Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project Progress and Funding Celebrated

Posted October 19, 2012 – 10:30 am

BEAUFORT – Gov. Bev Perdue joined N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda Carlisle in celebrating the scientific research and tourism benefits that have derived from the study of the shipwreck of Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.  It also was announced today at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort that more than $400,000 of a $450,000 goal has been raised from private sources to continue research at the wreck site.

“It’s great to see continued archaeological work uncover historic artifacts at the Queen Anne’sRevenge shipwreck site,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. ”The educational opportunities are plentiful and it further adds to our thriving tourism industry.”

Interest in the study at the shipwreck site just near Beaufort and the visitors who flock to see recovered cannons and other artifacts, along with ongoing state budget constraints, prompted Secretary Linda Carlisle this year to undertake the fundraising project.

“These financial contributions are crucial if we are to meet our goal of complete underwater archaeological excavation by 2014,” said Carlisle. “More than 34,000 additional artifacts remain at risk under the sea, including 12 cannons, 2 anchors, and 4,000 concretions.  Time is critical.”

Carlisle continued, “We are particularly grateful to ‘Flagship Sponsor’ Grady White Boatsas their contribution will support artifact recovery and conservation.  A special thanks as well to Bucky and Wendi Oliver, owners of Front Street Village, whose financial commitment will be used toward our educational outreach and exhibits.

Other financial sponsors include Cannon Foundation, Marion Stedman Covington Foundation, Archaeological Institute of America Foundation, and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.

For more information, download the Queen Anne’s Revenge media packet.

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Announcing Triangle Home Movie Day

Posted October 17, 2012 – 1:18 pm

What: Triangle Home Movie Day. Brought to you by A/V Geeks, NCSU Film Studies, Duke’s Archive of Documentary Arts, and State Archives of North Carolina.

When: Saturday October 20th, 2012, 1pm – 4pm. Free and Open to the Public.

Where: State Archives of North Carolina, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, N.C., First Floor Auditorium. Free & easy parking in lot across the street or street parking.

Website:   http://www.avgeeks.com/hmd.html

Contacts:   Skip Elsheimer, A/V Geek skip@avgeeks.com, 919-247-7752, and
Marsha Orgeron, Associate Professor, Film Studies, NCSU, 919-515-4164, marsha_orgeron@ncsu.edu

Tagline:  What hidden treasures lie in those old home movies that you have in the closet? Come to Home Movie Day and find out the value of these unique cultural and historical documents and how to save them for future generations. Spend the day watching old films and playing Home Movie Day bingo. Go home with prizes and a free transfer of your film!

What Is Home Movie Day?

Home Movie Day was started in 2002 as a worldwide celebration of amateur home movies, during which people in cities and towns all over would get to meet local film archivists, find out about the long-term benefits of film versus video and digital media, and-most importantly-get to watch those old family films! Because they will happen in communities across the globe, HOME MOVIE DAY events and screenings can focus on local and family histories, taking us back to a time when Main Street was bustling and the beehive hair-do was all the rage, with images of people we may know or resemble. Home movies are an essential record of our past, and they are among the most authoritative documents of times gone by.

This year marks the 10th Home Movie Day with over 70 participating hosts in more than 14 countries.

How Can You Participate?

It’s simple: rifle through your attics, dig through your closets, call up Grandma, and search out your family’s home movies (8mm, Super8mm, or 16mm) and bring them to the nearest Home Movie Day event to see them projected.  Or just show up and watch the films of others. It’s not just historically significant – it’s fun! Triangle HMD will also be featuring Home Movie Day Bingo with prizes for the WHOLE FAMILY!

A Brief History

Home Movie Day was started by a group of film archivists concerned about what would happen to all the home movies shot on film during the 20th century. They knew many people out there have boxes full of family memories that they’ve never seen for lack of a projector, or fears that the films were too fragile to be viewed again. They also knew that many people were having their amateur films transferred to videotape or DVD, with the mistaken idea that their new digital copies would last forever and the “obsolete” films could be discarded. Original films can long outlast any film or video transfer and are an important part of our cultural history! For more information about the other Home Movie Days around the world, visit the Home Movie Day site.

Testimonials from Past Home Movie Days

“We brought footage that we had never seen before taken of our wedding in the 1960s.  It

was exciting to see us all dressed up in our wedding gear, and that adorable flower girl who is of course all grown up now.”

Jerrie Dearborn, Raleigh

“You can’t imagine what it means to a parent to look back and see how cute they were and how happy your kids were.  I wouldn’t take a million dollars for these, I really wouldn’t.”

Gerry Probert, Garner

“Thanks so much for Home Movie Day. It was so great to see my family again the way it was. I called mom last night and told her I had seen the films and she was so happy. It was also the first time my husband had seen my dad ‘in action’.”

Teresa Nunes, Raleigh

“My family has had a pile of old films in a cabinet for as long as I can remember.  It had been years and years since any of us had thought about them.  After hearing about Home Movie Day, I remembered the films and brought a film that ended up being a short fiction movie my family made in the 1950s starring my mother as a cannibalistic stalker lurking in a tree!  It was enormous fun to see, and it was also wonderful to see some shots of my older sister as a baby, toddling around. I also loved seeing other people’s films.  It was like an unedited archive of what used to be important to record.  It was great!

Anna Bigelow, Raleigh

“Years of therapy don’t come close to the experience of seeing yourself, at age two, hunting Easter eggs in your plaid overalls.  After the HMD experts had inspected my 40-year-old Super-8 film and carefully mounted the reel on the projector, I watched in amazement as my early childhood appeared on the screen.  I had never seen this footage before; I had never even suspected that such treasures lay waiting in the old tin breadbox of home movies my mother had found in the attic.  My kids had a great time, too.  It blew their little minds to see daddy as a toddler, and they had so much fun playing Home Movie Day Bingo.  Home Movie Day was a wonderful event for the whole family.”

Steve Wiley, Raleigh

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Change and Tradition in Western North Carolina Symposium

Posted October 17, 2012 – 9:22 am

ASHEVILLE — Pesky alcohol enforcement agents and railroads coming to the mountains will be among topics explored at the symposium, “Change and Tradition: Exploiting Western North Carolina 1877-1900  A History Symposium” on Oct. 26 and 27, in Asheville at the Reuter Center, UNC-Asheville. It is presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

“The Gilded Age and Appalachia” will be the keynote address by Ron Eller, University of Kentucky, on Friday at 7 p.m. The free Friday program is open to the public. Reservations are required for Saturday sessions, which will include “Hillbillies in the Land of the Sky,” by Richard Starnes, Western Carolina University; “Battleground Woods: WNC Forests in the Gilded Age,” by Katheryn Newfont, Mars Hill College; and “Those Pesky Revenuers,” by Bruce Stewart, Appalachian State University.

Reservations for the public are $90, and include lunch and a reception on Saturday.  For additional information, or to register, call (828) 253-9321, email smh@wnchistory.org or visit conference website.

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North Carolina Celebrates Archives Week October 22-26

Posted October 16, 2012 – 10:18 am

RALEIGH–Governor Beverly Eaves Perdue has designated Oct. 22-26 as Archives Week in North Carolina. The State Archives of North Carolina will celebrate Archives Week with educational programs planned to reflect this year’s theme, “Journeys to Justice: Civil Rights in North Carolina.” Documents will be exhibited in the State Archives on Monday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

One such document on view will be the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. North Carolina ratified the amendment abolishing slavery in December 1865 with these words:  “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Visitors can view this and other records, documents, letters, and photographs in the Archives Search Room. In addition, archivist Ashley Yandle will present “Armchair Historians: Tools You Use At Home or on the Go,” Monday, Oct, 22, from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m. to noon, the Friends of the Archives will sponsor“Digitizing and Remote Sharing of Family Materials” a workshop about digital preservation of family papers and photographs and the ease of sharing family information through digital formats.  This workshop is free for Friends members and is $10 for non-members. Please register by telephoning 919-807-7310.

Saturday, Oct, 20, is Triangle Home Movie Day, part of a worldwide celebration of amateur home movies. Bring in your family films (8mm, Super8mm, or 16mm home only) to share and talk with archivists about ways to properly store films and plan for their future. This event, from 1-4 p.m., is free and will be held in the Cultural Resources auditorium.

All events take place at the State Archives of North Carolina at 109 E. Jones St. in Raleigh. The State Archives is a unit of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.  For more on North Carolina arts, culture and history, visit Cultural Resources online.

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Queen Anne’s Revenge Community Day at N.C. Maritime Museum

Posted October 15, 2012 – 4:00 pm

BEAUFORT–As part of “National Archaeology Day” the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort will host a number of fun-filled activities related to the Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR) project on Saturday, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.  With a focus on artifacts recovered from the wreck of Blackbeard’s flagship, conservators will explain how the items are freed from the cement-like casings called concretions after nearly 300 years in the ocean.

Free family fun, educational entertainment, and 18th century tools last touched by pirates will provide a unique experience for all audiences on Community Day.  Games, crafts, weapon demonstrations, and a chance to talk with members of the research team also are part of the day’s activities.

In June 1718, the Queen Anne’s Revenge ran aground in Beaufort Inlet. The shipwreck was located in 1996 by Intersal, Inc. of Florida by Operations Director Mike Daniel through research provided by Intersal President Phil Masters. Since 1997 the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources’ Underwater Archaeology Branch has led research at the wreck site.  The fall dive expedition will conclude later this month and updates are available at on the project’s website.

The N.C. Maritime Museum is located at 315 Front Street in Beaufort.  Museum hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m.  Admission to the museum is free.  For more information, call (252) 728-7317 or visit the museum’s website. The Maritime Museum in Beaufort is a unit of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.  For more on North Carolina arts, culture and history, visit Cultural Resources online.

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Seventeenth Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration

Posted October 15, 2012 – 11:14 am

By pure coincidence, this year’s 17th Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh falls on Saturday, Nov. 17.     These matching numbers add up to one exciting festival for all ages. Dancers in traditional regalia, drum groups, storytellers, craftspeople and others from North Carolina’s eight state-recognized tribes will take part in this free event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.* Come learn about the contributions of the state’s American Indians, past and present. All the fun takes place at the Museum of History and outside on Bicentennial Plaza.

The American Indian Heritage Celebration will feature performances, artisans at work, hands-on activities, informative talks and more. The event lineup ranges from a performance by blues musician Lakota John of the Lumbee tribe to a weapon-making demonstration by John Blackfeather Jeffries of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation.

During the Grand Entry at noon, dancers in colorful regalia will be led by Miss Indian North Carolina Layla Rose Locklear, who is a Lumbee tribe member, and Mike Richardson, a Haliwa-Saponi tribe member. They will proceed onto Bicentennial Plaza to the beats of the drum groups Southern Sun and Stoney Creek.

Outdoors, see a dugout canoe being burned into shape or watch a hide-tanning demonstration. Step indoors for activities such as craft demonstrations by potters, stone carvers and basketmakers.

A sampling of other activities follows. For a schedule of all performances and presentations, visit the Museum of History’s website or call (919) 807-7900.

–Watch the world-renowned Warriors of AniKituhwa of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians bring to life the Cherokee War dance and the Eagle Tail dance. Their informative demonstration includes social dances, such as the Bear dance.

–Hear a panel of archaeologists from East Carolina University and UNC-Chapel Hill discuss recent findings in the state related to American Indian culture.

–Participate in hands-on crafts and traditional games. Play a game of corncob darts or shoot a blowgun. Make a ribbonwork bookmark or stitch along with the Coharie Quilters. Go on a scavenger hunt. Learn how to grind corn.

–Talk with artisans at work, such as beadworker Jessica Spaulding Dingle of the Waccamaw-Siouan tribe, and wampum and jewelry maker Julian Hunter of the Meherrin tribe.

–Pick up a recipe and hear stories from Gloria Barton Gates, author of The Scuffletown Cookbook: Lumbee Indian Recipes of Yesteryear.  

–See and learn about traditional Southeastern woodland Indian clothing from Lumbee tribe member Jaime Oxendine. Sharon Berrun of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe will highlight modern dance regalia.

–Grab lunch from vendors on Bicentennial Plaza, and try some traditional American Indian foods with a modern twist. Purchase fry bread, sweet potato tarts, buffalo burgers, collard sandwiches, fried pies and more.

The Nov. 17 festival is a great way to celebrate national American Indian Heritage Month and meet members of all eight state-recognized tribes. Mark your calendar for this not-to-be-missed event.

The American Indian Heritage Celebration is supported by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Food Lion; N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs; N.C. Museum of History Associates; Raleigh Arts Commission; and United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, with funds from the United Arts campaign, the N.C. Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art.

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Museum of the Albemarle proudly presents Susan Gibson and Bobby Plough

Posted October 12, 2012 – 12:40 pm

Award-winning songwriter Susan Gibson, one of the most dynamic and respected performers in Texas, will take the stage along with local, Folk Americana Singer/Songwriter, Bobby Plough at the Museum of the Albemarle on Saturday, October 20th, 2012.  The ticketed show begins at 7:00 p.m. with tickets available in advance at $13 for FOMOA Members, $15 for Non-members. Tickets at the door (if available) will be $25.  Seating is limited to 200 so the Museum encourages folks to purchase their tickets early to be guaranteed entrance.

Locally, the name Susan Gibson may not stand out, but Gibson is a Grammy award winning singer/songwriter from Wimberley, Texas and a respected performer and writer with one of the top-selling country songs of all time under her belt – she wrote ”Wide Open Spaces” that the Dixie Chicks cover and has four solo albums released nationally.  Susan tours year-round and performs at a variety of festivals, listening rooms, and house concert venues.  This past year she has toured the U.S. through the Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, and Eastern Canada as well as regionally all over Texas.  She was also inducted into the West Texas Music Hall of Fame as 2009′s Entertainer of the Year.  She released her 4th album, “Tightrope,” to rave reviews in February 2011.

Local folks already know Plough for his many performances throughout the region where he has shared his own personal music and talented guitar-picking during local festivals and special events.  Additionally he is owner of the ever-popular restaurant Cypress Creek Grill where folks from all over the region travel for fine dining.

Performances begin at 7 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m.  Ticket holders are invited to come early beginning at 6 p.m. for light hors d’oeuvres and Cash Bar beverages and to begin seating within the Gaither Auditorium.  Doors close promptly at 7 p.m.  Gibson and Plough will take a brief intermission around 8:30 p.m. with the Museum offering further refreshments and Cash Bar beverages while the two performers meet with attendees to sign autographs and offer the sale of their music and merchandise.  Performances will resume at 9 p.m.

Funds raised by this event will benefit the Museum of the Albemarle’s 2012-13 programming.  To set up an interview regarding Gibson and the show, please contact Jana Pochop by email or  at (830) 624-9644.

For more information call (252) 335-1453, visit the Museum’s website or find us on Facebook.

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“Shooting Stars Sleepover” at Town Creek Indian Mound

Posted October 11, 2012 – 5:00 pm

MOUNT GILEAD–A crisp autumn evening, a movie under starry skies, and a meteor shower await participants of the “Shooting Stars Sleepover” Town Creek Indian Mound on Saturday, Oct. 20.

“Get your tent, camping chairs and blankets for what may be the best meteor shower of 2012,” advises Town Creek Site Manager Rich Thompson.  “Come enjoy some great family fun under the stars.”

The evening starts at 7 p.m. with a short astronomy presentation on the Orionid Meteor Shower, which will peak after midnight. The moving drama “Voices in the Wind” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. The movie is based on Cherokee legends and offers an authentic and moving portrait of American Indian life on the brink of momentous change. Afterwards visitors return to one of two available campsites to stare at the heavens. Town Creek offers one of the last great dark-sky sites for star gazing in piedmont North Carolina.

Registration is required and there is a fee of $30 for the reconstructed village or $15 for the field camp to participate. Campers need to arrive before 6:30 p.m. There will be a community campfire at the village site between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m, but no individual campfires or other open flames will be allowed. Contact Town Creek by email or by phone at (910) 439-6802 for registration information.

For more than 1,000 years, American Indians farmed lands later known as North Carolina. Around A.D. 1000, a new cultural tradition arrived in the Pee Dee River Valley.  Throughout Georgia, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and western and southern Piedmont North Carolina, inhabitants built earthen mounds for their leaders, engaged in widespread trade, supported craftspeople, and celebrated a new religion.

The mission of Town Creek is to interpret the history of the American Indians who once lived here. The visitor center features interpretive exhibits and audiovisual displays. A national historic landmark, Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site is North Carolina’s only state historic site dedicated to American Indian heritage. Tour groups are welcome and encouraged. The site is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed to the public Mondays and most major holidays.

The historic site is within the Division of State Historic Sites and is located at 509 Town Creek Mound Road in Mount Gilead. Visit Town Creek online for more information.

Town Creek Indian Mound and the other 26 state historic sites are part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more on North Carolina arts, culture and history, visit Cultural Resources online.

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Outer Banks History Center Open House Offers “Sneak Peak” at New Exhibit on the 1930s

Posted October 10, 2012 – 4:00 pm

MANTEO–Despite the Great Depression, the 1930s were times of great change in Dare County. The building of roads and bridges, improvements to national historic sites and a resourceful community reshaped the landscape and set a new course for the future. The region also gained national prominence. On Oct. 23, from 3 – 5 p.m., the Outer Banks History Center will present a “sneak peek” of an exhibit opening March 1, 2013, that tells this story: Dare County in the 1930s: Decade of Determination. The preview is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

During the 1930s, the Wright Memorial Bridge opened the area to automobile traffic while new hotels catered to the traveling public. Workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) literally changed the landscape by constructing sand dunes. The Kill Devil Hills Monument (now Wright Brothers National Memorial) was dedicated while the county saw its first local newspaper, public library, airport, and fishing pier. President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to witness the birth of outdoor symphonic drama at the Waterside Theater with the debut of Paul Green’s “The Lost Colony.”

At the open house the History Center staff is especially interested in hearing stories from people who lived in Dare County during this time-and in identifying artifacts for loan to add interest to the exhibit.

This program is one of many that will be presented at archival institutions throughout North Carolina during “Archives Week,” October 22-28.  October is National Archives Month.

This event and the exhibit to come are made possible by support from the Outer Banks Community Foundation (Frank Stick Memorial Fund) and the Friends of the Outer Banks History Center.

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Historical Experiences Await Students at Alamance Battleground

Posted October 9, 2012 – 1:05 pm

BURLINGTON–Over 1,700 students from across North Carolina will see that history can be both interesting and fun at Alamance Battleground State Historic Site during its 32nd annual Colonial Living Week on October 8-12.  The week-long living history event features costumed interpreters who will recreate and introduce those in attendance to colonial life in the eighteenth century.  This event is free and open to the public.  Donations are appreciated.

Open-fire cooking, candlemaking, quill pen writing, chair caning, and blacksmithing are some of the demonstrations scheduled to occur each day from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  In addition to seeing these, the students and others attending will have the opportunity to meet colonial soldiers demonstrating a flintlock musket, a cannon, and militia camp life.  They can enjoy and join in with a period musician playing Regulator songs.  A staff surgeon will display surgical instruments and discuss period medical practices.  An operating cider press offers the young people a chance to make and sample their own apple juice.  Questions about men’s and women’s period clothing will be answered by a colonial housewife.

The Alamance Battleground State Historic Site is where Royal Governor William Tryon and the colonial North Carolina militia defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771.  Insight about the use of armed resistance gained from the battle later benefited revolutionaries during the American Revolution.

Alamance Battleground is six miles south of I-85/I-40, exit 143, on N.C. 62 in Burlington.  For information or reservations, call  the Battleground at (336) 227-4785, send them an e-mail or visit their website. Alamance Battleground is a unit of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on Cultural Resources, visit the department online.

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Former NASA Scientist-Astronaut Thornton Donates Items to N.C. Museum of History

Posted October 9, 2012 – 11:17 am

On Oct. 4 Dr. William Thornton, a former NASA scientist-astronaut, visited the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh to donate the NASA flight suit, flight boots and other items he used as a crew member of the space shuttle STS-8 Challenger in 1983. STS-8 was the first NASA space shuttle mission with a night launch and a night landing.

Thornton, a native of Faison, received a bachelor’s degree in physics and a doctorate in medicine from UNC-Chapel Hill. He was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967. A veteran of two space flights, Thornton served as a mission specialist on STS-8 Challenger and on STS-51B Challenger in 1985. He has logged more than 313 hours in space.

“Growing up in North Carolina, I did not see my first museum until I was 11 years old,” said Thornton, who currently resides in Boerne, Texas. “Several things I learned on that first visit were important to my work in space. It is a special pleasure to see this museum and the outstanding way the exhibits are presented, and it is a privilege to have my flight suit and other objects in it.” Thornton’s items will be featured in a future exhibit.

NASA’s website highlights Thornton’s role aboard STS-8 Challenger. “During the flight Dr. Thornton made almost continuous measurements and investigations of adaptation of the human body to weightlessness, especially of the nervous system and of the space adaptation syndrome.” He designed and developed much of the equipment for this purpose. Thornton holds more than 35 issued patents, ranging from military weapons systems to the first real-time EKG computer analysis to an improved waste collection system.

NASA’s website notes that during the flight STS-51B Challenger, the Spacelab-3 science mission, Thornton was responsible for medical investigations that included the first animal payload in manned flight.

“It isn’t every day that a museum can add objects that have been in outer space to its collection,” said RoAnn Bishop, Curator of Agriculture, Industry and Economic Life. “The North Carolina Museum of History is honored to receive from such a distinguished North Carolinian as Dr. Thornton these objects that represent the United States’ space industry. We truly appreciate Dr. Thornton’s service and contributions as a NASA scientist and astronaut and his generosity in donating his flight suit and other items to our state history museum.”

For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call (919) 807-7900, visit our website, on connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. The Museum of History is a unit of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on Cultural Resources, visit the department online.

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History Tales: Make It, Take It “The Mystery of Nell Cropsey”

Posted October 9, 2012 – 9:00 am

The Museum of the Albemarle will hold “History Tales:  Make It, Take It: The Mystery of Nell Cropsey” on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 3:30 pm.  Participants must be elementary age and accompanied by an adult.  Participants will learn about the disappearance of Nell Cropsey in November 1901, all the effort that went into the search for her and participate in a hands-on activity.

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Pre-Schooler Time: “What is a Moth Boat”

Posted October 8, 2012 – 5:00 pm

The Museum of the Albemarle will hold “Pre-Schooler Time: What is a Moth Boat” on Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 10:00 am.  Participants must be between the ages of 3 to 5 years old and accompanied by an adult.  Pre-Schoolers will discover why the Pasquotank River is known for the Moth Boat, read a book and participate in a hands-on activity.

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Fall Festival at Bentonville Battlefield to be Held Saturday, October 20

Posted October 8, 2012 – 4:00 pm

FOUR OAKS–The rustle of leaves and the crackle of the open hearth will greet visitors to Bentonville Battlefield for the site’s civilian living history program and fall festival on Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The free program will include demonstrations by costumed interpreters and a festival atmosphere that will offer wagon rides, period carnival games, a corn shucking contest, and more!

Historic interpreters will demonstrate the daily life of women and children who were left home when their husbands, brothers and fathers went off to war. They had to overcome many obstacles including food shortages and economic inflation. The day’s events will offer numerous demonstrations, including open hearth cooking, sewing, knitting, weaving, and period children’s games. All activities are free.

The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, involved 80,000 troops and was the last Confederate offensive against Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Bentonville Battlefield is located at 5466 Harper House Road in Four Oaks, three miles north of Newton Grove on S.R. 1008.  For more information, visit the Bentonville’s website or call (910) 594-0789.

Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site is part of the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

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November Events at the N.C. Museum of History

Posted October 8, 2012 – 3:08 pm

Excitement will abound during the 17th Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. The Nov. 17 festival will be filled with musicians, dancers, storytellers, artists and others from North Carolina’s eight state-recognized tribes.* This large family event offers activities for all ages.

On Nov. 4 the Civil War Sesquicentennial Lecture Series kicks off with a talk by distinguished historian James I. Robertson Jr. He will reveal surprising new stories about overlooked factors that affected the war.

Southern Style, a decorative arts lecture series, continues on Nov. 8, when Andrew Brunk shares useful tips on collecting Southern paintings and decorative arts. He is a senior specialist and partner at Brunk Auctions in Asheville.

Take advantage of these November programs and more at the N.C. Museum of History. All programs are free, unless otherwise noted. Parking is free on weekends.

PROGRAMS

The Untold Civil War: Exploring the Human Side of War
Sunday, Nov. 4, 2 p.m.
$8 in advance, $10 on Nov. 4
$5 for ages 18 and under, $5 for Associates
Purchase tickets in the Museum Shop or call 919-807-7835.
James I. Robertson Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor in History Emeritus, Virginia Tech
Robertson offers compelling new perspectives behind the traditional battle narratives and a vivid overview of the war’s major events, with stories of human drama. A book signing will follow.

*Time for Tots: Sheep to Shawl
Tuesday, Nov. 6 and Tuesday, Nov. 13, 10-10:45 a.m.
Ages 3-5 with adult
$1 per person
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Discover the steps in turning the wool from a sheep into a coat. Then make a wooly craft to take home.

*History Corner: The Good Ol’ Days
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 10-11 a.m.
Ages 6-9 with adult
$1 per person
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Learn how people cooked their food, cleaned their homes, and did other household chores in 19th-centuryNorth Carolina. The program is presented with Cameron Village Regional Library.

*History Hunters: Civil War
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 10-11 a.m.
Ages 10-13
$1 per person
To register, call 919-807-7992.
What is it like to have war on your doorstep? Would you march away from everything you know to fight a battle? Hear more about everyday life in the 1860s from letters and diaries of the time.

Collecting Southern Paintings and Decorative Arts: Opportunities and Pitfalls in the Marketplace
Thursday, Nov. 8, 7-9 p.m.
$10, $5 for Associates
For tickets, call 919-807-7835.
Andrew Brunk, Senior Specialist and Partner, Brunk Auctions
New scholarship in the field of decorative arts has shed light on southern artists and craftspeople. Learn what impact this research has made in the marketplace. Brunk is the former head of the American Decorative Arts department at Christie’s in New York.

Music of the Carolinas: George Higgs
Sunday, Nov. 11, 3-4 p.m.
A 1993 N.C. Heritage Award winner, blues singer-musician George Higgs is known for his powerful harmonica playing and propulsive guitar style. The performance is presented with PineCone, with support from the N.C. Museum of History Associates, Williams Mullen and WLHC-FM/WLQC-FM.

History à la Carte: Triracial Moviegoing
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 12:10-1 p.m.
Bring your lunch; beverages provided.
Christopher McKenna, Department of English and Comparative Literature, UNC-Chapel Hill
Using newspaper records, photographs and oral histories, McKenna will examine Jim Crow-era moviegoing in Robeson County, where theaters imposed three-way segregation of audience members.

17th Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration
Saturday, Nov. 17, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Come celebrate American Indian history and culture in our state! See traditional and contemporary artists at work, watch dancers and drummers, listen to storytellers, participate in hands-on workshops and craft activities, hear historians discuss their latest findings, and learn about North Carolina’s American Indian population — the largest of any state east of the Mississippi River.

This program is supported by the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, the N.C. Museum of History Associates, the Raleigh Arts Commission, Food Lion, and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, with funds from the United Arts campaign as well as the N.C. Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art.

For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call (919) 807-7900, visit our website or connect with us Facebook and Twitter. The Museum of History is a unit of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on Cultural Resources, visit the department online.

** marks programs of interest to children or families

By Jeff Miles Posted in What to Do | Tagged , , , , , |Comments Off