3 things happening in NC: Sunflowers bloom in Dix Park, NC leaders sue Trump over education funding freeze

Our weekly rundown of 3 things happening in NC. This week, the joy of sunflowers, a political showdown, and a full menu of classical music greats. 

As flowers go, sunflowers are not the most subtle.

They are singular, towering, always effervescent. They signify joy. They’re a bit corny. As metaphors go, they’re almost a little too on the nose. 

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But because at Cardinal & Pine, we like to look at things from a different angle, our favorite thing about sunflowers is they are heliotropic, meaning they turn to face the sun. If you have the patience, you could literally watch them track the sun across the sky. 

One of your best opportunities to do that is right now. Keep reading for the best spot to do it.

Dix Park sunflowers are blooming

(Photo courtesy of the City of Raleigh)

Dix Park is a 300-acre park with a beautiful view of the Raleigh skyline. 

It’s named, fittingly, after Dorothea Dix, a 19th-century woman who was a mental health advocate when no one did that. It was once the site of a state-run psychiatric hospital, but the city bought the land in 2015 and has been gradually turning it into the city’s premiere park. 

This time of year, part of Dix Park’s charm is the sunflower field. The park plants hundreds of thousands of seeds in the spring and they’re blooming right now. It’s free to visit. There’s plenty of parking, and the field is open from dawn to dusk. 

For more info on parking and hours, go here.   

North Carolina will sue President Trump 

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson in February 2025. Jackson said on Monday that North Carolina will sue President Trump’s administration over frozen education funds. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Last week, Cardinal & Pine reported on President Trump’s freeze of federal education funding. The move could cost public schools across the country billions of dollars.

Here in NC, Trump is withholding $168.7 million that would be going to things like teacher professional development, before and after-school programs and English-learner services.

On Monday, education leaders gathered with NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson to announce a lawsuit challenging Trump’s administration over the frozen funds. This is the latest legal challenge Jackson has joined to fight Trump’s executive orders, which, like his freeze on education funding, subverts actions already taken in Congress.

Jackson said Monday that, as attorney general, when he considers a legal challenge he looks to see if it checks three boxes. “The law was broken,” Jackson said. “Our state was hurt, and I can prove both of those things.”

Jackson added that the freeze could cost up to 1,000 NC educators their jobs.

NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green pointed out as much when he spoke Monday.

“Congress approved the money when it passed its budget,” Green said. “It’s my understanding that the current administration also affirmed that approval, so to now suggest that for some reason it’s somehow or another needing another review because of someone’s agenda, I think is deeply troubling.”

Green, a Democrat and longtime school leader in North Carolina, said the suit wasn’t about a political “agenda” against Republicans or Trump. He said it was about “funds that directly impact the educational opportunities for our students.”

Classical music fans converge in Brevard

Listen, classical music isn’t just for dorks. And I’m not just saying that because I spent a lot of time in band practice and band camp when I was a teenager.

Your kids know it. 

The absolute best episode of the hit children’s show “Bluey” is scored by Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” a magical suite that you probably know even if you don’t know you know it. 

During the summer, the Brevard Music Center in western North Carolina offers one of the best chances for you to hear classical music performed by top-flight musicians. It’s their summer concert series, and almost every day of the week this week has a concert. The series features everything from bluegrass to jazz and opera, but this week is loaded with Brahms, Mozart, and other big names in classical music.

Check out the Brevard Music Center’s concert schedule here.