From hearing the calls of endangered birds in a sanctuary in eastern North Carolina to seeing a mountain sunrise in the west, our state has unlimited rural treasures awaiting discovery.
We are a rural state, with 80 of 100 counties beyond the hustle and bustle of major cities. Without a doubt, the state’s most beautiful natural resources can be found in rural North Carolina.
In 2020, the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is launching a new initiative to celebrate North Carolina's rural counties.
Press Releases
FREMONT, N.C. — Music and dance will resonate at Aycock Birthplace State Historic Site during a free program celebrating Black History Month Saturday, Feb. 22, 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Artist April C. Turner will lead an interactive performance celebrating African American culture. The free program will include site tours and a presentation on groundbreaking African American legislator George White.
Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site will commemorate the 155th anniversary of the fall of Fort Anderson Feb. 15 and 16.
The site is offering a free living-history event during the daytime, and a special program Saturday night requiring tickets purchased in advance.
Hear excerpts by authors, musicians, poets, scholars, orators, and more as we celebrate literature during Black History Month! A free read-in hosted by the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission will take place at the Pure Life Theatre in the Historic Royal Bakery Building, 3801 Hillsborough St., Raleigh on Saturday, Feb. 29 from 1-4 p.m.
Video of museum staff treating cold-stunned sea turtles:
Nominations are open for the North Carolina Heritage Award, the state’s highest honor for traditional artists, until Friday, May 1. Artists who are recognized within their communities as keepers of North Carolina’s living traditions may be nominated for the award. Past recipients have included musicians, craftspeople, storytellers, dancers, and practitioners of traditional occupations. The award has honored both professionally acclaimed artists and those who practice their art in family and community settings.
Advance tickets for the country’s largest Civil War re-enactment of 2020, the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Bentonville slated for March 21-22, are limited but still available. Other weekend family activities are free.
The origins and impact of slavery in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and the benefits of slave labor to Reed Gold Mine will be examined during Black History Month. Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site will offer “Black Gold – African American Gold Miners in North Carolina” tours Saturdays in February at 1 p.m. and examine the area’s social and economic environment during John Reed’s lifetime. Join us Feb. 8, 15, or 29.
Rarely seen Civil War-era artifacts will be on view when the “Treasures from the Vault” exhibit opens Feb. 5 at the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center. The temporary exhibit will display unseen items from the museum’s collection and also present eastern North Carolina’s Civil War history more broadly.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, guaranteeing and protecting the right of women to vote. To honor this historic event, the