Heading west? Make sure you’re in tune with the music traditions of the North Carolina mountains. In 29 counties from Rockingham to Cherokee, from Ashe on down to Cleveland, banjos, fiddles, and voices combine to form a melodic patchwork of people and places. This is where the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina (BRMT) wind through our Foothills and mountains. In their 2013 book, Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, Fred C. Fussell and Steve Kruger provide a guide — plus a 26-track CD of traditional tunes — to the artists, festivals, concerts, jam sessions, and dances along the BRMT route, preserving and promoting the music that has thrived in our western counties for generations. Music is a part of life here in North Carolina, and the BRMT project helps ensure that it will remain so for years to come.
Growing up in North Carolina, the swelter of a late Southern summer was all about finding the best ways to cool off.
North Carolina pharmacists may not prescribe Pepsi anymore, but the sweet treats at these historic soda fountains can still cure a case of the blues.
The National Register of Historic Places has documented some 95,000 structures, sites, and districts across the country. In North Carolina, around 2,900 properties — from churches and cotton mills to farms, homes, and schools — have earned this designation. Now, these special spots representing our state’s history are known nationwide.
Boiled, brittled, or bagged at the ballpark, there’s a peanut for practically every time and place. We’re proud that so many of them come from eastern North Carolina — ranked fifth in the nation for peanut production — where a whole lot of legumes find purchase in our sandy soil.
