A book offered by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, in partnership with America 250 NC, has been selected to represent North Carolina at the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival.The National Book Festival will be held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday Aug. 22. A selection of programs will be livestreamed online, and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival concludes.
Press Releases
The State Archives of North Carolina, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, invites the public to attend an upcoming webinar, “From Enslavement to Reconstruction: Lives of the Greene County USCT,” to commemorate Juneteenth.
Bennett Place State Historic Site will host “OUT & FREE: African Dance” on Saturday, June 20, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The free event in collaboration with the LGBTQ Center of Durham will celebrate the Juneteenth holiday and Pride Month and will feature the Harambee Collective, a professional African Drum and Dance company directed by McDaniel Roberts, a founding member of Chuck Davis’s African American Dance Ensemble. Visitors can enjoy a community dance class and “bantaba” celebration, as well as a complimentary popsicle from LocoPops while supplies last.
Fort Dobbs State Historic site will host Historic Trades Day on Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. The site will come to life with the strike of a blacksmith’s hammer, the rasp of a saw, and snip of a tailor’s shears as it did when Fort Dobbs operated between 1755-65. Rather than a military garrison, the fort will bustle with costumed interpreters and professional historic tradespeople demonstrating the many ways people of colonial America made a living. The event is free and open to the public. Fort Dobbs is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, within the N.C.
This summer, the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites will initiate an 8-week pilot program to offer Sunday hours across 13 — roughly half — of its sites. Currently, most sites operate Tuesday-Saturday. N.C. Historic Sites is a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.During this time-limited, exploratory program, the selected sites will operate from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays, June 14-Aug. 2. The pilot program was mandated by the 2025 "mini budget" bill passed by the N.C. General Assembly in the summer of 2025.
In partnership with the Town of Sedalia and Joyemovement, the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum will host the fourth annual Black Heritage Day on Saturday, June 13, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. This free event is held each year in honor of Dr. Brown’s birthday to celebrate her legacy through music, art, and community. The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher officially broke ground today on a major renovation and expansion that will make it the largest aquarium in North Carolina. A division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the North Carolina Aquariums inspire care and conservation of nature by connecting more than a million visitors to the aquatic world each year.
“The din of battle roared like one continuous peel of heavy thunder,” wrote one eyewitness to the 1865 battle of Bentonville. On Saturday, June 13, Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site will recreate a small percentage of that noise during its “Heavy Thunder: Summer Artillery and Infantry Program.” The free program runs from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Bentonville Battlefield is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The State Archives will host a virtual program that discusses the experiences of free women of color during the Revolutionary Era. The State Archives is a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.The free event is scheduled June 11, noon-1 p.m., and will commemorate Juneteenth and the America 250 NC celebration.
A hospital launched to treat African American patients soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker. The N.C. Historical Marker Program is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.