North Carolina - Our Top Events & Attractions
1995 NORTH CAROLINA TOP ANNUAL EVENTS
April 6-9 NC Azalea Festival. Wilmington. Parade, entertainment home
and garden tours. Contact: 910-763-0905.
April 7-9. Spring Historic Homes & Gardens Tour. New Bern. Tryon Palace
Historic Sites & Gardens & area bldgs. Area homes, gardens & historic sites on tour.
Contact 919-633-6448.
April 8-May 8. Festival of Flowers. Biltmore Estate, Asheville. Profusion of
flowers inside Biltmore House and in gardens, special activities celebrate spring.
Contact: 704-2525-1700 or 800-543-2961.
May 29. Coca-Cola 600. Charlotte Motor Speedway. Winston Cup Series.
Contact 704-455-3200.
June 9-August 26. The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama. Fort Raleigh National
Historic Site. Outdoor drama about first English settlers in America and their disap-
pearance. Contact: 919-473-2127 or 800-488-5012.
June 17. National Hollerin' Contest. Midway High School, Spivey's Corner.
Event focuses on hollerin' as traditional form of communication. Crafts, food, enter-
tainment and more. Contact: 910-567-2156.
June 15-August 26. Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama. Cherokee Indian
Reservation. Outdoor drama about the history of Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians. Nightly except Sunday. Contact: 704-497-2111.
June 23-August 19. Horn In the West Outdoor Drama. Daniel Boon Amphi-
theater, Boone. Outdoor drama about Daniel Boone and the Appalachian region
settlers. Contact: 704-264-2120.
June 24-August 5. Eastern Music Festival. Greensboro. Guilford College.
Professional concert series including orchestras, chamber ensesmbles, recitals and
special events. Contact: 910-333-7450.
Jule 8-9. 40th Annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and Gathering of
the Scottish Clans. McRae Meadows, Linville. Scottish dance, music and
athletic events. Contact: 704-733-1333.
July 20-30. Folkmoot, USA. Waynesville and Maggie Valley area locations.
International music and dance. Contact: 704-648-2730.
September 1-2. 49th Annual NC Apple Festival. Hendersonville. Area
locations. Crafts, food, entertainment, a parade. Contact: 800-828-4244.
October 6-8. 20th Annual Chrysantheumum Festival. Tryon Palace Historic
Sites and Gardens. Street festival, arts, crafts, Tryon Palace tours, Octoberfest and
more. Contact: 919-633-5781.
November 11-December 31. Candlelight Christmas at Biltmore. Biltmore
Estate, Asheville. Elaborate Victorian Christmas in America's largest privately
owned home. *Candlelight tours available by reservation only. Contact 704-255-1700
or 800-543-2961.
December 4-20. Tryon Palace Christmas Celebration. Tryon Palace Historic
Site and Gardens. Historic places and sites tours, wassail bowl, traditional decorations
and more. Contact 919-514-4900 or 800-767-1560.
NORTH CAROLINA'S TOP ATTRACTIONS
North Carolina Aquariums: - North Carolina is home to three aquariums,
which offer displays of live marine life, workshops for coastal crafts, educational
field trips, and shops selling unusual coastal gifts. They are located in Manteo on
Roanoke Island, Kure Beach and Pine Knoll Shores.
Fort Macon State Park: - Located across from Morehead City east of Atlantic
Beach, this is a 389-acre park. You can tour the brickwork fort completed in 1834 to
guard Beaufort Inlet, visit the fort's museum, hike on a nature trail, picnic, or go surf
fishing.
Paramount Carowinds: - Located astride the North Carolina, South Carolina
boundary line near Charlotte, Carowinds is the only theme park in two states. It
has streets with the feel of 18th century Carolina. Visitors will find more than 30
modern rides, a wave pool, rock concerts and many other kinds of entertainment.
Biltmore Estate: - This is a European chateau built in French Renaissance
style by the grandson of tycoon George Vanderbilt in the last century, and furnished
with prized antiques and art. Carefully maintained formal gardens surround the house,
which is a national historic landmark. The estate, located in Asheville, also includes
a winery with a visitor center, tasting room, and retail store where bottles of local
vintage are sold.
Tanglewood Park: Southwest of Winston-Salem off U>S> 158 in Clemmons
are the 1,152 acres of Tanglewood Park, a former country estate bequeathed by
William and Kate B Reynolds. The golf course there is rated among the top 10
public courses in the country.
North Carolina Zoological Park: Located in Asheboro, this is the world's
largest natural habitat zoo. The zoo's African region features eight outdoor exhibits,
and the pavilion includes more than 200 animals. Also here is the R.J.Reynolds
Aviary where you can walk among birds flying freely in a lush indoor wooded
environment. The zoo is also home to a popular wart-hog exhibit.
Discovery Place: - This is the largest museum of science and technology
in North Carolina, and one of the country's major science centers. Many of the
exhibits are designed to be hands-on. Discovery Place also has a 50-foot-high
aviary, aquariums, and a rain forest. Located in the same complex are the Charlotte
Observer OmniMax Theater, featuring the finest motion picture system in the country,
and the Kelly Space Voyage Planetarium, the largest planetarium in the country.
Wright Brothers National Memorial: - Located near Kitty Hawk and Kill
Devil Hills this celebrates the place where Wilbur and Orville Wright made the
first flight by powered aircraft on December 17, 1903. The site houses a monu-
ment, historical markers, a visitor center/museum, an airport and a reconstructed
hanger and shop.
Mount Mitchell State Park: - At 6,684 feet, Mount Mitchell is the highest
peak in the Eastern United States. From the observation tower on top of the mountain,
on a clear day you can see as far away as the Great Smoky Mountains. There's a
restaurant, a refreshment stand, and areas for picnicking, hiking, nature study and
limited camping.
U.S.S. North Carolina Battleship: - Across the bridge from Wilmington is this
memorial to all veterans of World War II. Commissioned in April 1941, the USS North
Carolina was the first modern US battleship and was considered to be the greatest
sea weapon of its time. On summer nights, a sound and light show, The Immortal
Showboat is presented on the ship.
North Carolina Museum of Art: - The first state owned museum of art in the
country, it features permanent exhibits including an international renowned collection
of European and American paintings.
NORTH CAROLINA'S TOP NATURAL ATTRACTIONS
Appalachian Trail: - The Appalachian Trail extends from Main to Georgia and
passes through North Carolina. The approximately 200 miles of the trail in North
Carolina span the high ridges of the Pisgah and Nantahala forests and the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, crossing Fontana Dam, Newfound Gap Road and
US 64. Contact: National Park Service, Appalachian Trail Project Office, PO Box
37217, Washington, DC 20013-7127.
Blue Ridge Parkway: - Scenic roadway that stretches 250 miles from the
Virginia/North Carolina border from our Northwest Mountains to Cherokee and
the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Contact: Superintendent
200 BB&T Building, One Pack Square, Asheville, NC 28801. 704-259-0701.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore: - The country's first national seashore,
runs for 75 miles along NC 12 through the Outer Banks islands of Bodie, Hatteras,
and Ocracoke, covering more than 30,000 acres. Contact: Superintendent,
Rt. l, Box 675, Manteo, NC 27954. 919-473-2111.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: - This is America's most popular
national park. Over half of the park's 514,757 acres are in North Carolina, and
there's plenty of room to camp, hike, and fish. You can visit the park's Pioneer
Homestead, where reconstructed log buildings, and exhibits show you the early
pioneer lifestyle. Also visit Clingmans Dome, the highest mountain in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, second highest in Eastern America and highest
point on the Appalachian Trail. Contact: Superintendent, 107 Park Headquarters,
Gatlinburg, TN 37738. 615-436-1200.
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