off the bus and shot him twice at close range in view of bus passengers.