Press Releases

Asheville native Thomas Wolfe is best known for his novels but wrote many short stories as well. In anticipation of the 118th October birthday celebration for Wolfe, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial invites students and teachers to participate in the 2018 “Telling Our Stories” Student Writing Competition. Entries can be accepted now through Saturday, Oct. 6.

The sounds of artillery and musket fire will once again ring out at Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site. The annual summer artillery living history program will be held Saturday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

A master plan for the expansion and future management of Hanging Rock State Park has been approved by the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The master plan was developed with extensive public input from local businesses, citizens and park staff as well as conservation partners the Friends of Sauratown Mountains and the Piedmont Land Conservancy. The result is a vision for the park that balances cultural history, outdoor recreation and natural resources stewardship.

It’s a medium that’s as old as dirt and lots of fun. “Play in the Clay Day” at Town Creek speaks to the inner child of every age. See how the Pee Dee culture took advantage of the area’s abundant supply of clay Saturday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at a free program.

Educational activities, photo opportunities and reenactors bring World War II to life at the N.C. Maritime Museum, Saturday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with family friendly activities from learning what life was like on the home front, to surviving the front lines. 

When students return to Kimberly Park Elementary School in Winston-Salem this school year, they will have visible reminders of a project that brought the farm to the city.

What do Nina Simone, headache powders, Blackbeard, moonshine and Grandfather Mountain have in common? They all had a role to play in the history of North Carolina.

The remnants of the Confederate ironclad CSS Neuse sit in a climate-controlled facility in downtown Kinston, a far cry from the bottom of the Neuse River. How it got there is explained in a new exhibit at the CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center designed by East Carolina University graduate student Samantha Bernard. She is enrolled in the maritime studies program through the history department at ECU, and the exhibit explains the process and purpose of underwater archaeology.

The North Carolina African American Heritage Commission has received a $33,558 federal grant from the national Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for its project "A Tale of Two Ships: Developing a Research & Interpretation Plan for Revealing Hidden Histories of One Ship with Two

Who needs TVs or tablets? Unplug at Duke Homestead’s “Family Day: Historic Games.” This free event takes place Saturday, July 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is perfect for kids aged two to 10.