Press Releases

Celebrate the holiday season at the Governor’s Western Residence Holiday Open House, Dec. 10-11, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. The residence is located at 45 Patton Mountain Rd., Asheville.  Reservations are not needed to attend the open house. Guests are invited to tour the residence, which has been decorated for the season. For more information, please call (828) 225-0122.  

 North Carolina’s strong literary tradition is celebrated by the 2022 North Carolina Book Awards, to be presented Dec. 2 during the annual meeting of 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 2022 North Carolina Book Award winners are:

The North Carolina Museum of History will host a special one-day public exhibition of a rare first printing of the U.S. Constitution, Wednesday, Dec. 7. The document is one of just 14 known copies of the official printing of the Constitution produced for the delegates to the Constitutional Convention and for the Continental Congress. It is one of only two copies of the first printing of the Constitution that remain in private hands.

By December of 1756, Fort Dobbs was complete. Its garrison of 50 North Carolina soldiers prepared to spend the first of many winters in the building as they guarded the western edge of settlement in the British colony during the French and Indian War.

Historic Bath State Historic Site will open a new exhibit, “Along the Banks of Bath Creek: A Story of People and Place,” with a ribbon cutting Friday, Dec. 9 at 11 a.m. This immersive exhibit tells the stories of Bath, from its history as an American Indian homesite through the 20th century.

The North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites, part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will hold a ceremony Tuesday, Dec. 13 to recognize the state’s acquisition of 246 acres along the Yadkin River in Forsyth County as the first step in creating the Shallow Ford State Historic Site.

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

There’s a holiday happening to suit every taste at venues of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.   Fireworks over Tryon Palace, a Christmas flotilla at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort, "Christmas by Candlelight," at a state historic site and "Holiday Pops” or other performances with the North Carolina Symphony at home or on tour, are a few of the unique holiday experiences awaiting families at modest or no cost. 

Join the North Carolina State Capitol and Governor Roy Cooper for the annual tree-lighting tradition on Thursday, Dec. 8. The festivities will begin on Capitol Square at 5:30 p.m. with luminaries and holiday music performed by the Raleigh Concert Band. The governor and dignitaries will make their way to the South grounds at 6:15 p.m. to officially begin the ceremony. The lit tree will be visible the length of Fayetteville Street. The Junior Woman’s Club will give away cookies and cider — and even Santa is scheduled to make an appearance!

The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority, which oversees the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), recently approved $17.4 million to fund nine capital improvement projects and six land acquisitions for North Carolina state parks, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The Authority approved the investments at its meeting held Nov. 4 at the state arboretum in Asheville.