Press Releases

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina state parks and recreation areas experienced a record number of visitors in 2021. The 41 sites welcomed 22.8 million visitors last year — three million more than any other year on record. The previous record for visitation was set in 2020 when, despite the early pandemic and several weeks of closures at many parks, the parks welcomed 19.8 million visitors. Ten state parks reached one million visitors in 2021, up from 7 parks in 2020. 

In its continued effort to support the arts sector through the pandemic, the North Carolina Arts Council distributed $7.9 million in grant funds to arts organizations and artists across the state in FY21-22. The source of these funds was a combination of state, federal, and private dollars. The Arts Council awarded 378 grants in 12 categories.

Two days after surviving the battle of Bentonville, Lt. Col. William E. Strong reflected on “those brave and gallant companions in arms who will come back to us no more. Peace to the gallant dead, sleeping, some of them in far away and unmarked graves.” Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site will reflect on the battle’s casualties during the 157th-anniversary commemoration, “Peace to the Gallant Dead.” This illumination event will take place on the evening of March 19, 2022.

Students at the state’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will have the opportunity to learn and earn this summer through a 10-week paid summer internship within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced that the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) Authority has approved $28.6 million in capital improvement projects and land acquisitions for state parks and an additional $13.6 million in grants to fund 41 local parks and recreation projects across the state.

A lot can happen in half a century. For that matter, a lot can happen in a year. At the end of calendar year 2021, Fort Fisher State Historic Site achieved its goal of more than one million visitors annually, a first for Fort Fisher or any historic site within the NC Division of State Historic Sites. When the turnstiles stopped at year’s end, total onsite visitation for calendar year 2021 reached 1,052,270.

An act of civil disobedience soon will be recognized with a new North Carolina Highway Historical Marker in Roanoke Rapids. The marker commemorates the actions of Sarah Keys and the subsequent lawsuit in 1952 that shaped the federal prohibition of segregation during interstate travel.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced today that Will Summer has been named as the next director of the N.C. Division of Land and Water Stewardship and Executive Director of the N.C. Land and Water Fund (NCLWF). Summer served as the interim director for the past seven months and as deputy director since 2017.

In 2022, the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will celebrate 50 years as a state cabinet-level agency with regional celebrations and online content planned throughout the year. Secretary D. Reid Wilson made the following statement on the anniversary:

 North Carolina’s strong literary tradition is celebrated by the 2021 North Carolina Book Awards, presented by 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 Carolina. The 2021 North Carolina Book Award winners are: