Museum of the Cherokee Indian
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian was founded in 1948 to preserve and perpetuate Cherokee history, culture, and stories through permanent and changing exhibits, workshops, festivals, archives, and special educational programs. The Museum is a non-profit organization representing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized tribe, and has become one of the most […]
North Carolina Folklore Society
Founded in 1913, the North Carolina Folklore Society is one of the oldest state folklore societies. It is committed to promoting the appreciation, study and preservation of North Carolina’s rich folk cultural heritages. Through its publications, annual meeting, awards, and other programs, the NCFS encourages the continuation of diverse cultural traditions present in the state […]
North Carolina Museum of Art
When George Holt, former director of the North Carolina Arts Council’s Folklife Program, joined the staff of the North Carolina Museum of Art in the fall of 1996, he introduced folklife-related programming that has drawn new audiences to the museum. As director of performing arts and film programs, he manages the programming for the museums […]
North Carolina Museum of History
The North Carolina Museum of History promotes the understanding of the history and material culture of North Carolina for the educational benefit of North Carolinians. Through collections and historical interpretation, its museums encourage citizens and visitors to explore and understand the past; to reflect on their own lives and their place in history; and to […]
North Carolina Pottery Center
Located in a rural area of the North Carolina piedmont where pottery making has a 200-year history, the North Carolina Pottery Center opened in the town of Seagrove in 1998. The facility features a permanent exhibit that interprets the history of pottery making in North Carolina, temporary exhibits in adjacent galleries, an educational building, and […]
One Dozen Who Care
One Dozen Who Care is an African American-led community development organization in the far western part of North Carolina. Members have come together to strengthen their leadership abilities and create community bonds through their common cultural interests. The group’s main goals are to increase and strengthen community leadership, assure the well-being of children and youth, […]
North Carolina Maritime Museum
The North Carolina Maritime Museum, in Beaufort, North Carolina, documents, collects, preserves, and researches the maritime history—and its corollary natural history—of coastal North Carolina, for the purpose of interpreting this history through educational services and exhibits, and passing intact its material culture to future generations. All of the museum’s programs and exhibits, both general and […]
Pinecone
PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, was formed in 1984 to honor the traditional music heritage that makes North Carolina unique. PineCone is a private, non-profit, charitable membership organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who are Triangle citizens. PineCone is supported by the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County and […]
Southern Highland Craft Guild
The Southern Highland Craft Guild, which is headquartered in the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center in Asheville, is a non-profit educational organization with a membership of more than 700 crafts artists living and working in the mountain regions of nine southeastern states. Since its inception in 1930, the Guild has worked to instill and […]
Southern Folklife Collection
The Southern Folklife collection (SFC) ranks as one of the nation’s foremost archival resources for the study of American folk music and popular culture. Located in the Manuscripts Department of the Academic Affairs Library (Wilson Library) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the SFC holdings extensively document all forms of southern musical […]
Southwide Textile Heritage Initiative
The Southwide Textile Heritage Initiative’s missions are to preserve the history and heritage of the Southern cotton mill people, and to tell their story to future generations. Based at the Cooleemee Textile Heritage Center in Davie County, and affiliated with the Cooleemee Historical Association, the Textile Heritage Initiative publishes the magazine Bobbin and Shuttle, and […]
Student Action With Farmworkers
Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring students and farmworkers together to learn about each other’s lives, share resources and skills, improve conditions for farmworkers, and build diverse coalitions working for social change. SAF accomplishes its mission by coordinating summer internships, providing year-round opportunities for direct service, and […]
Stecoah Valley Arts, Crafts and Educational Center, Inc.
The Stecoah Valley Center is a non-profit organization formed by a group of local citizens dedicated to the preservation and promotion of community life and mountain culture. The center provides local artisans with studio workspace, and it houses a library, family resource center, and a cooperative craft shop. Located in the old Stecoah school, built […]
United Tribes of North Carolina
The United Tribes of North Carolina (UTNC) is a non-profit organization established in 1982 to provide greater coordination and unity among the Indian tribes and organizations of the state. Its goals include providing cultural activities and increasing economic prosperity for Indians of North Carolina. UTNC provides Indian tribes and organizations with a unique vehicle to […]
Southern Appalachian English
The Southern Appalachian English website, compiled by Michael Montgomery of the University of South Carolina, contains audio clips and transcripts from 1939 interviews with elderly residents of the Smoky Mountains, including some who were born before the Civil War. This site also includes a thorough bibliography about Southern and Appalachian dialects, an extensive dictionary of […]
WPAQ Mount Airy
“WPAQ of Mount Airy, NC is a radio station in the classic southern tradition. Since signing on in 1948, it has featured live local and touring professional artists performing old time, bluegrass, and traditional gospel music. With uncommon consistency, the station has reflected the musical values of its community for nearly sixty years. WPAQ continues […]
Sometimes Community is Just a Piece of Cake
Here at NC Food we write about all aspects of our state’s traditional foodways. We tell potential bloggers to think of food as communication – what growing, preparing, and eating in certain ways says about a community’s traditions, history, and values. This week I saw an example of community values emerging through food in a […]
Durham Farmer’s Market
(9) Durham Farmer’s Market, by Barbara Lau The Durham Farmer’s market is fast becoming a community institution. Supporters are now working with local architect Ellen Cassilly and contractor C. T. Wilson to build a permanent structure in the nearby Durham Central Park. Like an open-air barn, the new market will bring an agricultural feel to […]
Catfish Cove Fish Camp
(8) Catfish Cove Fish Camp, by Paul Overton If you were to ask a typical North Carolinian to tell what a fish camp is, most would come up short for words, but for the people in Gaston County, the fish camps have been a way of life since the 1940s. Independent producer Paul Overton recently […]
Cherokee Heritage Trails
[wpshopcart_add_to_cart id=”6″] Winner, 2004 Willie Parker Peace History Book Award, North Carolina Society of Historians 2004 Preserve America Presidential Award for Heritage Tourism Enriched by Cherokee voices, this guidebook offers a unique journey into the lands and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Every […]
Going Down to Raleigh
[wpshopcart_add_to_cart id=”3″] Going Down to Raleigh: Stringband Music in the North Carolina Piedmont 1976-1998 is a two-disc anthology that presents field recordings of stringband music from the central Piedmont of North Carolina. The musicians featured in the project are fiddlers, banjo players, guitarists, singers, and a hammered dulcimer player who first learned their music from […]
Blue Ridge Music Trails: Finding a Place in the Circle
[wpshopcart_add_to_cart id=”1″] The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia are the heart of a region where traditional music and dance are celebrated as nowhere else in America. This book is a comprehensive traveler’s guide to discovering the many places where this unique music-making legacy thrives. The book leads readers to more than 160 […]
Asian Greens at the Market
Trend: Asian Veggies at North Carolina Farmers’ Markets This spring you might notice a few new faces at your local farmers’ market. Sure you’ll see spinach, arugula, eggs, and asparagus, but tucked in between these market mainstays you might also notice bok choy, yu choy, tatsoi, mizuna, even Japanese eggplant. These Asian varieties have begun […]
Carson Varnam’s Shellfish Market
Last Tuesday I went to Carson Varnam’s Shellfish Market to photograph a typical day during oyster season. Around 9:30 the first of the day’s harvest arrives at the market, where they’re placed into cold storage before being sold locally or delivered to restaurants or retail markets. There are opportunities for Mikey Fulford, Carson Varnam’s grandson, […]