Pickles, People & Place: Thinking Like a Folklorist About Rituals
December 31, 2025
Reflections on the NPR story about Mount Olive’s New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop This past week NPR shared a story about a place and event many North Carolinians know well: Mount Olive’s New Year’s Eve pickle drop – a playful tradition now tied to that town’s identity. At first glance, dropping a glowing pickle from […]
2025 at the North Carolina Folklife Institute: Stories, Partnerships, and the Work Ahead
December 18, 2025
As 2025 comes to a close, the North Carolina Folklife Institute reflects on a year shaped by collaboration, listening, and deep engagement with communities across the state. Our work this year centered the people who carry cultural knowledge forward – artists, tradition bearers, apprentices, and public servants – and the partnerships that make this work […]