Francis Inglis relates a bit of the history of Cupola House and this charming colonial town. Discover the amazing art of bonsai and the collection at the NC Arboretum in Asheville. Take a ride into the sky at the annual National Hot Air Balloon Rally in Statesville.
Visit the nation’s first mall as this historic Asheville building returns to its roots. Enjoy a profile of this world-renowned laminated glass artist, including a visit to his exhibit at Charlotte’s Mint Museum and a look inside his Winston-Salem studio. Experience centuries old technology still at work in our state’s Appalachian mountains. The wild horses on Shackleford Banks still run free.
Explore how a NASA tracking station transformed into an astronomical institute. Come along for a Portsmouth Island homecoming. See how all sorts of fences can offer artistic perspectives.
Witness the restoration of Old Salem's historic organ. Follow the misadventures of Durant's Kayaker from this Tar Heel troubadour. Winged winter flocks gather at Mattamuskeet.
Chart a colonial workboat's construction, and its Beaufort to Hertford journey. Main Street restoration efforts reflect a mountain town's spirit and flavor. Join the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's annual wildflower pilgrimage.
Explore western North Carolina's waterfalls with Kevin Adams. Visit to an authentic Ramp Festival in Robbinsville. Meet a North Carolina treasure, still playing her blues guitar.
Visit our state’s brightest beacons. Sample the wine industry in North Carolina. Can this wily vine be good for anything?
Discover how our state was once the leading gold producer in the U.S. Explore the charms of this Tar Heel town. A handmade quilt is a treasure indeed.
Examine world-renowned artist Ben Long's amazing and inspiring frescoe creations. Find fresh peaches and homemade peach ice cream with D.G. Martin. Come see why over one million people each year flock to Fort Macon State Park.
Explore this unique structure and whimsical house in Kernersville. Discover the excitement and action of a Friday night football game. Learn how plants are just as important as animals to the N.C. Zoo.
Large clocks adorn the top of many of North Carolina's civic buildings. Learn what makes our ferries an efficient form of transportation. See parades that the state has to offer in Asheville, New Bern and Faith 4th of July, among others.
Large clocks adorn the top of many of North Carolina's civic buildings. Learn what makes our ferries an efficient form of transportation. Some mechanical clocks that adorn the top of many of North Carolina’s civic buildings are close to 200 years old. Some folks utilize the NC Ferry System to get to work or school. Some folks couldn’t get to their vacation destination without getting on a ferry.
Bland Simpson shares stories about the canal's fascinating history. Take a sailing adventure from Manteo to Bath. Celebrate the tercentenary of our state's first town.
See how this 75-year-old art campus in NC's mountains influences artists' lives and works. Meet 90-year-old twins Bernice Wade and Barbara Stiles and delight in their Chapel Hill garden. Discover the bold, colorful paintings of this Eastern North Carolina artist.
Cameras descend into Bat Cave for the first time as scientists study this unique ecosystem. Each year Wilmington citizens throw a huge party to honor their blazing azaleas. For over a century the many lush plants of these gardens by the sea have delighted visitors.
Explore the 264-acre Henderson County home of one of the 20th century's most significant Americans. Discover the world's largest sanctuary for endangered prosimian primates, in Durham's Duke Forest. Meet the sixth generation of Goodwin family weavers, who still work using on 19th century looms.
Join Bland Simpson for a scenic trip up the Intracoastal Waterway. See the authentic Old West style of the "Cowboy Capital of North Carolina." Enjoy the traditional Corn Husk Dolls of local artisan Pam Earp.
Explore the natural wonders of this unique geological kaleidoscope. Don't miss this authentic medieval castle in the heart of our state. Take in these temporary masterpieces carved from sand.
See how the Black River shelters the oldest living trees east of the Rockies. David Holt talks with storyteller and musician Sheila Kay Adams. Discover home grown caviar from mountain stream trout in western NC.
This antebellum plantation offers a look back at a turbulent time in our state's history. A unique business incubator devoted to the arts thrives in Siler City. Discover an interesting archaeolgy project at Fort Bragg.
Explore historic depots, a museum in Spencer and how trains run today. Mule expert Tim Winkler handcrafts stagecoaches in stunning accuracy. See a collection of vintage radio equipment at the Southern Appalachian Radio Museum.
Join this coastal crew as they monitor conditions and practices that may harm the coast. After rescuing the Jackson House, the Museum of Albermarle puts this landmark on exhibit. Meet woodturner Jim McPhail and discover his miniature bowls.
Explore Bertie County's finest historic home. D.G. Martin takes a tour of this mountain town, settled in 1878. Visit Noyes Capehart, who creates visual short stories embodying his experiences.
Calvin and Lisa Phelps continue the legacy of Reidsville's magnificent homeplace. The Bowman family's sixth generation keeps the dairy running with honored traditions. The O'Brien family's floral interest flourished into the Fishing Creek Flower Farm. This month's Shutterbugs segment features the stunning photography of George Humphries.
Learn about the remarkable transformation of North Carolina's newest State Park. Meet the aviculturalists at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center in Scotland Neck. Go below deck on the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial to explore its archives.
Retrace the amazing reconstruction of this richly historic site. Meet musician, storyteller and historian David Holt, and get treated to his concert. Travel to Burnsville to learn how a landfill ingeniously powers artist studios.
Sand and Wood—Join us to explore Jockey's Ridge and Nags Head Woods Preserve. Harper House—We'll tour this stunning Victorian home in Hickory. Puppet Masters—See the amazing puppet artistry of the Paperhand Puppet Intervention.
Bland Simpson explores the New River in western NC. Billy Barnes reveals the U.S. Navy's missile mission on Topsail Island. Meet the band that's bringing the Piedmont's string music center stage.
Bland Simpson introduces us to Elizabeth City, his home town. See how Salem Stained Glass restores and creates dazzling arrays of windows for churches. Learn how longleaf pine needles emerged as a valuable North Carolina harvest.
A casebook look is taken at how to coexist with nature on a barrier island system. "Old Baldie" is not just a beacon to tourists; it and the island it waches over bring inspiration to a special group of artists. Enthusiastic volunteers help a seldom seen nocturnal visitor to our coastal shores, loggerhead turtles.
The Grove Park Inn hosts an annual gingerbread house event. Billy Barnes tells the story of Cheerwine. Learn about a family business that collects sap from trees and creates syrup for your table.
Go behind the scenes of the company that has been making the ubiquitous yellow busses for several generations. Naturalist and storyteller Doug Elliot shares entertaining perspectives. Explore Cherokee language and culture as one of the primary areas within the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.
Tweetsie Railroad is one of North Carolina's best-loved attractions. Silver Lining captures beach life with fresh eyes on every new canvas with plein air painter John Silver. Brasstown Dancers vibrantly interpret historic folk life.
Meet Allen de Hart, 'father' of the Mountains to Sea trail. Durham's Piedmont Wildlife Center and Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic help educate the public to the needs of wildlife. John Sipe creates finely crafted musical instruments.
Asheville glass artist Alex Gabriel Bernstein uses molten glass to create amazing forms and shapes. D.G. Martin visits the Orange County seat to enjoy its vibrant community and rich history. Bodie Island Lighthouse is getting a long awaited restoration so that visitors may once again climb this coastal landmark.
On the Guilford College campus, acclaimed artist Patrick Dougherty constructs otherworldly sculptures out of saplings. See the Halloween pumpkin carvings and crowds who visit them on a bridge in Bynum. D.G. Martin explores a delightful mountain destination.
Discover the tale of how a Biltmore Estate-owned manufacturing company became one of America's most well-regarded craft stores. Meet William "Bus" Hubbard, UNC's Tree Surgeon, and a campus institution on par with The Davie Poplar. Learn why the history of Kluttz Piano Company is a story of family: a family business restoring heirloom pianos, which are passed down from generation to generation.
Meet crabber Mickey Daniels as he struggles to maintain his livelihood in the twilight of a proud tradition of living on the water. Explore Camden County Jail, unfortunate accommodations in the early 1900s that have found new life as a landmark where history comes alive. Discover how Jim Avett dedicated his life to his farm and his family. His sons' band perpetuates their father's musical legacy.
We will introduce you to Fred Johnson of Wilmington, an African-American whose ancestors fought in the Civil War and who now works tirelessly to honor their service. Then, hear the epic story of Trevor Thomas, who hiked the Appalachian Trail without the benefit of eyesight and learned to trust the companions he inspired along the way.
Explore the Old Stone House, a 250 year-old architectural marvel in Rowan County. Come along with Bland Simpson as he voyages down North Carolina's "Amazon," the Roanoke River. Then, learn how Rebekah Brown's calling, creating artwork from egg shells, helps her enjoy the gifts and overcome the challenges of life.
Travel back to the early 1900s to meet Charlie Poole, a linthead from Eden, and hear his revolutionary approach to banjo. Visit the Haiku Bamboo Nursery, and learn more about this beautiful and often misunderstood plant. Discover writer Katey Schultz's passion for North Carolina's hidden footbridges, as she leads a roundabout tour through the North Carolina mountains.
Learn how Hillsborough novelist and Hollywood soap opera scribe Michael Malone finds his story-telling voice in the South. Next, discover a garden full of botanical curiosities and more at Calvary Episcopal Church in Tarboro. Then, meet Roger Dinger, who deconstructs old barns and transforms the weathered wood into fascinating works of art.
Meet acclaimed Broadway costume designer William Ivey Long, who got his start working backstage at The Lost Colony outdoor drama. He returned to Manteo years later to put his expertise to work redesigning every costume after a disastrous fire threatened this North Carolina treasure. Then, head to the Southern Appalachian woods with naturalist, herbalist and storyteller Doug Elliott.
Meet Bernie Harberts, a North Carolinian who has sailed the world and now travels the state - and wherever Polly the mule takes him - in his hand-built mobile home. Along the way, strangers turn into friends as Bernie and Polly bring out the best in our state on Mule Rider. Then take in the restoration of the Bodie Island Lighthouse, a beacon to mariners since 1872.
In the flatlands just south of Elizabeth City looms a monolithic monument to a mostly forgotten chapter of World War II. We will visit the giant Weeksville hangar that harbored Lighter than Air control craft and learn how they helped turn the tide in the Atlantic. Then, travel to Clemmons, and meet the remarkable family behind Mrs. Hanes' Moravian Cookies.
Learn how the beautiful but finicky orchid finds an ideal environment at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont. Next, follow artist Chris Wilson as he travels Highway 64 with grand ambitions. Then, spend an emotional summer with the gorillas at the North Carolina Zoo.
Enslaved person Elizabeth Keckly was forced to re-locate to Hillsborough, NC as a teenager. Learn how these circumstances led her to buy her freedom and settle in Washington, DC, as dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. Then, meet Pulitzer Prize winner Matthew Lewis, who watched the defining era of the 60s and 70s through his camera lens and became a portrait of the American spirit.
Passionate artist Alex Matisse reveals the thoughts and emotions behind his work as he creates pottery with an aesthetic that fuses pre-industrial traditions. Then, join Bland Simpson on a literary journey down the Lumber River.
Meet the Krüger Brothers, German immigrants who grew up in Switzerland and followed the sound of the music they loved all the way to North Carolina. Then, with a playful love of fireworks and a meticulous process, pyrotechnician Jeff Hale creates magic in the sky with his dazzling displays.
Learn about the uncertain fate of the famous Corolla horses and the people trying to save them. Follow the journey of Dorton Arena, from a simple concept drawing to a world-renowned icon of the NC State Fair and practical design innovation. Explore the history of our Star Spangled Banner with John Andringa, also known as the “Flag Man,” and his collection of over 130 flags.
Experience poet Amy Bagwell’s vision of immersing the public in poetry through murals and news racks in Uptown Charlotte. Then, travel to Hart Square, an oasis of nineteenth-century life in modern Catawba County, where Dr. Robert Hart explains his dedication to not only preserving the largest collection of historical log structures in the United States, but bringing that history to life.
Asheboro illustrator Rich Powell draws new life out of Andy Griffith's classic monologue about a country deacon's first football game. Then, the singing duo Letters from Home honors our nation's veterans with patriotic performances. Lastly, J. Larry Keith and the Lonesome Road Band perform The Story of Virginia Johnson, Keith's original song inspired by his wife's North Carolinian childhood.
Meet Jack and Estelle Wilson of Roanoke Island, caretakers of the "Mother Vine," one of the oldest scuppernong grape vines in existence. Then, learn how salvage divers Tim Ferris and Bob Weihe discovered a revolutionary process for making whiskey. Finally, explore Thalian Hall in Wilmington, where Oscar Wilde, Frederick Douglass, and other historic figures have graced its stunning theater.
Follow the transparent, responsible creation process of Mindful Supply Company T-shirts, supporting textile production in North and South Carolina. Then, discover how Duane Raver has brought fish and birds to life with beautifully detailed illustrations for over 70 years.
Experience the striking architecture, interior design, and technological advancements of NC State's Hunt Library, including its famous "bookBot." Then, trace the path of the local seafood industry with Bland Simpson down the Lockwood Folly River, and appreciate life's smallest moments of beauty through Japanese tea gatherings at Duke Gardens.
The little town of Spruce Pine sits at the epicenter of geologic history, where the earth's plates collided. Join geologist Alex Glover on a field trip with his geology class from Mayland Community College as they explore this fascinating part of our state. Then, celebrated author Clyde Edgerton reveals his many identities, and the inspirations behind his uniquely North Carolinian fiction.
Whether torn to shreds by a pet, or loved to pieces after years of cuddling, stuffed animals find intensive care in the loving hands of Sally Winey. Crook's Corner chef Bill Smith can't make enough Atlantic Beach Pie, an addictive coastal dessert that has made waves all across the state. Meet Kissie Stroup, an entrepreneur bravely entering a crowded food market with homemade salad dressing.