This is Cardinal & Pine’s curated, weekly guide to the festivals, exhibits, protests, and community gatherings in North Carolina in the week ahead. This week, June 9-15.
One of the reasons we launched Cardinal & Pine was to help North Carolinians stay connected.
Starting this Monday, I’ll be writing a weekly guide here and in Cardinal & Pine’s free newsletter, with three picks for the week ahead. I’ll cast a wide net. Festivals, exhibits, protests, big meetings — they all qualify.
To have your upcoming events featured here and in our newsletter (which has 150,000+ readers across North Carolina), write me at billy@couriernewsroom.com.
Let’s get going:
Fire Truck Festival
Spencer, NC
Saturday, June 14, 9 am – 3 pm
Anyone with children knows this simple fact: Kids—and anyone young at heart—love big trucks, especially fire trucks.
They’re loud. Red. You have to climb in them. There’s a ladder and a hose. That’s all you need to know.
Which makes this annual fire truck festival in Spencer, featuring a parade of new and vintage fire trucks, a fun and educational event. It’s put on by the NC Transportation Museum. Expect food, train rides, cool fire engines, and more.
Tickets start at $8-11.
Come See the Red Wolf Pups
NC Museum of Life & Science, Durham
Mid-June
You will not find a more critically endangered animal than the red wolf. A scant few of these remain in the wild in eastern North Carolina.
But as part of the effort to preserve this once ubiquitous but vanishing animal, Durham’s Museum of Life & Science has been part of an ongoing effort to breed new red wolf pups.
Three red wolf pups were born in May at the museum. Fortunately, they’re in good health and the public is now able to start visiting these very important little wolves. The museum has memberships and day passes, and residents of Durham get in free on certain “community days,” so check it out.
‘No Kings’ Protests
Saturday, July 14
Statewide
Ask the last dude who tried to be king in America. We’re an unruly lot.
We’ll throw your tea overboard, lug cannons across frozen lakes to fight you. We’re dirty and stinky. We’ll even throw a funeral for you while you’re alive and kicking, which is just rude.
It’s just not worth it to be king of our huddled but fiercely independent masses.
Add this to the list on American unruliness: Dozens of protests are scheduled across North Carolina Saturday, June 14 as part of the “No Kings” day of protests. Check out this interactive map of local demonstrations here.
Timed to coincide with the military parade President Trump is planning for his birthday, the “No Kings” protests are expected to be a large-scale demonstration against the president’s policies.
