Topics Related to Things to Do

Come Hear NC will sponsor the Main Stage at Red Hat Amphitheater during the Wide Open Bluegrass festival Sept. 27 to 28 in Raleigh, which will be open to the public for free for the first time in the festival’s history.

Come Hear NC is a program of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Arts Council designed to celebrate 2019 as the Year of Music as proclaimed by Governor Roy Cooper earlier this year.

Reed Gold Mine is celebrating another North Carolina treasure with its inaugural Barbecue Festival Saturday, April 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival is in conjunction with the traveling exhibit “The Story of Barbecue in North Carolina,” on display at Reed Gold Mine April 2 through June 15. Experience a taste sensation as five local restaurants showcase their gastronomic delights!

 A glimpse of 18th century life comes to Fort Dobbs as visitors will meet soldiers and settlers during the “War for Empire” program April 6-7. They can enjoy special performances of period music as part of the 2019 “Year of Music” organized by the N.C. Arts Council within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

 A stunning collection of 29 early North American maps are showcased in the new exhibit at Historic Bath, “Mapping the New World.” Covering over 300 years of cartographic history, the collection provides a unique look at the evolution of our understanding of the New World, with many of the maps focusing on North Carolina and its iconic coastal region.

The North Carolina Arts Council will offer three regional writing workshops this spring in Cary, Asheville and Wilmington that will be taught exclusively by North Carolina Arts Council literary Fellowship recipients.

The State Archives of North Carolina is developing a program that showcases some of its collections while engaging the public with hands-on activities that will increase the accessibility of archival records.

“Transcribe NC” is recruiting volunteers to spend a little time helping to transcribe its first projects—county draft board records of those men who were drafted or enlisted during World War I, and the travel writings of those North Carolinians fortunate to travel the nation and the world.
 

History buffs, community leaders and preservationists will aid in the preservation of Civil War sites in North Carolina this spring. Historic Edenton holds its Park Day Saturday, March 30. Three other venues will have Park Day events Saturday, April 6 and one will be held Saturday, April 13. Thousands of volunteers across the country participate in the American Battlefield Trust organized event. 
 

The discovery of a 17-pound gold nugget by Conrad Reed in 1799 is America’s first documented gold discovery. His discovery and his father John’s development of the mine are celebrated. Little notice is given to his mother, Sarah Kiser Reed, or other women during the gold rush period.

The world of computer games was an uninviting one for Phaedra Boinodiris and her sister, so they invented womengamers.com to create a space that spoke to and reflected them.

Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of the popular “Outlander” book series, will visit two N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources attractions for ticketed events April 26-28.