MOUNT AIRY, N.C.  The annual White Liquor & Dirt Tracks exhibit is returning for its third season at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.

The exhibit launches with a special day of activities Jan. 28 and runs through mid May.  This year’s theme is “Biographies,” highlighting the life and times of pioneers in stock car racing, a sport with strong ties to northwestern North Carolina.

NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman will headline a roundtable question-and-answer session with the public on Jan. 28. The roundtable will also include 1960 Grand National champion Rex White, among others.  Following the round- table, many of drivers and panelists will participate in an open autograph session which runs concurrent with three afternoon programs.

The afternoon programs include: Dr. Daniel Pierce from UNC Asheville speaking on the moonshine history of Western North Carolina; professor Brian Katen of Virginia Tech discussing the development of auto racing and race tracks in Southwest Virginia; and NASCAR historian Buz McKim sharing funny anecdotes from racing’s early days.

Day-long activities include a wintertime cruise-in for classic cars, vintage race cars and moonshine runners, book signing with Margaret Sue Turner Wright (Curtis Turner’s daughter), and demonstrations by Virginia-based artist and pin-striper
Tom VanNortwick.

“The White Liquor and Dirt Tracks program began as a
volunteer initiative in 2010 and has become a must-see event for race fans,” said Matt Edwards, the museum’s executive director. 

Stock car racing fans who cannot attend the Jan. 28 event should make it a point to visit the exhibit before it ends in May. This year’s exhibit features biographies of drivers, owners, crew members and mechanics. It illustrates the wide variety of  people involved in the sport.  “There are so many great stories out there,” Edwards said, “it was hard to choose who to focus on.”

Museum  admission price is $5 per person. For info on the White Liquor and Dirt Tracks program or ongoing exhibit, visit http://www.whiteliquoranddirttracks.com/  or call (336) 786-4478. 

The Lunar New Year, also the Chinese Year of the Dragon, happens on Monday, January 23, 2012.  Raleigh will hold a Chinese New Year Celebration at the NC State Fairgrounds on Saturday, January 28.  Check the Festivals & Events tab on the sidebar for more information.  Above are photos from the 2011 Year of the Rabbit Celebration.

SPENCER, N.C. -  For the first time in 25 years of operation, the N.C.Transportation Museum is offering a look behind the scenes.  Those taking advantage of the museum's new "Behind the Scenes" tours can stroll through the enormous Back Shop, view the Roundhouse Restoration bays, and enjoy a tour through the private rail car of James Duke.

"Behind the Scenes" tours open new areas of the historic Spencer Shops, while providing a unique view of museum artifacts and restoration projects.  A stroll through the awe-inspiring Back Shop starts the "Behind the Scenes" tour.  Visitors can marvel at how such a massive structure, three stories high and the  equivalent of two football fields in length, was built in the waning years of the 1800s.

Visitors will also get an up close look at the DC-3
Potomac Pacemaker, undergoing cosmetic restoration in the Back Shop. The WWII era airplane was used for passenger travel by Piedmont Airlines and still bears the company's logo. The Potomac Pacemaker is an important piece of the history of the Winston-Salem based airline, which became a part of US Air in 1989.

While the aircraft is usually seen through the windows of the Back Shop during the on-site train ride or from a
distance on the Back Shop visitor access platform, "Behind the Scenes" visitors will be able to stand beside the aircraft and take a peek inside the windows.

Restoration of classic rail equipment is a constant process for museum volunteers.  "Behind the Scenes"
tours will show the work in progress with a walk through the Roundhouse Restoration Bays in the Bob Julian Roundhouse.