World Country Guide

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Food & Drink
Numerous festivals are held annually in North Carolina in honour of favourite foods, including apples, watermelons, seafood, turkey, pickles and collard greens. (See Special Events below for further details of food festivals.) Local specialities include sweet potato pie, fried okra and buttered lima beans. Other dishes that regularly feature on menus in North Carolina include roast chicken with pecans, country ham with red-eye gravy and chocolate pecan torte with whipped cream. Seafood lovers should head for Calabash, which locals boast is ‘the seafood capital of the world’. Barbecues are also very popular, particularly in Lexington, North Carolina’s barbecue capital, which has more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other area in the country. Barbecue sauce is an often keenly debated subject. Eastern Carolina barbecue features a vinegar-based sauce, while western Carolinians use a tomato-based sauce. Barbecue is often served with coleslaw, hush puppies and baked beans.

Theatre & Concerts
North Carolina’s State theatre, the Flat Rock Playhouse, is the oldest professional summer theatre in the State and its Vagabond Players are rated as one of the best summer stock theatre companies in the country. The Brevard Music Center, near Flat Rock, offers a summer season in which guest artists perform more than 50 different concerts. Raleigh is home to the BTI Center of Performing Arts, with the Fletcher Opera Theatre, Kennedy Theatre, Memorial Auditorium and Meymandi Concert Hall. The Broadway South, Carolina Ballet, NC Symphony, NC Theatre and Off-Broadway South all perform here.

Nightlife
Student bars dominate the university towns of Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh; top rock bands appear at the Cat’s Cradle club in Carroboro. Charlotte offers a wide range of entertainment, including nightclubs and bars around the Uptown Entertainment District.

Shopping
North Carolina’s aquariums offer workshops for coastal crafts and include shops selling unusual gifts. They are located in Manteo on Roanoke Island, Kure Beach and Pine Knoll Shores. Brevard is also popular for its many craft centres and shops. The world’s largest furniture market is located in High Point near Winston-Salem. Concord Mills, just north of Charlotte, has over 200 outlet and speciality shops, restaurants and a 24-screen cinema.

Sport
The 21,000-seat multi-purpose RBC Center in Raleigh is home to the popular ice hockey team, the Carolina Hurricanes, and hosts other sporting events, such as football and motorcross racing, as well as popular music events and other acts. The dirt-track racing in Wayne County, sports car racing at the Chimney Rock Hill Climb, drag racing at Fayetteville International Dragway, and NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, are just some of the exciting motorsports events in the State. Pinehurst is recognised as the centre of golf in North Carolina, but there are more than 600 courses spread across the State, including Brick Landing, Lockwood Folly, Marsh Harbor, Oyster Bay, The Pearl and Sea Trail. Other popular sporting activities include cycling, horse riding, tennis, watersports and archery.

Special Events
The following is a selection of special events occurring in North Carolina in 2005:
Feb 2 Groundhog Day Celebration, Raleigh. Feb 13 25th Annual Run of the Roses, Raleigh. Feb 18 14th Annual Native American Powwow, Durham. Apr 1-2 27th Annual Newport Pig Cookin' Contest, Raleigh. Apr 22-24 North Carolina Pickle Festival, Faison. Apr 28-May 1 Merle Fest, Wilkesboro. Jun 18 2005 US Open, Raleigh; Bluegrass Experience, Raleigh. Aug 20 Shindig on the Green, Asheville. Sep 22-25 Festival in the Park, Charlotte. Oct 8-9 John Blue Cotton Festival, Larinburg. Oct 15 Yodkin Valley Pumpkin Festival, Elkin. Oct 22 Barbecue Festival, Lexington. Nov 15 Veteran's Celebration, Kenansville. Dec 2-4 Festival of Lights, Greensboro. Dec 3 Winterfest, Jacksonville.