Topics Related to Living History

On Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m., Bennett Place State Historic Site will host a free lecture with local historian Ernest Dollar entitled “Jublio: Moments of Freedom, 1865.”Dollar, who serves as director of the Museums Section for the City of Raleigh, will highlight how enslaved people found and claimed freedom for themselves in the final days of the Civil War in North Carolina. This program will explore perspectives of African American men and women’s first moments of freedom as part of the site’s Black History Month programming.
Historic Halifax State Historic Site will mark the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s historic visit to the town with special programming on Thursday, Feb. 27.
The State Capitol will bring back a popular walking tour series centered on protest and civil rights in downtown Raleigh to commemorate Black History Month. The "We've Always Been Out There" tour will be a short (0.5 mile) walking tour that discusses the lengthy history of protest and civil rights demonstrations in Raleigh. The tour covers events from the early 19th century to the 1980s, and includes the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, women's suffrage, Prohibition, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the city’s first ever Pride parade.
 Fall is here, a time of changing leaves, cooler weather, and harvests. But what did fall mean for the people of the past? What does it mean for the natural world today? On Saturday, Oct.
Celebrate Juneteenth with the State Archives and learn about a formerly enslaved North Carolina man who negotiated his way to freedom.
Fort Dobbs State Historic Site will hold a special “Highlighted History” event on June 1.  Visitors will learn about the June 1761 invasion of the Cherokee’s homeland by a British army commanded by James Grant.  Re-enactors will illustrate life on campaign as experienced by British and colonial soldiers.  Featured outdoor activities include scheduled musket firing demonstrations and a presentation about the campaign by Historic Interpreter Jason Melius. Ongoing displays of camp life include cooking, woodworking, and blacksmithing demonstrations.
 Alamance Battleground State Historic Site will host a reenactment of the 1771 Battle of Alamance, Saturday, May 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.Visitors will experience the smoke and power of six cannons similar to those used against protesting farmers at the volatile conclusion to the Regulator movement. The program will feature a battle reenactment, military drills, artillery and musket drills, and demonstrations of colonial life. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children and seniors.
The Civil War surrender at the Bennett farmhouse sealed the fate of slavery in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. To cap off the 159th anniversary of the surrender, Bennett Place State Historic Site will host a new event to commemorate the end of legal slavery and to honor the more than 331,000 enslaved men, women, and children in North Carolina at the time of the Civil War. The program, entitled “The Day Had Come: Emancipation at Bennett Place,” will take place Saturday, April 27 from 7-9 p.m.
North Carolina will launch its commemoration of America’s 250th birthday with the captivating "Halifax Resolves Days: Prelude to Revolution" event in Halifax, N.C., April 12-14.The event will take place at the iconic Historic Halifax State Historic Site in conjunction with Halifax Resolves Day on April 12, and will feature a two-day living history weekend where North Carolina's pivotal role in shaping the destiny of America will be on display.