Searching for Serendipity in Beautiful North Carolina

Sunset on Cape Fear River

Welcome to ncgypsy.com, a travel sampler featuring things to do and see in North Carolina.  The categories above are loaded with info about various cities and sites throughout the state so please take your time perusing the pages.  Your feedback is always welcome!  Feel free to drop a line with comments, suggestions, or just to say hello via the Contact link at top.   Also use the links upper right at the top to follow ncgypsy.com on Twitter and to 'Like' us on Facebook.

While you're here, be sure to check out the Festival and Events tab at top.  There you'll find a list of links to statewide listings of events for the current week. Use that section to plan your weekend.  Thanks for visiting ncgypsy.com - enjoy!

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 Chinese New Year Celebration in Raleigh
Saturday, January 31

Yankee Catchers and Infernal Machines Webcast on Civil War Torpedoes Feb. 5  

WINNABOW, N.C. -- In the face of superior numbers of men and material, the Confederate Navy turned to a new technology for a tactical advantage over the Union, and thus torpedo warfare was born. A live webcast from Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site Feb. 5 at 10:30 a.m., "Yankee Catchers and Infernal Machines" will examine early torpedo warfare and naval obstructions.

Students and teachers can register for the webcast online. There will be opportunities for question and answer during the webcast. The program is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Civil War Sesquicentennial Observance of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.

"We want youngsters and history lovers to know how torpedoes came to be a vital tool in warfare, and that this weapon forever changed how war was waged," explains historic interpreter Jim McKee. "We also want them to understand how this was a very dangerous tool that it is still potentially deadly today."

The webcast will include detonations of Civil War style torpedoes, which were deadly river mines, not the self-propelled missiles now used. Gabriel Rains of New Bern was instrumental in developing torpedoes, and though initially considered repulsive by the Confederate hierarchy, in the war's waning desperate days the technology was accepted and deployed.

An explanation of torpedoes (infernal machines) and other forms of river obstructions (Yankee catchers), will be shared with examples during the webcast. Fort Anderson was built on the ruins of a Revolutionary War site, Brunswick Town, which was burned by the British. Fort Anderson was part of the Cape Fear River Defense System along with Fort Fisher and meant to protect Wilmington.

The fort's low bluffs over the narrow river channel could command both river traffic and the western land approaches to the port city. Fort Anderson had two large five gun batteries and a smaller line of emplacements that employed the location's natural topography. It was vital to keep the Wilmington port of open so fast vessels could evade the Union Navy blockade to get supplies in to Confederate forces.

For additional information, please call (919) 807-7389. The webcast is part of a series organized by the Connection to Collections Project (C2C) in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, in cooperation with the Division of State Historic Sites.

A federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the Connecting to Collections Initiative makes this forum possible. The N.C. Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, also supports Connecting to Collections programs. Since 2010, Cultural Resources has led the C2C project to guide North Carolina archives, museums, libraries, and historic sites with disaster preparedness, preservation of collections and disaster recovery.

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About the Division of State Historic Sites 

North Carolina's 27 state historic sites represent pre-colonial times into the 20th century, and there is a site within a short drive from anywhere in the state. The Pee Dee Indian culture, the age of the mighty trains, the complexity of the antebellum era are represented, along with the Revolutionary, Civil and French and Indian Wars. North Carolina Historic Sites invite you to open the doors to the past to more fully understand the world.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan W. Kluttz, NCDCR's mission is improve our state's quality of life by creating opportunities that promote economic development, stimulate learning, preserve the state's history and spark creativity to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state's creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit ncdcr.gov.

Image courtesy of N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
Source: N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

"This Day in NC History"

Raleigh Acorn.

Want to know what happened in NC on this date in history?  Click on the image above to visit the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources blog that's loaded with tidbits of historical facts.  

NC Civil War Events 2015

9 Weekend Events Across North Carolina 
You Won't Want to Miss Jan. 30 - Feb. 1

A celebration of African American history and culture in Raleigh, a biosphere making session in Winston-Salem and two lectures exploring the history of the coast in Beaufort are just a few of the opportunities for fun and discovery you'll find this weekend with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.  Here are nine suggestions to help you make the most of your time:

1.  Join the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh Saturday as it kicks off Black History Month and celebrates North Carolina's rich African American history and culture through music and dance performances, cooking demonstrations, lectures and hands-on activities.

2.  Help make a living biosphere on a geodesic dome in the gallery at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, starting Friday.  

3.  Take a lunch break with the N.C. Symphony Friday in Raleigh, to hear some of Tchaikovsky's most famous pieces after meeting of the orchestra's musicians. 

4. Test your knowledge of trivia, tactics and history of the War Between the States Thursday in Fayetteville at the Museum of the Cape Fear's annual Civil War Quiz Bowl. 

5. Discover the often overlooked history of whaling in North Atlantic Ocean during the Medieval era, Friday evening at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

6. Explore the history of the N.C. State Highway Patrol in a new exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh, which opens Saturday.

7. Learn about the legend of the Carroll A. Deering shipwreck during a lecture Saturday at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

8.  Spend your Sunday afternoon exploring traditional West African culture through dances, stories, and songs with the Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville.

9.  See the classic fantasy film A Thousand and One Nights at the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh Friday.

 
Images courtesy of N.C. Department of cultural Resources
Source: N.C. Department of Cultural Resources

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