Happy New Year! Before we begin 2013, take a look at our readers’ favorite cover, photo essay, story, video, and recipe of the year! Thanks to the more than 2000 readers and fans who casted their vote.
Doc Watson (July 2012)
Our July 2012 cover of Doc Watson appeared weeks after his passing. The issue featured a list of 100 North Carolina icons, which garnered a lot of conversation among readers and fans as they reviewed the pull-out poster of icons.
“Hazel” by Michael Graff (August 2012)
Graff’s story details that day in October 1954 when a terrible storm shattered lives and communities in North Carolina. As part of this story, we collected readers’ memories of Hazel. Read those submissions here.
“State Affair” (October 2012)
For 11 days at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, we celebrate. We ride Ferris wheels, eat funnel cakes, and win prizes. But more important than what we do is the reason we do it. Since 1853, this fair has honored North Carolina agriculture. Behind those midway lights, farm families present their finest, from their best cows to their prettiest pumpkins. And they invite you to join them. This October, take a ride, eat something sweet, and say thank you to the people who make the most of our land. Photography by Jessie Gladin-Kramer.
Pumpkin Belgian Waffles (February 2012)
This recipe for Pumpkin Belgian Waffles was featured in a story about the Inn on Mill Creek, an Asheville-area bed and breakfast. The recipe is just one of those on the breakfast menu at the Inn and the innkeepers were kind enough to share it with us.
“Our Carolina Cakes” (February 2012)
Our “Carolina Cakes” feature in February was a popular one. In this video, Our State recipe testers and food stylists Wendy Perry and Teresa Williford prepare our Carolina cakes for the photo shoot. Learn more about how these exclusive Our State recipes were developed and just what makes them so tasty. Video produced exclusively for Our State magazine by Jenny Tenney.
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
