From the Moore Square District in Downtown Raleigh to "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, catch these five things every North Carolinian should do during the month of November.

1. Moore Square District, Downtown Raleigh

   As Raleigh’s hub for arts and culture, the Moore Square District makes a good day venture for the art and food enthusiast. The city block, bounded by Hargett, Blount, Martin, and Person streets, encompasses a park ornamented with Raleigh’s signature decoration, the acorn. This park serves as a home base for the walker or biker who wants to take advantage of Moore Square District’s galleries, studios, and restaurants.

   Get going early in Moore Square with breakfast at Big Ed’s, a Raleigh institution open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. Big Ed’s is just south of the park along the cobblestone streets of City Market. The restaurant serves breakfast all day, the best of country cooking — ham, biscuits, and grits. The lucky few catch a glimpse of Big Ed himself, the restaurant’s original owner. The luckier still get to sit in his chair and enjoy a Southern breakfast on a down-home, red-checkered tablecloth.

   Fueled to go, stray a bit farther south for your first insight into why Moore Square is known as the arts district. Located on East Davie Street since 1986, Artspace makes art accessible to the Raleigh public. Artspace is an open studio where artists, who use a variety of materials, work in front of visitors. Instead of just seeing the final product, visitors gain an understanding of art as a process. A series of galleries also display work by artists in residence.

   A light lunch is in order after your big breakfast. Travel back to the City Market area of Moore Square District, and stop at Benelux Café on Blake Street for a sampling of coffees and teas accompanied by pastries, waffles, sandwiches, and salads.

   Spend the afternoon touring the district’s specialized galleries, such as Blake Street Studios near Benelux Café or Adam Cave Fine Art on East Hargett Street. Or catch a show at the Wells Fargo Imax Theatre at Marbles Kids Museum. The museum marries education and entertainment on the big screen with a wildlife documentary or an exposé on the Hubble telescope in orbit.

   Half a block from the theater entrance, enjoy dinner at Caffe Luna, an authentic Italian restaurant located in one of Moore Square District’s historic buildings at the northwest corner of the park. The chefs are masters of the culinary arts, making Caffe Luna a fitting way to end such an artistic day.

   Moore Square District
   Downtown Raleigh
   For more information, contact the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau at (919) 834-5900 or visitraleigh.com.

2. Antiquing Adventure

   One of the oldest antique events in the area, the Asheville Antiques Fair attracts the best in collectors, dealers, and shoppers each year. This year, on November 4-6, the fair celebrates its 65th show with more than 40 antiques dealers at Asheville’s Crowne Plaza Resort. Come for jewelry, period furniture, art, and silver. On November 5, bring your attic treasures to the show for appraisal. At a cost of $20 for three appraisals, you might find out that your $3 flea-market buy is worth $300. The Asheville Antiques Fair distributes some of its profits to local causes including the Eblen Charities and the Asheville Symphony, so satisfying your love of antiques is also a good way to give back.

   For more information, visit ashevilleantiquesfair.com.

3. Go Nuts

   North Carolina farmers grow between 3 million and 6 million pounds of pecans every year, so it’s natural that a small North Carolina town should hold a festival in the nut’s honor. The seventh annual North Carolina Pecan Harvest Festival takes place November 4-5 in downtown Whiteville, located east of Interstate 95 near the South Carolina border. The festival is free, and featured activities include a car show; a parade; the presentation of the pecan belles, cadets, and queen; and a live band. For the first time, this year’s schedule also includes a Coca-Cola center with a race-car simulator and arcade games in the shape of Coke cans. The event usually draws a crowd of more than 10,000 people to learn about this important export while enjoying a down-home festival.

   For more information, visit ncpecanfestival.com, or call (910) 642-4299.

4. Last Chance

“Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” closes on November 27 after a four-month run at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. The exhibit tells the heart-wrenching stories of Titanic passengers through more than 125 artifacts on display. Receive your replicated boarding pass at the exhibit’s entrance; then travel chronologically through the ship’s construction to its last moments above the icy waters of the north Atlantic. At the end, take your boarding pass to the memorial wall to discover the fate of your traveler and companions. The stories of the Titanic still resonate with us more than 100 years after it sank.

For more information, visit natsci.org/titanic, or call (336) 288-3769.

5. Take a Walk

   Immerse yourself in one of North Carolina’s most historic small towns — Elizabeth City — on a self-guided walking tour. A pamphlet, put out by the Elizabeth City Historic Neighborhood Association in 2010, leads you around the Main Street commercial district, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Without the constraints of a tour group or guide, pop in any of the shops and restaurants along the way to warm up or buy a souvenir. Some of the tour’s highlights include the Arlington Hotel site where Orville and Wilbur Wright stayed on their first trip to North Carolina and the Reverend Forbes Monument that marks the spot where the rector of Elizabeth City’s Christ Episcopal Church surrendered the city to the Union Navy in 1862, saving the buildings and their inhabitants. The guide is available at many Elizabeth City locations including the Elizabeth City Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce.

   For more information, visit echna.org, or call (252) 335-5330.

Taylor Rankin in a senior journalism major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.