Visit NC Concierge

03/12/2023

Gullah storyteller at the candlelight tour of the Edmonston Austin House on the Battery in Historic Charleston!

01/12/2023

Mellon Abbey Crèche Festival - Day 1 Christmas in Charleston

31/07/2023

Rumor has it that Raleigh received the nickname “City of Oaks” from its very own founding fathers in 1792. Today, the city boasts more than 600 different varieties of oak trees. Over the years, some of the tallest and oldest have been lost due to weather damage, disease and safety concerns, but one – the Henry Clay Oak that stood at the intersection of N. Blount and E. North in Downtown Raleigh for 200 years – is commemorated with a plaque. As the story goes, Henry Clay wrote the “Raleigh letter” that opposed the annexation of Texas under the oak in 1844.

25/07/2023

Pinehurst was nicknamed “The Home of American Golf” by the United States Golf Association. The village’s golf resort has hosted multiple prestigious golf tournaments. Its first course was completed in the late 1890s and Pinehurst No. 2, its most famed course, was completed in 1907. The course’s designer, Donald Ross, said it was “the fairest test of championship golf I have ever designed.”

19/07/2023

Maggie Valley is the self-proclaimed “Clogging Capital of the World” because of its Stompin’ Ground dance hall – a barn-style building opened in 1982 for clogging and square dancing. But how the town got its name is even more interesting. In the 1890s, Jack Setzer wanted to found his community’s first post office. After his application from the United States Post Office Department was accepted, he was asked to submit names for the office. He submitted his 3 daughters’ names (Cora, Mettie and Maggie Mae), and in 1904, he received word from US Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock that the post office was to be named Maggie – giving the town its name. Today, the town has a Good Will Ambassador and Mascot named “Miss Maggie” – check it out.

Meet the Current Miss Maggie of Maggie Valley In 1985 Jeannie Reninger moved to Maggie Valley and would walk the streets in the morning and evening picking up...

17/07/2023

Mount Airy, of course, is known as “Mayberry” for being the hometown of Andy Griffith and inspiration for his show. The town draws fans of The Andy Griffith Show each September for “Mayberry Days,” an annual festival put on by the Surry County Arts Council.

The Surry Arts Council presents the Annual Mayberry Days Festival. Mayberry Days is for the whole family with activities and events for the fans who long for the days when life was simple and the sheriff didn't carry a gun. There is so much to do during the festival such as watching the parade, mee...

13/07/2023

While Lexington is dubbed “BBQ Capital of the World,” it’s not alone. Kansas City, MO; Lockhart, TX; and Memphis, TN claim it, too. Ah, barbecue. Always causing controversy, isn’t it?

Lexington Barbecue attracts barbecue pilgrims from across the state and even further.

10/07/2023

Gastonia’s nickname is “Spindle City” because of its history as a textile town. The town also made headlines last year after a 22-year-old made a TikTok with video from Switzerland and labeled it “Gastonia, NC” – causing a Florida woman to travel to the town. However, the mishap hasn’t earned Gastonia the name “Little Switzerland.” The name already belongs to an unincorporated community on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

A TikTok post claiming snow-capped mountains in Switzerland were actually in Gastonia led one Florida woman on a detour she'll never live down.Thanks for sto...

05/07/2023

Charlotte, NC was founded in 1768 and was given its name in honor of King George III’s wife. Meanwhile, the county was named Mecklenburg after her birthplace in Germany. Accordingly, the city is known as “Queen City.”

02/07/2023

Wilmington is known as “Port City” because of the Port of Wilmington in the city’s downtown area – but it’s also been nicknamed “Hollywood East” or “Wilmywood” because of the number of films and TV shows shot there. The city’s own EUE/Screen Gems Studios is the largest production facility east of Hollywood.

The Port City Marina offers a protected deep water, full-service marina in beautiful downtown Wilmington with over 200 state of the art floating concrete wet slips. Enjoy a full complement of first-class amenities and services for boats and boaters of any fashion. The marina can accommodate boats up...

28/06/2023

New Bern is known for a lot – including being the birthplace of Pepsi and the first capital of North Carolina. Did you know it was also once known as “The Athens of the South”? It earned the nickname for its cultural life and picturesque setting. The Masonic Temple and Athens Theatre are still active today.

(1939—1951)…

22/06/2023

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are nicknamed “Graveyard of the Atlantic” because of the many shipwrecks that have occurred there. Hatteras Island even has the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, which features the region’s maritime history.

Constantly shifting shoals and severe weather were not the only reasons these ships went down.

20/06/2023

Calabash, North Carolina earned the nickname “Seafood capital of the world” from a food editor with the New York Times because of its many seafood restaurants.

“Good Night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are…” Fans of classic television and radio will remember star Jimmy Durante and this infamous phrase, but not many know its connection to North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands. Legend has it that while visiting Calabash, Durante was fe...

16/06/2023

“High Country” is the nickname for Western North Carolina towns Boone, Blowing Rock and Banner Elk because of the area’s mountainous terrain.

12/06/2023

Since 1975, the Town of Apex has been named “The Peak of Good Living." The name was adopted to honor the town’s quality of life, as well as the town’s namesake – as it stood at the highest point of a 30-mile stretch along the Chatham Railroad.

https://www.apexnc.org

12/06/2023

More High Country fun! Dinner at Springhouse Farm, Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, and a winery visit!

10/06/2023

We visited the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum today!

10/06/2023

Day two of our mountain adventure was full of fun!

09/06/2023

Day 1 on our trip to the High Country complete! ⛰️

08/06/2023

Boone is named “The Firefly Capital of the World” because of Grandfather Mountains’ 10 species of fireflies. Last summer, Grandfather Mountain first welcomed the public to watch its synchronous fireflies at Grandfather Glows.

Grandfather Glows: Firefly Tours Research on Grandfather Mountain has confirmed the presence of 10 species of fireflies or illumining insects, including Photinus carolinus, Blue Ghost fireflies, and Glowworms. Synchronous fireflies are habitat specialists and thrive in Northern Hardwood Forests, suc...

05/06/2023

Asheville has a few nicknames, including Paris of the South, which acknowledges the city’s food and art scene, and San Francisco of the East, for its community of creatives and entrepreneurs. However, Land of the Sky – taken from Frances Christine Fisher’s novel “Land of the Sky: Adventures in Mountain By-Ways” is the most common. The nickname is a nod to the region’s beautiful scenery.

02/06/2023

Brevard, North Carolina has a couple nicknames – including “The Land of Waterfalls” and ”Home of the White Squirrels” for the town’s unique creatures, which are technically a white variant of the eastern gray squirrel. In fact, the town is hosting its White Squirrel Weekend this weekend.

In addition to the live music, the weekend event features a smattering of delicious local food vendors and a beer garden featuring all of Brevard’s local craft breweries and wine. Craft, artisan and nonprofit vendors add to the weekend’s street offerings.

01/06/2023

“The Old North State,” North Carolina’s other most famous nickname, dates back to 1710 when the Carolina colony was divided in two between the southern part and the earlier-settled northern part. Joseph Seawell “Shocco” James referenced North Carolina as “The Old North State” in his “Defence of the Revolutionary History of the State of North Carolina from the Aspersions of Mr. Jefferson” published in 1834. In 1835, judge William Gaston wrote the song “The Old North State” – and in 1927, it was officially adopted as the state song.

February 1927: “The Old North State” This Month in North Carolina History On February 18, 1927, “The Old North State” was officially adopted as the state song of North Carolina. The lyrics to “The Old North State” were composed by Judge William Gaston in Raleigh in 1835. Judge Gaston had...

30/05/2023

One really fun way to learn about North Carolina? Through its names! The state and its various cities, towns and regions have several nicknames that tell us a lot about the state’s history and people – so let’s dive in and explore them!

It seems fitting to start with the state’s most famous nickname, don’t you think?

North Carolina’s nickname, “The Tar Heel State,” is inextricably linked to the people who’ve called this place home.

26/05/2023

Chadbourn, NC is named “The Strawberry Capital of the World." Actually, it's a title it shares with many other towns and cities – including Pittsville, Maryland; Oxnard, California; Watsonville, California; Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and others. On this day in 1926, the town started its annual Strawberry Festival – and today, it continues as the oldest continuing agricultural festival in North Carolina.