Press Releases

A highly decorated war veteran from North Carolina soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.Lt. Gen. Robert Sink, a career U.S. Army officer who served in both World War II and the Korean War, was born in 1905 in Lexington, N.C. He attended Trinity College (now Duke University) for a year before transferring to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he graduated in 1927 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

The campground at Gorges State Park in Transylvania County will be temporarily closed beginning Nov. 2 due to black bear activity in the area. The campground will remain closed for the next two weeks.Campground reservations during this time will be cancelled and refunds will be issued to reservation holders.The park remains open to visitors.

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site will honor North Carolina’s military history with a “Military Timeline,” Saturday, Nov. 11. Visitors will learn about the experiences of soldiers and support personnel from the past 450 years.“It’s important for us to remember the men and women who have sacrificed to make us who we are today as a country,” said Site Manager Scott Douglas. The educational program will offer a sample of soldier life through history.

The North Carolina Arts Council today announced that North Carolina’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $2.23 billion in economic activity in 2022. According to the newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), an economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts, investments by arts organizations and arts agencies were a key driver of the arts sector’s resurgence after several challenging years.

 The life and times of Gov. Richard Caswell will be celebrated Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Gov. Richard Caswell Memorial in Kinston, N.C.To highlight Caswell’s long service as a political and military leader of both the British colony and the fledgling state of North Carolina, a living history event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Members of the Dobbs County Militia and the 3rd North Carolina Continental Line reenactment groups will portray camp life and present musket and cannon firing demonstrations of the Revolutionary War period.

Take a wagon ride around the historic Harper farm at Bentonville Battlefield’s annual fall festival on Oct. 28. The program will include historic trades demonstrations, displays from community organizations, and an “old timey” festival atmosphere featuring wagon rides, kid’s games, an inflatable, food trucks, live music, and more!

The North Carolina Zoo is deeply saddened to announce the loss of male polar bear Payton on Oct. 25. The North Carolina Zoo staff and animal care team are devastated by the loss of this beloved polar bear.Payton was being transferred to the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky as part of a polar bear breeding partnership. The transfer was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Payton was accompanied by an experienced care team during the planned transfer operation.

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation and The Conservation Fund will host a ribbon-cutting event Friday, Oct. 27 at 10:30 a.m. to mark the addition of land acreage to Bakers Lake State Natural Area. This summer, the Division acquired 1,156 acres from The Conservation Fund, a national land conservation and environmental nonprofit organization.Bakers Lake is one of the Carolina bays, a series of oval depressions along the East Coast, with a large concentration in the Carolinas. Prior to the state’s acquisition, it was the largest unprotected Carolina bay lake in North Carolina.

The state’s highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award, will be presented to six distinguished North Carolinians Thursday, Nov. 9, at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Governor Roy Cooper will present the awards.The award was created by the General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service and science.

Bryan Wilder has been promoted to park superintendent at Elk Knob State Park in Watauga County, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation announced. Wilder succeeds Tracy Minton, who transferred to New River State Park earlier this year. Wilder has been serving as the acting superintendent for the park since Minton’s departure.A park superintendent leads operations and administration at a park with wide-ranging responsibilities that include staffing, training, law enforcement, planning, resource management, education, and visitor services.