Press Releases

The North Carolina African American Heritage Commission (NCAAHC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $5,000 planning grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR). The planning grant is one of 20 awarded statewide, which will be used for community engagement and to move toward submitting full proposals for a potential inclusive public art installation.

For the first time in three years, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ largest annual event is back in person. BugFest, the largest one-day bug-centric event in the country, introduces museum guests to a range of arthropods from North Carolina and around the world. Satisfy all your web weaving, wing flapping, dungball rolling, creepy crawling and bug munching pursuits in one day: Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. It’s in person and free!

It is time to salute the 50th anniversary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources again.  The Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center in Old Fort, N.C., will host the third of three "DNCR Days" celebrations Saturday, Sept. 10 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation will launch a new website Aug. 30.

The North Carolina State Capitol historic site will host a weekend of living history demonstrating the lives of Black soldiers after the Civil War.

A North Carolina state historic site, one of the earliest places of American Revolutionary War resistance against the British, was recently selected to receive federal preservation grant funding. Brunswick Town Fort Anderson State Historic Site in Winnabow, N.C., will receive a $500,000 grant through the Semiquincentennial Grant Program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The program is administered through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). 

The campground at Pettigrew State Park in Creswell, N.C., will close on Jan.1, 2023 for the construction of new campground facilities, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The project will include the refurbishment of existing campsites and the construction of new facilities and amenities. Construction is expected to take up to 12 months.

Eyewitnesses to the battle of Bentonville likened the noise of the fight to “one continuous peel of heavy thunder.” Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site will recreate that noise Aug. 20 during its “Heavy Thunder” event. Costumed interpreters will demonstrate how artillery and infantry units functioned during battles.

The national Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded two separate grants to fund projects at the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site. Both facilities are part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Matt Haynes is the new park superintendent at Bob's Creek State Natural Area in McDowell County, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. He is the first superintendent of the natural area, which was authorized in 2017. Haynes served as a park ranger at Hanging Rock State Park for nine years before a promotion to advanced ranger at Chimney Rock, where he also served for nine years. During his time as a ranger, he periodically acted as superintendent and was the lead natural resources ranger.