The North Carolina Love Letter Project, a reader-penned series, celebrates all we love about the Old North State. In the first installment, Piedmont-born Kristy Woodson Harvey chronicles her journey to and love affair with Eastern North Carolina.

With a vast estuary system and a growing locavore movement, is North Carolina poised to become an American oyster capital? The answer isn't simple. Crack open the story of the Eastern Oyster, North Carolina's native species. Within it, find a larger story the past, present and future of our coast's economy, environment and culture.

Vivian Howard, with her restaurant and award-winning TV show, and local visionaries are putting Kinston back on the map. 

From sticky, sweet doughnuts, to the iconic Shag, to one of North Carolina's most unique dive bars, Carolina Beach is an experience you won't forget.

Spend a Saturday with us in New Bern, a small coastal town beauty, history, and culture meet in the downtown district. With a story older than the state itself, New Bern’s historic and architectural sites, burgeoning art and retail scene, recreational opportunities, and eclectic restaurants make it the perfect place to learn, see, do and eat. 

Decades ago baseball teams peppered tobacco and mill towns across the state. America’s pastime provided respite from long days of field and factory toil. In many ways, hope was found on the diamond. Back then, baseball was something you played, watched, and felt.

Boat building is in the blood of Harkers Islanders. Once a small, yet thriving, fishing and boat building community, the unincorporated township survived wholly on commercial fishing and boatbuilding for generations. It was always enough; now, it’s not. What lies ahead for Harkers Island?

North Carolina is poised to be at the epicenter of the local seafood movement. But, the seafood industry in North Carolina is at a critical juncture full of passion, disagreement and misinformation. Join us as we take a closer look at seafood foodways and the importance of knowing where our seafood comes from. 

Join the people of Gloucester for a uniquely Down East Mardi Gras celebration.