Press Releases

The State Capitol is hosting a birthday party June 13 that's been 175 years in the making! Free family friendly activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. will include local musicians, military re-enactors, historic demonstrations, hands-on children's activities and more fun activities inside the Capitol and on Capitol Square. Of course there will be birthday cake. Please call (919) 733-4994 for more information.  

The halls of the North Carolina History Center in historic downtown New Bern will echo with the sounds of jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 21.  

The North Carolina Symphony will give a free outdoor concert Thursday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m. on the Town Common in Tarboro.  Symphony Associate Conductor David Glover will lead the orchestra in “Concerts in Your Community: Your Favorite Light Classics.”  In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held in Keihin Auditorium on the Tarboro campus of Edgecombe Community College. 

Branford Marsalis and some talented friends will present an evening of unforgettable performances from across the musical spectrum on Tuesday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Meymandi Concert Hall. The Grammy Award-winning saxophonist joins forces with Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the bluegrass supergroup the Kruger Brothers, as they join North Carolina Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn and the orchestra for a one-of-a-kind concert to benefit the North Carolina Symphony’s statewide service and education programs.  Mr. Marsalis, Ms. Giddens, and the Kruger Brothers are all donating their performances for the benefit.

Even with clouds from a tropical depression, Civil War re-enactor Philip Brown began walking backroads May 11 on a 166 mile. 13-day journey from New Bern to Durham. The "Soldiers' Walk Home" event, organized by Duke Homestead State Historic Site in Durham, recalls the trek Washington Duke made when delivered to New Bern by the Union Army in 1865. Although Brown does not portray Duke, his route is similar to the one Duke might have taken.

Needle Arts in New Bern is an all-new exhibit in the Duffy Exhibition Gallery that showcases the art of needlework. The free exhibit will be on display through May 31 at Tryon Palace’s North Carolina History Center, located in downtown New Bern, North Carolina.

The North Carolina Symphony launches its 2015 Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series at Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre on Saturday, May 23, at 7:30 p.m., with a concert program that features pianist Timo Andres performing Gershwin’s incomparable Rhapsody in Blue, the orchestra’s performance of Dvořák’s New World Symphony, and other works by Copland and Sousa that feature “citizen musicians” as they join the orchestra. 

"A Soldier's Walk Home" will arrive in Kinston around 5 p.m. May 12 at Harriet's Chapel on the First Battle of Kinston Site. Soldiers from across North Carolina were returning home in May 1865, exhausted at the end of the Civil War. The Soldier's Walk recalls the walk Washington Duke took from New Bern to Durham after he was delivered to New Bern by the Union Army in 1865. It is in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.

From funk music to gardening, June will bring an eclectic mix of programs at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. As always, there will be programs for all ages.

In 1771 backcountry farmers fought against Royal Governor William Tryon over taxes, dishonest sheriffs and illegal fees. The 224th anniversary of the Battle of Alamance and Regulator resistance will be observed with free family friendly activities May 16-17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Alamance Battleground State Historic Site.