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Rooted deep in North Carolina tradition are thousands of festivals and events celebrating the history and people across the state. Many events recognize arts and crafts, music, changing seasons and food. Other events, focusing on woolly worms and bald-headed men, are a little more unique in their celebration.

Through these festivals, North Carolinians have preserved their heritage and created one-of-a-kind events to lure the most worldly of travelers. The state’s annual calendar of events includes a listing of a variety of celebrations for cities and towns throughout the state; so planning where to go and what to do is fun and convenient.

The small town of Spivey’s Corner is nationally known for it’s increasingly popular “National Hollerin’ Contest,” started in recognition of hollering as a traditional form of communication. Morehead City’s “Bald is Beautiful” convention has also become a national attraction for hairless men from all over the world to participate in its annual competitions and events.

North Carolinians love for food has generated several regional food celebrations throughout the Tar Heel State. The “Mount Olive Pickle Festival” and the “Lexington Barbecue Festival” are great examples of events held in appreciation of local specialties. There are an array of unique food celebrations such as the rather unusual “Ramp Festival” in Waynesville. Unsuspecting tourists should be forewarned: the ramp is a strong-tasting vegetable comparable to both garlic and onion. Equally unusual is the “Sonker Festival,” a well-kept secret in Mount Airy, where the community gathers to commemorate the deep-dish pie known throughout the area as a Sonker.

Festivals are abundant and are as much part of the culture of North Carolina as tobacco, cotton and southern hospitality. They celebrate azaleas in Wilmington, apples in Hendersonville and Andy Griffith in Mount Airy. So whether you would rather go shagging at the “Emerald Isle Beach Music Festival” or stop and smell the azaleas at the “North Carolina Azalea Festival,” to experience these festivals is to experience the uniqueness that is North Carolina.

The highest mountains in the eastern U.S. are located in the western part of the state. The Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Appalachian Mountains, including the Appalachian Trail, are located here. The rolling hills of the Heartland ó famous for their great golf resorts - soften the broad, lush fields of the coastal plain. And more than 300 miles of white, sandy beaches form the eastern border of the state along the Atlantic Ocean.

North Carolinians enjoy four distinct seasons, marked by warm summers and mild winters. Temperatures normally range from 22°F to 92°F, and annual precipitation averages 44 inches. The state averages five to six inches of snow a year, with the mountains receiving the most snowfall.

Nearly 10.49 million people live in North Carolina - the 10th largest population in the nation - and the median age is 33.2. It is estimated that, by the year 2000, North Carolinaís population will reach 7.5 million.

The top five largest cities in North Carolina are as follows (based upon 1995 figures): Charlotte (469,809); Raleigh (249,332); Greensboro (193,298); Winston-Salem (165,750); and Durham (148,129).

The North Carolina mountains provide a wide selection of trails for both the experienced and advanced hikers. The national forests in North Carolina provide over 1,200 miles of primarily foot trails. Included in these are seven National Recreation Trails and over 200 miles of the Appalachian Trail (AT).

Additionally, coastal NC provides a unique landscape rich with nature trails for the adventure-seeker. Along Cape Fear Coast, the Fort Fisher State Recreation Park has several hiking trails including The Hermit Trail (.4 miles), The Basin Trail (1 mile) and The Marsh Trail (.6 miles). Jockey’s Ridge, rising at 110 feet is the tallest active sand dune on the east coast and hikers can enjoy NC’s coastal beauty and wildlife at Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head.

Camping is permitted along all trails. The Appalachian Trail in the mountains has shelters at various locations for the convenience of campers. During the late spring and early fall these shelters are usually crowded; and they are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Hikers are encouraged to consider using some of the numerous other trails provided on the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.

Visitors to North Carolina are discovering what mariners have known for more than 100 years — our lighthouses are a beacon for weary travelers seeking a respite from life’s tempests.

Lighthouses — about one every 40 miles along North Carolina’s wicked, windswept shore — stand sentinel today as they have since the early 1800s. There’s a sense of romance surrounding each and every one from Currituck Beach Lighthouse on our northern Outer Banks to Bald Head Lighthouse on our southern shore. Each has its own personality and unique story to tell on North Carolina’s lighthouse trail.

North Carolina’s mountains contain three primary ranges – Appalachian, Blue Ridge, and the Great Smoky Mountains.

In North Carolina, there are more than 120 species of trees – more than you’ll find from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.

You can hike from the bottom to the top of one of our 6,000-foot peaks and see virtually every kind of flora you would encounter in driving from Georgia to Canada. There are 760 hiking trails across North Carolina, all which total about 2,400 miles in length. Three hundred miles of the Appalachian Trail alone wind through North Carolina’s mountains. Mt. Mitchell, at 6,684 feet, is the highest mountain in the eastern United States.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the majority of which is in North Carolina, is America’s most popular national park. North Carolina has more than 300 waterfalls, including the highest one on the east coast - Whitewater Falls. This gorgeous, two-tiered cascade is 411 feet tall. Sliding Rock, in Transylvania County, is a popular 150-foot natural water slide over which flows more than 11,000 gallons of 50- to 60-degree water per minute.

The New River, which runs through North Carolina’s Ashe County, is the oldest river in the nation, and the second oldest in the world. Native Americans were the first North Carolinians, and they played an important part in our state’s history. Today, you can visit the Qualla Boundary, west of Asheville, and experience first-hand the rich culture of North Carolina’s Cherokee people. The Blue Ridge Parkway, our nation’s most scenic byway, stretches 250 miles from the Virginia/North Carolina border from our northwest mountains to Cherokee and the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Biltmore Estate, located in Asheville and completed in 1895, includes the Biltmore House, a 250-room French chateau, and gardens. This is the largest privately-owned residence in America. North Carolina has paved more miles of road than any other state in the nation. Instead of driving the interstate, try the Blue Ridge Parkway or some of North Carolina’s other beautiful scenic byways. The oldest stand of virgin timber in the eastern United States is in North Carolina’s mountains at Joyce Kilmer National Forest. In that forest are trees more than 2,000 years old.