Press Releases

The North Carolina State Capitol will host the traveling exhibit “Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina” from April 1 to May 31. Visitors to the Capitol can see this exhibit Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Over 10 panels, this exhibit features a four-century timeline of Jewish history in North Carolina, focusing on topics such as family, being southern, commerce, immigration, community, learning, and more.

 In 2022, the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is celebrating 50 years as a state cabinet-level agency with regional celebrations and online content throughout the year. DNCR is responsible for North Carolina treasures literally from A to Z – from the arts to the zoo – spanning the entire state.

The end of the Civil War brought several firsts for African Americans, .most notably the election to local, state, and federal offices. From the North Carolina state legislature to the United States Congress, African American North Carolinians served their nation in political positions.

The Town of Swansboro and the Swansboro Historic Preservation Commission have been awarded a 2021 federal Historic Preservation Fund grant for Certified Local Governments from the National Park Service, administered through the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. The project is to conduct an architectural survey update within the boundaries of both the National Register-listed Swansboro Historic District (NR 1990) and the locally designated Swansboro Historic District.

A free online program hosted by the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will examine the formation of the Ku Klux Klan. Historian Steven Nash will present an in-depth look at the rise of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction and its terroristic campaign against the biracial Republican political coalition that emerged in the late 1860s.

Tickets are now available for Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site’s illumination event, which will take place on the evening of March 19. The program will commemorate the 157th anniversary of the battle with luminaries for all 4,133 of those killed, wounded, or missing from the battle. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m., with the last admission at 9 p.m.

The CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center is expanding. The Center will unveil its final phase of permanent exhibits to the public March 12. Entitled “The Civil War in Eastern North Carolina,” these exhibits will examine a variety of aspects of the Civil War including causes, military engagements and personalities, and the involvement of African Americans and women.

Montgomery County has been chosen as the subject of a comprehensive survey of historic buildings and landscapes planned from 2022-23. Funding for this architectural survey comes from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF), administered by the National Park Service, for hurricanes Florence and Michael.

Nominations are open for the North Carolina Heritage Award, the state’s highest honor for traditional artists, until May 2. A program of the N.C. Arts Council, the Heritage Award honors active traditional artists, recognizes artistic excellence in a traditional art, celebrates contributions to communities, and promotes North Carolina’s cultural heritage. Artists who are recognized within their communities as keepers of North Carolina’s living traditions may be nominated for the award. Anyone can nominate a traditional artist or group of artists for a N.C. Heritage Award.

Nominations are being accepted for the 2022 North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state, now through April 15. Created by the General Assembly in 1961 and administered by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the award recognizes “notable accomplishments by North Carolina citizens” in the fields of literature, science, fine arts and public service.