Topics Related to Awards

North Carolina high school students from 25 counties across the state will take the stage on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Greensboro, to compete in the annual statewide Poetry Out Loud competition.

Thirty-five schools are sending students to compete in Poetry Out Loud, which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the North Carolina Arts Council. The event is free and open to the public.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the official induction of Jaki Shelton Green as North Carolina’s first African American poet laureate.

Nominations are open for the North Carolina Heritage Award, the state’s highest honor for traditional artists, until Friday, May 1. Artists who are recognized within their communities as keepers of North Carolina’s living traditions may be nominated for the award. Past recipients have included musicians, craftspeople, storytellers, dancers, and practitioners of traditional occupations. The award has honored both professionally acclaimed artists and those who practice their art in family and community settings. 

Six distinguished North Carolinians were presented the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest honor, by Governor Roy Cooper at a Nov. 16 ceremony at the Raleigh Convention Center. The award recognizes significant lifetime achievements in the areas of fine arts, literature, public service and science.

Celebrate some of the brightest, most creative and giving of North Carolina citizens at the North Carolina Awards ceremony Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Each year the state recognizes citizens who have made a significant impact on North Carolina and the nation in the areas of fine arts, literature, science or public service with a black-tie gala. The award is presented by the governor.

The state’s highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award, will be presented to six distinguished North Carolinians Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Raleigh Convention Center. Governor Roy Cooper will present the award at a 7 p.m. banquet and ceremony. The award was created by the General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service and science.

North Carolina students were among top 10 finishers in the National History Day Competition held June 9-13 at the University of Maryland, College Park. From more than 3,000 competitors, four North Carolina student projects were among the top 10 and one was a special prize winner, on the theme, “Triumph and Tragedy in History.” More than 100 students overall took home cash prizes of from $250 to $1,000 after a journey involving local, state and national competitions.

North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green has been named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow by the Academy of American Poets.

Nominations are being accepted for the 2019 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. 

The new date for the installation of North Carolina’s ninth Poet Laurate, Jaki Shelton Green, is Monday, Dec. 10 at the State Capitol.