For the week of Oct. 18 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend,” enjoy a tour of Historic Valdese. Lift a glass at Vineyards on the Scuppernong in Columbia. Get your engines revved up at Bennett Classics, an antique auto museum in Forest City. Go to the dogs at Walk-n-Wag in Cary. And tempt your taste buds at Plank Road Steakhouse in Farmville. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) “North Carolina Weekend” is exclusively underwritten by the N.C. Division of Tourism. …
Category: Tourism
Bulk copies of 2012 N.C. Travel Guide available by request
Bulk copies of the Official 2012 North Carolina Travel Guide are available at no charge to visitors centers, attractions, accommodations, and restaurants for their visitors and guests. Request bulk copies of the Travel Guide, which features Johnnie Mercer’s Pier in Wrightsville Beach on its cover, by emailing your request and delivery information to visitnc@nccommerce.com. The Travel Guide’s evocative photographs and modern digital features draw visitors into the natural, manmade and historic assets that enrich the state’s travel experience. The Travel …
Gorges State Park unveils new visitor center on Friday
Gorges State Park in Sapphire officially dedicates its new visitor center with a ceremony at 2 p.m. this Friday. The new 7,100-square-foot, eco-built visitor center stands as a testament to the potential for the only state park west of Asheville. The new building is impressive visually, with high glass windows that let in natural light, a lounge equipped with a stone fireplace, top notch exhibits, and gift shop. A nature center is packed with displays explaining the history and ecological …
Ashe County Fraser fir is headed to the White House
A Fraser fir from Peak Farms, near Jefferson in Ashe County, has won the honors to be decorated for display in the Blue Room at the White House during the Christmas season. To enter National Christmas Tree Association’s national contest, growers must first win their state/regional competitions in the previous 12 months. In August, growers across the nation picked out their best trees, cut them down and brought them to the National Christmas Tree Association’s 2012 National Christmas Tree Contest …
State Tourism Department releases 2011 Annual Report
Collaboration and wisely leveraging resources generated positive results again for North Carolina’s tourism economy in 2011. While recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, direct domestic visitor spending grew more than 8 percent to $18.4 billion, all 100 counties realized increases in visitor spending, and North Carolina ranked as the nation’s sixth most-visited state for overnight travel, according to the 2011 Annual Report, just released by the N.C. Department of Commerce Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Oct. 7 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend,” experience the festivities at the Edenton Peanut Festival. Take in the wonders of nature at the Charlotte Nature Museum. Step back in time via a tour of Civil War sites in Kinston. Consider a stay at the Jarrett House in Dillsboro. And enjoy a profile of Farmville. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) “North Carolina Weekend” is exclusively underwritten by the N.C. Division of Tourism. In addition, UNC-TV …
State Tourism Office Links Visitors to Fall Color, Fishing
RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 2, 2012) — With fall unfolding like magic, the North Carolina Division of Tourism is tapping the interactive power of social media to keep travelers connected to the landscape’s most vibrant foliage and the coast’s most bountiful fishing. Followers of VisitNC.com on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram can post and view current foliage photos from lofty Blue Ridge Mountain overlooks and rolling Piedmont woodlands as well as shots of just-caught red drum, bluefish and spotted seatrout. As …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Sept. 27 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend,” see selections from “The Gone with the Wind” classic movie at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Get lost at Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze in Asheville. Enjoy a variety of activities at Hexagon Wake Park in Benson. Take in the sights and food during the N.C. Seafood Festival in Morehead City. And the “House Special” samples the fare at The Legacy Restaurant in Elm City. (Please note: listings …
Nine Creative Ways to See North Carolina’s Fall Colors
RALEIGH, N.C. (Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012) — With the arrival of fall, the leaves are beginning to shade North Carolina in hues of burgundy, burnt orange and golden yellow. Starting with the lofty peaks in the north, color spreads to the south and east in a painterly wash before slowly fading into winter. It’s an orderly progression, yet the timing is tricky. In any given area, the weather can rush or delay the peak, prolong the glory or cut it …
USA Today: Celebrating Andy Griffith’s legacy at Mayberry Days Sept 27th – 30th
For more than two decades, the organizers of Mount Airy’s annual Mayberry Days festival have wooed visitors “who long for the days when life was simple and the sheriff didn’t carry a gun,” according to USA Today. The sheriff in question — Mount Airy native Andy Griffith, who played Mayberry lawman Andy Taylor in the beloved TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show — died in July at age 86. And, says Surry Arts Council’s executive director, Tanya Jones, “We get …
New York Times touts N.C. as a retirement location
Officials in the mid-South say there is a trend among retirees: those initially thinking they would retire to Florida or the Southwest are instead coming to places like North Carolina and other southern states, according to a recent article in The New York Times. Census data analyzed by the Brookings Institution show that mid-South locations were showing some of the most rapid increases in 65 and older populations. Raleigh, for instance, is at the top of that list, with its …
DNC boosts room demand, rates and recycling
During the Democratic National Convention earlier this month, the 15,000-strong press corps joined 5,556 delegates in Charlotte, filling the region’s hotel rooms. Charlotte hoteliers reported room demand of approximately 30,000 rooms per night at an ADR of approximately $215. Room demand increased on average 61 percent year over year, and ADR was 160 percent higher. Given the demand surge, occupancy increased to more than 90 percent over the three-day event. All in all, $19 million was spent on room revenue …
US Travel Outlook: Tourism employment and spending grows
Even while economic activity continues to increase slowly, according to the most recent issue of U.S. Travel Outlook, the latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is disappointing. The 96,000 new jobs in August dropped unemployment to 8.1 percent, with strong private sector job gains, but August also marked the 43rd consecutive month of unemployment over 8 percent, the longest stretch since record keeping began in 1948. Despite overall lackluster employment data, the U.S. travel industry continues to …
NCDOT approves $622,880 for installation of elevator on Motor Vessel Pamlico ferry
Traveling on one of North Carolina’s ferries is about to get easier for passengers with limited mobility, thanks to new funding. At its September meeting, the N.C. Board of Transportation approved $622,880 through the Public Transportation Division’s New Freedom Program that will enable the Ferry Division to install an elevator on the Motor Vessel Pamlico. The Ferry Division will provide $155,720 towards the project, for a total cost of $778,600. Currently, passengers with limited mobility on the Motor Vessel Pamlico …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Sept. 20 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend,” take in the festivities at Mountain Heritage Day in Cullowhee. Step right up at the Davidson County Agricultural Fair in Lexington. Tempt your taste buds with Shallowford Farms’ Popcorn in Yadkinville. Relax at the Esmeralda Inn in Chimney Rock. And get your pedal on at the Point Lookout Bike Trail in Old Fort. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) “North Carolina Weekend” is exclusively underwritten by the N.C. …
N.C.Film Office: Motion pictures well received at Toronto Film Festival
Screenings of two Wilmington-made films at the Toronto International Film Festival delivered last week, earning filmmakers standing ovations at packed premieres, producers said. Audience members at the premiere of “Arthur Newman,” which stars Oscar-winner Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, responded positively, while laughter and tears accompanied the debut of “Writers,” a dramatic comedy starring Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly. During the TIFF, Millennium Entertainment picked up U.S. distribution rights to “Writers.” Combined, the features had a direct in-state spend of …
NPS seeks public input on Civil War battlefield preservation
As the nation observes the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the National Park Service (NPS) is asking for public feedback about the future of the war’s touchstone battlefields. The NPS’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) has released a draft report about the conditions of the nation’s Civil War battlefields. As directed by Congress, the report highlights battlefield preservation efforts over the past 20 years and sets new priorities for federal, state and local action. The report will help focus …
Study: $20.7 million economic impact of traditional music events in WNC
Old-time mountain and bluegrass music is more than a cultural treasure in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It can be an economic one, too. A recent study reported an analysis of music venues showed an economic impact of $20.7 million from 26 traditional music events in western North Carolina. The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership and the N.C. Dept. of Cultural Resources announced the findings at the annual meeting of the BRNHA Partnership. The study looked at 26 music venues …
Baggage fees added on Bald Head Island ferry
Bald Head Island ferry passengers will see a change in baggage prices effective Oct. 1. Riders carrying baggage in excess of six items will be charged a $5 fee for each additional item, and a $23 charge will be assessed for “large, heavy or cumbersome items” such as bicycles and those longer than 7 feet. Oversized items cannot be carried on. The change does not affect passenger fares.
North Carolina Weekend
The schedule for the week of Sept. 6 on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Weekend” is different due to PBS televising the Democratic National Convention. “North Carolina Weekend” will be pre-empted on Thursday night on UNC-TV (but will run on UNC-EX at 7:00) but will air at 8:30 on Friday night. For this week’s episode, have a hoppin’ good time at the Hop ‘N Blueberry Farm in Black Mountain. Test your taste bud mettle at the N.C. Hot Sauce Contest in Oxford. …