Welcome back to the place that shines a little brighter, glows a little warmer, than anywhere else. This month, we explore living spaces from Biltmore to birdhouses with one question in mind: Why do North Carolinians refer to their “homeplace,” not their house or their abode or even their home place? Here’s what we think: The two words cozy up, making something bigger than a physical location. There’s room for memories in that word, and there’s room to return. There’s always a light on at home. — Katie Saintsing
The kitchen is the heart of the home, a place to learn, nourish, and gather. A cooking instructor in Asheville hopes to keep it that way.
A community of artists finds a home, and a family, at a gallery near Creedmoor.
In 2007, Carrboro folk musician Stephanie Stewart left North Carolina, where she’d grown up, to spend a year in the Pacific Northwest. There, amid bright city lights and gloomy rainy days, she found both a renewed appreciation for her Southern roots and inspiration for a song. “I was ready to leave you, as I looked out my rearview, and watched your Blue Ridge fade into dust,” Stewart croons in the opening lines of “Wake Me Carolina.” This is her ode to the people and places she once left behind, and the journey she took to find her way back home.
Eastern bluebirds, once almost vanished from our state, thrive with the help of friendly (human) neighbors.
Across the globe from Vietnam, effects of the war reverberate through the state, where social and political perspectives are shifting quickly and dramatically.
These places are the stewards of some very special items: Doc Watson’s first recording, the desk Virginia Woolf used to redefine the novel, and Elisha Mitchell’s pocket watch are just some of the cherished pieces that teach us about our state’s history and the people who preserve it.
From burgers to comfort food to elegant entrées, the range of plant-based dining in North Carolina is growing. Restaurants on this list are exclusively vegetarian and/or vegan.
